SOURCE OF WEALTH: Platinum Equity Partners
FUNDING AREAS: Health (Children’s Health), TBD
OVERVIEW: Tom and Holly Gores conduct philanthropy through the newly-minted Tom Gores Family Foundation, which gave away just under $1.3 million in 2018. They’ve given strong support to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and have a particular interest in allergy research.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1964, Tom Gores graduated with a B.S. from Michigan State University. In 1995, he launched Platinum Equity Partners which oversees more than 25 companies with some $19 billion in assets. In 2011, Gores and Platinum Equity bought the NBA Detroit Pistons.
ISSUES:
HEALTH & CHILDREN’S HEALTH: Tom and Holly Gores partnered with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and gave a $5 million gift to create the Gores Family Allergy Center, treating children with life-threatening food allergies. The forces here are personal as the couple’s son suffers from severe food allergies. The couple’s daughters, meanwhile, launched EpiPals, in partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to help support families of children with severe food allergies through education, awareness and the provide life-saving EpiPens to those in need. The organization has raised more than $1 million.
Other grantees have included UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Rett Syndrome Research Trust, and Tourette Association of America.
OTHER: Through their young foundation, the couple have also supported places like Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and Forgotten Harvest, a food rescue in Detroit. In a fiscal recent year, the foundation directed about $1 million to a donor-advised fund at Sterling Foundation Management, obscuring the full scope of giving.
LOOKING FORWARD: Only in his mid 50s, Gores is still very much engaged in business but giving may ramp up down the line, particularly in the realm of allergy research and treatment. Los Angeles and Detroit may serve as significant sites of giving. He’s on the board of LACMA and the Center for Early Education in West Hollywood, as well.
CONTACT:
Sterling Foundation Management
12030 Sunrise Valley Dr, Suite 450
Reston, VA 20191
(703) 437-9720
