Recruitment and Robin Hood <br> <p> </p>
<p>Inspiration can be found in many places. In stories and in experiences, shared or otherwise. This past weekend I was reading the September 18<sup>th</sup> issue of Fortune magazine and in it was an article about the New York City based Robin Hood Charity, a venture philanthropy that was founded by hedge fund guru Paul Tudor Jones.</p>
<p>The name alone gives a sense of its mission - to take from the rich and give to the poor. The Robin Hood Charity and its well-heeled benefactors as the article attests is about " leaders of the hedge-fund world banding together to fight poverty - taking gobs of money from the rich, applying strict financial metrics in giving it away, and making philanthropy cool among the business elite."</p>
<p>What makes this story compelling is that in addition to the extraordinary amount of good will delivered to the most needy - it has distributed over $500 million through 200 programs - is the code or guiding principles it follows to keep the donations rolling in and the program meeting its objectives.</p>
<p>I reference this article because I think there are many lessons to be learned - for staffing executives - from other industries, institutions, and entities relative to best practice <i>design and implementation</i>. As you reflect on the <i>Code</i> below ask yourself if there are lessons to be learned from the strategies and tactics used by Wall Street´s charitable team to fight the war on poverty.</p>
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<p><b>A Rebel´s Code</b></p>
<p><b>What makes Robin Hood different from other charities.</b></p>
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<p><b>Every Dollar Counts</b></p>
<p>To entice donations, board members cover all administrative and staff expenses - meaning all contributions go 100% to funding programs.</p>
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<p><b>Follow the Metrics</b></p>
<p>Robin Hood spends more than $500,000 a year gathering data on the agencies it funds, and $300,000 on a staff economist who crunches numbers. Programs that don´t satisfy their benefit/cost benchmarks are out.</p>
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<p><b>Don´t Save Your Powder</b></p>
<p>Robin Hood doesn´t have an endowment and doesn´t want one. It aims to spend everything it raises each year.</p>
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<p><b>Be Cool</b></p>
<p>Poverty-fighting goals may be wonky, but Robin Hood´s stylish courting of celebrities gives it unmatched cachet.</p>
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<p>Note: see <a href="http://www.fortune.com/">www.fortune.com</a></p>
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