I was on vacation with my wife when I got a frantic call from the Smile Train office.
They told me Mayor Bloomberg’s office had just called. Mayor Mike saw our full-page ad in the New York Times that day and he wanted more information.
Wow! What an opportunity.
I immediately left my wife at the beach and went back to our room where I worked for a couple hours on a letter to Mayor Mike and short a presentation on what Smile Train was all about.
Mayor Bloomberg’s office received it by the end of that day.
Four days later we received a check from his foundation for $1 million.
That’s how I met Mayor Mike.
He has been a hero of mine for a very long time.
Not just because he’s brilliant, incredible manager and executive, a great leader, and extremely successful. But because he is probably the greatest philanthropist in America.
His Bloomberg foundation gives away several hundred million dollars a year to thousands of charities – I believe that’s more than any other foundation in America.
And it does it strategically and intelligently. I have met his team at the foundation and they’re very sharp, passionate and committed to making grants that make a difference.
Unlike many other mega foundations that sit on tens of billions of dollars and reluctantly give away the bare minimum that the law requires, the Bloomberg Foundation is an aggressive giver.
They are constantly looking for new ways to give, new partners to support and new ways to make a difference in the world. They measure their results, hold their grantees accountable and maximize their impact.
All of this comes from Mayor Mike. He’s just an exceptional person, super intelligent with a very big, generous heart.
God bless Mayor Mike.
After his initial grant to the Smile Train, we sent him a very detailed final grant report. This immediately led to another grant.
And so, on and so on.
Shortly after we received his second grant, I bumped into Mayor Mike at a Broadway show where my seats were directly in front of his. I of course, turned around and introduced myself and thanked him for his very generous support of Smile Train.
He told me, “I love the Smile Train because you run it like a business. You make it easy for me to see exactly where our money is going, who is helping and the impact it will have. I wish more charities were run like you guys run the Smile Train. Keep up the good work!”
I bumped into Mayor Mike a lot. At black tie events, Gracie mansion, charity events, Knicks’ games, you name it.
I would always go out of my way to shake his hand and thank him for his very generous support. He would always tell me Smile Train was his favorite charity.
I never got tired of hearing that.
Too bad more billionaires aren’t like Mike Bloomberg.
The world would be a very different place.
