Remembering a Philanthropic All-Star

Posted by Tara Greco

I’d like to take a moment to recognize a great philanthropist.

Abe Pollin, the owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, passed away yesterday at the age of 85.

I had the fortune of working for Mr. Pollin for seven years. This provided me the opportunity to observe and absorb lessons from a CEO who managed a business that mirrored his values as a good corporate citizen. His enterprise was built on responsible business practices and a “triple bottom line” philosophy long before companies used these terms.

Mr. Pollin made his fortune in real estate development, and he shared his largesse with many. He contributed millions of dollars to thousands of community organizations, charities and social causes in Washington, D.C., and around the world over the last 50+ years.

But I think his passion was community-building – connecting people and enterprise around a common cause or purpose. The most public example of his commitment to this was building the Verizon Center in a then-neglected area of Washington, D.C. It was a big risk at the time, but he really believed that the building would be more than just a place for games and concerts – he knew that it had the potential to bring people, commerce and vitality back to the heart of downtown. Within several years of its opening, the building proved to be the catalyst that revitalized an entire corridor of the city.

His interests went well beyond buildings and basketball fans. One of my favorite examples occurred several months prior to opening the arena. We brought the Caps and Wizards players downtown to serve meals in soup kitchen at a church in Chinatown, our new neighborhood. Mr.

Pollin spent the entire meal sitting and chatting with our guests. He was so touched by their stories and so struck by the need in the neighborhood that he was compelled to act. At the end of the meal, he pulled me aside and said, “we’re doing this every week… figure out how to make it work, I’m paying for it, and we’re going to help these people – they are our neighbors.” He has been supporting that soup kitchen for the last 12 years.

What makes Mr. Pollin special is that he was just as excited about the value that soup kitchen provides to the city’s neglected citizens as he was about the arena and the force for change it became for the entire city.

He will be missed.