Each September, ACG National Capital and its membership welcome the slight decrease in temperature and increasingly mild weather with their Annual Golf Event. The event brings together chapter members, leadership and sponsors for a day of sport, networking, fun and charity.

The charity that benefits from this event – and has benefited from it for the past four years – is called Capital for Children. And it plays a very important and essential role in the National Capital region and community.

Capital for Children partners and invests in nonprofit organizations across the region that work to make the lives and futures of the area’s youth brighter. And they do this by offering more than just money.

To get more information about Capital for Children, we recently sat down with the organization’s founder, Ken Doyle. Ken serves as a Senior Partner at The Halifax Group, and is a managing member of Salem Halifax Capital Partners, a Small Business Administration mezzanine lending company sponsored by Halifax.

Here is what Ken had to say:

Ken-DoyleCorporate Growth, Capital Style (CGCS): Can you tell our readers a little bit about what Capital for Children does, and why the organization is so essential in the National Capital Region today?

Ken Doyle (KD): Capital for Children is a private-equity membership organization that invests in nonprofit youth development organizations throughout the Washington, DC region.

After selecting appropriate nonprofits following an extensive due process, we form a partnership with these nonprofits and add capital and our expertise. We aim to create relationships that leverage the network of our members.

CGCS: How many years has Capital for Children been the benefactor of the ACG National Capital Golf Event? How has this relationship benefited Capital for Children?

KD: This will be the fourth year for Capital for Children to benefit as the recipient of ACG’s National Capital Golf Event.  ACG’s donations of over $32,000 to date have really benefited Capital for Children by providing us with additional funding to help us with our annual investments.

This year we added two new nonprofits to our portfolio and ACG’s donations have directly supported these new organizations.

CGCS: Capital for Children recently announced that it was providing $147,500 in grants to nine youth development groups. Which groups were chosen? Why were these groups chosen, specifically?

KD: We did just invest in nine youth development organizations.  Two these investments are in new nonprofit organizations and we’re very excited to welcome them to our community!  They are The Literacy Lab and Horizons Greater Washington.

We chose these new organizations because they exemplify the work we want to invest in – they have outstanding leadership teams and they are running programs that build a foundation for educational success.

The remaining seven investments were to nonprofits we’ve been partnering with for several years: Beacon House, Horton’s Kids, Higher Achievement, Sitar Arts Center, Live It Learn It, Brainfood, and DC Scores.

CGCS: Capital for Children has now donated more than $1M to local area charities. How have these contributions benefited these organizations? What kind of programs and projects and results are you seeing from these investments?

KD: Our nonprofit partners provide enrichment services that support the education and empowerment of children throughout the city. Through Capital for Children’s contributions every year we are currently supporting over 8,000 children throughout the DC metro area who participate in activities through our partner nonprofits.

These children are benefiting from higher literacy and academic scores, reduced dropout rates, access to athletic and art opportunities, cultural experiences throughout the city, and enduring life skills.

CGCS: What’s next for Capital for Children? Are there more money raising activities planned for the coming months? How can interested parties get involved with the organization and contribute to its mission?

KD: Each year Capital for Children hosts its annual fundraiser in November, our Texas Hold’em Tournament.  This year’s event will be November 3 at the Hotel Monaco in the Penn Quarter.  Tickets go on sale September 26th.

This is a great way for the ACG community to get involved and we invite them to participate.  We also have many donors who make direct donations through our website at www.capitalforchildren.org.

For more information about the ACG National Capital Annual Golf Event, or to register for this fun-filled event that benefits a very good cause, click HERE.