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Barbara Dalio

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Barbara Dalio is an American philanthropist and the wife of Ray Dalio, the founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. Together they run Dalio Philanthropies, a grantmaking foundation that primarily funds universities and research projects. She is the founder and co-director of Dalio Education, which provides funding for public-school projects and education initiatives, especially focused on inner-city schools. 1

Grantmaking

Barbara Dalio was named as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in U.S. Philanthropy in 2023” by left-leaning philanthropy commentary website Inside Philanthropy. 2 In 2003, she and her husband, investor and philanthropist Ray Dalio, co-founded Dalio Philanthropies. By 2013 this group, which focuses primarily on university and scientific research funding, boasted a grant purse of $840 million. 3

Barbara Dalio is also the founder and joint CEO with Andrew Ferguson of Dalio Education, a network of charitable education projects centered in the state of Connecticut. Ferguson, a former policy analyst for the Connecticut Department of Education, also co-founded Connecticut RISE Network and the Connecticut Opportunity Project. 4

Connecticut RISE Network

Dalio co-founded the Connecticut RISE Network in 2015 and sits as its board chair. It aims to increase graduation rates and equip students with a framework for career pursuit following their exit from high school. The program focuses heavily on the freshman year of high school, driven by the idea that “success during freshman year is highly correlated with high school success and on-time graduation.” It is centered in low-income areas, with a majority of its participants being African American and Latino students. 5

Connecticut Opportunity Project

Barbara Dalio also co-founded Connecticut Opportunity Project which funds local organizations and projects that serve “severely off-track or disconnected young people ages 14 to 26” to help them complete secondary education or credentialed job training. 6

One of its grantees is Compass Youth Collaborative, a Hartford-based youth violence intervention program. Compass matches youth identified as “at-risk” with mentors and caseworkers to help steer them towards graduation, careers, and integration into society. Connecticut Opportunity Project also funds Roca Young Mothers, which works with young women experiencing domestic violence, sex-trafficking, and victims of violence fueled by social media. 7 8

Partnership for Connecticut and Subsequent Dissolution

On April 5, 2019, Barbara and Ray Dalio announced the formation of a new education initiative, the Partnership for Connecticut. This project included a pledge of $100 million to be disbursed over five years, with the state providing matching funds, and was the largest public donation in Connecticut’s history. 9 Controversy arose when the Dalios moved to circumvent some of the ethics and disclosure rules related to the Partnership’s operations. This maneuver was supported by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D), who agreed with the Dalios that sensitive policy conversations might be hampered by constant public scrutiny. Opposition arose from parent groups such as the Connecticut Parent’s Union, whose president stated, “You don’t meet privately and tell us what you did afterwards. You have to include us.” Further criticism came from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who questioned whether wealthy donors, no matter how well-intentioned, should have so much influence on public policy. 10 11

Further complications arose in July 2019 when the Dalios sought oversight and vetting rights of the Partnership’s board members, a move which met bipartisan resistance. This was eventually resolved when it was agreed that legislators themselves would sit on the board, rather than making political appointments. After state Attorney General William Tong (D) made it clear that in spite of these concessions, documents related to board oversight would need to be made public, the Dalios attempted to form a subcommittee (with no state officials) which would in fact handle much of the Partnership’s administration. This proposal was rejected by the board. 12 13

The breaking point was reached in May 2020 when the Dalios sought to remove the Partnership’s CEO, Mary Ann Schmitt-Carey, just over six weeks into her tenure. Schmitt-Carey related that on May 4: “I was ambushed with a set of false and defamatory accusations, and then told to voluntarily resign by 12:00 noon that day or the allegations would become ‘much more public.’ I categorically denied all of the allegations because they were false and then was told they did not want to hear me speak. They also said that they had been talking about my “ineffective tenure’ for ‘some time’, which bewildered me given my short tenure.” On May 19, the Dalios announced that the partnership would be dissolved. In a written statement, Barbara Dalio expressed frustration with the process saying, “It has become clear that it’s not working because of political fighting. I am not a politician and I never signed up to become one. I only want to help people.” 14 15

References

  1.  Adeniji, Ade. “The Rise of Dalio Philanthropy: A Case Study of the New Mega-Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. April 2, 2015. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/4/2/the-rise-of-dalio-philanthropy-a-case-study-of-the-new-mega.html
  2. “The 50 Most Powerful Women in U.S. Philanthropy in 2023.” Inside Philanthropy. December 5, 2023. Accessed January 22, 2024.  https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/12/5/the-50-most-powerful-women-in-us-philanthropy
  3. Adeniji, Ade. “The Rise of Dalio Philanthropy: A Case Study of the New Mega-Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. April 2, 2015. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/4/2/the-rise-of-dalio-philanthropy-a-case-study-of-the-new-mega.html
  4. “Andrew Ferguson.” Connecticut Opportunity Project. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.ctopportunityproject.org/staff/andrew-ferguson/
  5. “Our Mission.” Connecticut RISE Network. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.ctrise.org/about-rise/our-mission/
  6.  “Mission.” Connecticut Opportunity Project. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.ctopportunityproject.org/about/mission/
  7. [1] “Roca Young Mothers.” Connecticut Opportunity Project. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://www.ctopportunityproject.org/grantees/roca-young-mothers/
  8. “Building Transformative Relationships.” Compass Youth Collaborative. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://compassyc.org/what-we-do/transformative-relationships/
  9. Phaneuf, Kieth M. “After the Donation, the $100 Million Question.” CT Mirror. April 8, 2019. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2019/04/08/after-the-donation-the-100-million-question/
  10. [1] Phaneuf, Kieth M. “Murphy Says Dalio Partnership Showed the Risk of Trading Influence for Philanthropy.” CT Mirror. September 18, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2020/09/18/murphy-says-dalio-partnership-showed-the-risk-of-trading-influence-for-philanthropy/
  11. Phaneuf, Kieth M. “Education Partnership CEO Could Receive 120K in Severance…” CT Mirror. June 1, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2020/06/01/education-partnership-ceo-could-receive-120k-in-severance-but-musnt-criticize-the-group/
  12. [1] Phaneuf, Kieth M. “Lawmakers Waived Appointments to Secure Dalio Funds for CT Schools.” CT Mirror. July 10, 2019. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2019/07/10/lawmakers-waived-appointments-to-secure-dalio-funds-for-ct-schools/
  13. Phaneuf, Kieth M. “Murphy Says Dalio Partnership Showed the Risk of Trading Influence for Philanthropy.” CT Mirror. September 18, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2020/09/18/murphy-says-dalio-partnership-showed-the-risk-of-trading-influence-for-philanthropy/
  14. [1] Phaneuf, Kieth M., Rabe-Thomas, Jacqueline. “Lamont Announces End to ST’s Partnership with Dalio Philanthropies.” CT Mirror. May 19, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2020/05/19/lamont-to-announce-end-to-cts-education-partnership-with-dalio-philanthropies/
  15. Phaneuf, Kieth M. CT Mirror. “Education Partnership CEO Could Receive 120K in Severance…” June 1, 2020. Accessed January 22, 2024. https://ctmirror.org/2020/06/01/education-partnership-ceo-could-receive-120k-in-severance-but-musnt-criticize-the-group/
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