Apollo is sharing its private-equity playbook with nonprofits

Apollo Global Management is extending the operating model it applies to portfolio companies to nonprofit organizations through the Apollo Opportunity Foundation, according to a Business Insider report based on an exclusive look at the foundation's biennial summit in October. The foundation, which launched in 2022, supports 28 nonprofits with funding, leadership training, and a built-in network. Apollo has so far provided more than $13 million to grantees and has committed $100 million in funding over the next decade. Funding decisions consider factors such as an organization's budget size and impact metrics.

The support model centers on people rather than capital alone. Each nonprofit is paired with a deal team of five to 10 employees from Apollo or Athene, the retirement services business that merged with Apollo. Those teams build relationships with grantees to carry out pro-bono projects, source board candidates, and provide strategic advice. The foundation also runs monthly virtual training sessions on topics including AI, leadership transitions, culture, real estate, fundraising, and succession planning. Lauren Coape-Arnold, Apollo's global head of citizenship and executive director of the foundation, said partnerships often begin with reorganizing boards to strengthen governance, since an organization's success depends on strong leadership.

Grantees describe concrete outcomes. Jane Veron, cofounder and CEO of Acceleration Project, a nonprofit serving small business owners, said Apollo helped the organization identify 35 processes to eliminate or modify, from onboarding and technology to client data capture, and is helping build an AI tool to analyze client business challenges. Reuben Ogbonna II, cofounder and executive director of The Marcy Lab School, a one-year alternative to four-year college, said Apollo's deal team helped revamp the curriculum to reflect changing software engineering roles, adding business context and cloud and DevOps fundamentals.

At the October summit, Apollo chief economist Torsten Sloek discussed the labor market and how organizations can adapt, while Apollo's chief financial officer addressed factors nonprofits should weigh when scaling. Working sessions paired grantees with their Apollo deal teams. Kleinman, the Apollo executive quoted in the report, said the foundation aims for a "two-way street" with its employees rather than simply writing checks, and identified the deal team as the "real-value add" alongside capital.