philanthrophy - R. Couri Hay

Robert McBride Operation Healing Forces

R. Couri Hay — Fri, 30 May 2025 15:39:10 +0000

Robert McBride Operation Healing Forces

“ It’s About Impact” – Robert McBride

Helping Veterans & Special Operations Forces

Beyond his business as a top lobbyist, Robert McBride’s impact stretches into service—specifically through his role as an Executive Board Member of Operation Healing Forces (OHF), a nonprofit supporting active-duty and veteran members of U.S. Special Operations Forces and their spouses. Tom Brady, tennis champion Monica Seles, and golf legend Fuzzy Zoeller are also backers of the organztion that started out with some patriotic yacht owners inviting Green Berets, Marine Raiders, and Navy SEALs onto their boats with their spouses for some well deserved R&R. These soldiers had been away from their famlies and homes for up to a year. Many had been severely injured or suffered from PTSD. The organization now offers retreats at the homes of their benefactors in idyllic spots across the country,, including the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, and Aspen to Special Operations Forces members, their spouses, and caregivers. “We let them enjoy some of the luxuries we often take for granted, like fishing, boating, skiing, swimming, tennis, and hiking,” said McBride, adding, “They are disconnected from being away. We want to be a small part of getting them back together.”

At OHF’s recent Florida event, McBride was part of a team that raised over $1.5 million to fund their healing programs. “As someone who advocates for military and veterans every day, I can’t say thank you enough,” he told the crowd. “The job’s not easy, but it’s an important one.” The programs OHF runs—retreats, crisis support, mentorship—are focused on strengthening relationships and stability. “These programs are designed to reduce stress, improve communication, and ultimately create a more stable home environment,” he explained.

That’s where McBride thrives: on the bridge between high-level strategy and real-world results. “I’m not interested in doing anything unless it’s going to move the needle,” he says. “And I want to be around people who want to be impactful.”

McBride doesn’t speak in vague mission statements or buzzwords. He speaks on purpose. “I wake up every day and I have the ability to affect change in people’s lives,” he says. “We’re able to change communities, we’re able to change generations, and we’re able to put people in a position of success.”

McBride Consulting & Business Development Group

As founder and CEO of McBride Consulting & Business Development Group, McBride has earned a reputation for being both strategic and relentless. His consulting firm has advised developers, public officials, unions, and private clients across healthcare, transportation, housing, and infrastructure. But he’s not interested in volume for volume’s sake.

“We turn away probably 60 to 70 percent of the people who ask us to represent them,” he says. “We ask five questions: Who owns the company? Where’s it going? Who’s going to run it? How long are you going to be involved in it? And what’s the exit strategy?”

For McBride, it’s not about politics. It’s about outcomes. “We’re in the business of affecting people’s lives and putting them in a position of success, and at the same time not forgetting where we came from,” he says. “I’m very fortunate and blessed to be in the position I’m in. But I never forgot who I am. I never forgot my roots.”

McBride grew up in Ozone Park, Queens. “I’m the youngest of four kids. I grew up in a neighborhood that was tough. If you ate slow, you didn’t eat,” he says. “We were Irish immigrants. We didn’t have a lot of money. I wore my neighbor’s hand-me-downs.” Still, he adds, “I had a mother who never told me I couldn’t do something.”

Impacting Underserved Communities

That foundation—humble, tough, unshakable—became the basis of a career that now spans multiple companies and advisory roles. His work often touches New York communities most in need of infrastructure and housing support, and he maintains a sharp eye on what makes a project meaningful.

“We get called to work on housing developments that are in communities that are underserved and have not had affordable housing in 30 years,” he says. “We’re working on healthcare projects that are going to save lives.”

At McBride Consulting, he keeps the standards high—and the relationships personal. “We interview people over six months. I’ll have coffee with them, lunch with them, I’ll meet their family, and I want to see how they interact,” he says. “I’ve built the firm on a foundation of integrity.”

And while some people build businesses to exit, McBride builds to endure. “I’m not looking to build something to sell it. I’m looking to build something that I can hand to my kids,” he says. “My father died at 91 years old and said, ‘America is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.’ That’s a pretty powerful statement from an Irish immigrant who came here with nothing.”

As he looks forward, McBride is still asking hard questions, still refining the mission. “We want to be better. We want to be more efficient. We want to be more impactful. We want to grow. We want to continue to support people,” he says.

When asked what keeps him motivated, the answer is simple: “I don’t need to be famous. I don’t need to be on the front page. I just need to know that I made a difference in somebody’s life. And if I can do that, I’m good.”mcbrideny.com

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Jean Shafiroff Hosts Event for New York Women’s Foundation

R. Couri Hay — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:24:03 +0000

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Jean Shafiroff

Jean Shafiroff & Julia Haart

Bianca Molina, Jean Shafiroff, Erica Kulka

R. Couri Hay & Jean Shafiroff

Jean Shafiroff & Candace Bushnell

Victoria Schneps, Jean Shafiroff, Anna Rothschild

Devika Gopal Agge, Ana Oliveira, Jean Shafiroff, Mary Baglivo

Jean Shafiroff with Aphrodise Rose

Flo Anthony, Jean Shafiroff, Mar Morosse

Celebrating Philanthropy: Jean Shafiroff Hosts Event for New York Women’s Foundation

On April 2, 2025, Jean Shafiroff—renowned philanthropist, author, advocate, TV host, and fashion influencer—opened her home to friends and family for a vibrant gathering in support of the New York Women’s Foundation (NYWF). As a longtime board member and dedicated supporter of the organization, Jean, author of Successful Philanthropy: How to Make a Life By What You Give, brought together a dynamic group to celebrate the Foundation’s mission and impact.

The New York Women’s Foundation: A Legacy of Impact

Founded in 1987, the New York Women’s Foundation has become a global leader in women-led grantmaking, with a focus on gender, racial, and economic justice. The Foundation has distributed over $130 million in grants, empowering community leaders and fostering transformative change.

A pioneer of trust-based philanthropy, NYWF redefines traditional giving by prioritizing early investment in emerging women-led initiatives. This approach amplifies community voices, builds agency, and ensures funds are used effectively. By breaking down barriers and fostering meaningful dialogue, the Foundation not only provides grants but also cultivates sustained progress and collaboration.

A Night of Connection and Celebration

Guests enjoyed light bites and sipped Aphrodise sparkling wine while mingling in support of a shared cause. The evening brought together an inspiring group, including Ana Oliveira, Candace Bushnell, Julia Haart, Victor De Souza, and many others, all united by their commitment to advancing justice and opportunity.

Jean Shafiroff’s event underscored the power of collective action and the importance of organizations like the New York Women’s Foundation in shaping a more equitable future. Through her tireless advocacy, Jean continues to inspire others to make a difference through purposeful giving.

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Audrey Gruss: A Philanthropist on a Mission

R. Couri Hay — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 18:40:30 +0000

When you meet her or read one of the many articles about her, Audrey Gruss appears to be polished, poised and proper. While these surface characteristics are accurate, the depth of her heart and soul, and commitment to helping others runs vast and deep. Her hope to make life better for millions of people across the globe is simply breathtaking. Her story begins with her late mother, Hope, who suffered from depression for decades. Audrey, her two sisters and her father witnessed first-hand the intense battle her mother fought throughout the years – psychic pain, misdiagnosis, trials of medications, side effects and so much more. Depression affects over 18 million adults in any given year and us the leading cause of disability worldwide. Severe depression is even rated in the same disability category as terminal stage cancer. So when her mother passed in 2005, Audrey vowed to work tirelessly towards “conquering this dreaded illness” and make finding a cure her personal mission.

Audrey & Martin Gruss Foundation

A year later Audrey established the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF), a non-profit organization with a mission to fund pioneering international scientific research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and its related mood and other emotional disorders, with the goal of finding a cure. Audrey has served as the Chairman of HDRF since its inception. She’s also the President of the Audrey and Martin Gruss Foundation, which she and her husband Martin established thirty years ago to support the cultural arts. The couple also funded the Audrey and Martin Gruss Heart and Stroke Center at Southampton Hospital.

Depression Task Force

What’s unique about HDRF’s research program is that they not only fund research, but they also created their own research group by hand-selecting several doctors who collectively work with the non-profit on strategy, development, and implementation. “We had to create our own research team because what we envisioned did not exist. Our Depression Task Force works collaboratively – they put all their data into the Hope Data Center at the University of Michigan and that data is shared among the doctors at HDRF – the ones that do the research. That’s really a very hard thing to do,” Audrey says. “It’s as though we are created our own mini neuroscience center,” she adds. Since its start, HDRF has also awarded 104 research grants at 48 research institutions in 12 countries and 18 U.S. cities. hopefordepression.org

Developing an Alternative to Prozac

And the research is paying off. Audrey continues to explain that “the HDRF doctors are now creating a version of a new category of anti-depressant that is completely new, since Prozac was introduced 35 years ago.” This was after only eight years of the HDRF doctors being brought together in this mission. “This is remarkable in the world of neuroscience. This usually takes decades,” adds Audrey. She goes on to say that HDRF did not create something brand new. They found an existing drug that has not been approved in the U.S. which they made a patented version of and it’s in clinical trials at Columbia University and Mount Sinai.

It’s a fact that better medication to help with depression is desperately needed. Studies today estimate that up to 35-50 percent of people suffering from depression do not positively respond to existing antidepressant medications called SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

5K Race of Hope

In addition to the Week of Hope, in which business round the Hamptons show their support for the fight against depression, Audrey Gruss and her organization also host a 5k Race of Hope. This year will mark their sixth annual Race of Hope to Defeat Depression in Southampton Village. Candace Bushnell, author, journalist, and the creator of the bestselling Sex and the City anthology, will attend as this year’s celebrity Grand Marshall to cheer on the race’s participants and lead them on a beautiful 5K (3.1 mile) loop around Lake Agawam in Southampton Village. The Race is open to all ages and speeds and walkers are also welcome. The Race of Hope has raised over $1 million for research since its inception in 2016. raceofhopeseries.com

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