Promote Giving grew quickly because it's a simple pledge, not a centralized fund. Participants commit 5% of promote to a charity *of their own choice*. This autonomy removes administrative friction, eliminates debates over causes, and allows leaders to direct their own impact, making it easier to join.
An unintended benefit of Promote Giving is that signatories have begun actively co-investing with each other, leading to billions in deals. The pledge acts as a powerful filter for like-minded, trustworthy partners, demonstrating that shared values can be a significant catalyst for business development.
Joel Hulsinger secured a 5% corporate match for his promote-based donation by making it a condition of his employment at Aries. This shows that senior talent joining a firm possess unique leverage to embed philanthropic initiatives that might otherwise face internal resistance or be dismissed.
Hulsinger reframes his personal ambition from wealth accumulation to philanthropic distribution. His goal is to become a 'billionaire' by being able to give away billions. This powerful mindset shifts the endgame of a successful career from personal net worth to large-scale social impact and legacy.
Aries' Chairman Tony Ressler was initially against tying promote to charity, fearing it was just marketing. By launching it within a new fund with no existing P&L, Joel Hulsinger de-risked the decision. Its success later led the Chairman to admit he was '100% wrong' and expand the model.
Aries found it more powerful to tell a 25-year-old that their specific deal will generate $300k for charity than to talk about the fund's $50 million total accrual. This micro-level connection makes the philanthropic impact personal and tangible, creating a direct sense of legacy and purpose from daily work.