Quincy businessman Rob Hale giving away $1 million a week to nonprofits for a year
QUINCY - Rob Hale has deep pockets but even a bigger heart.
"We're blessed, we're very fortunate," Hale said. "And our belief is that we should extend those good tidings as deeply into the community as much as possible."
Hale runs Granite Telecommunications in Quincy and for the past year he and his wife Karen have been on a very unique mission of gifting $1 million a week to small non-profits for 52 weeks straight.
"There are so many vital impactful smaller organizations in our communities that needed our help," Hale said.
The impact of their giving is being felt throughout the state. Including former New England Patriots lineman Joe Andruzzi who runs the Joe Andruzzi Foundation which supports cancer patients.
"I received a phone call from Rob out of the blue to tell me and my wife that he loves what we do," Joe Andruzzi said.
"So, he invested a million dollars into an endowment for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, and that's a major gift," Jen Andruzzi said.
Many of the $1 million donations are going towards endowments to help nonprofits like South Shore Stars sustain itself.
"It meant the world to us," said Jennifer Court of the South Shore Stars. "It also has allowed us to ensure we have funding for this coming year."
The Hale family has already gifted tens of millions of dollars to local hospitals and institutions, but for most of these smaller nonprofits, this is the single biggest gift they've ever received, and many have been around for more than 20 years.
For Sue Chandler at DOVE, Domestic Violence Ended, the Hale gift will directly impact the victims and survivors they serve.
"This is absolutely our biggest gift ever," Chandler said. "We are looking for the possibility of a new building."
For Hale, whose photo was is now on the cover of Forbes Magazine, he knows the need is endless which is why he and his wife enjoy giving so much.
"When you realize that you're helping other people, who are then going to help other people, it makes you feel so good," Hale said. "To me it's a gift that we actually get."
Another recipient of a gift is the Ron Burton Training Village, the camp run by WBZ-TV's Steve and Paul Burton and their family which honors their father's legacy.