Thomas attributes his success to the supportive network that surrounded him from birth, with his parents at the center of that world, and joined by the larger community in ever-expanding circles of support.
In simplest terms, Thomas believes his family and the communities where he’s lived gave freely to him, and that is what enabled him to succeed. By the same token, Thomas feels a strong sense of responsibility to give to those communities, and to amplify that spirit of giving by expanding it to areas of great need.
This thinking informs Thomas’s philanthropic strategy, which is based on three pillars.
- Find concentrated areas of need. These areas should be at the confluence of acute need in the community and personal values of the donor.
- Identify individuals with talent in the area of need. Just as communities invest in promising young people, philanthropists should support those who are “smarter than they are” and are qualified to address the acute need.
- Give freely to those individuals, empowering them to do the work the community needs.
Thomas’s philanthropic activities center on concentrated areas of need: Finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease; preventing hunger, particularly in children; and remediating housing shortages.
He partners with talented individuals and world-class organizations with relevant talent in each of these areas, supporting their important work in these areas of acute need.