Apollo foundation expands nonprofit support with private-equity operating model

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Apollo expands nonprofit support

Highlights

Apollo Opportunity Foundation applies Apollo Asset Management’s portfolio company playbook to over 190 nonprofit grantees, pairing each with five to 10 pro bono deal team members.
Monthly Apollo-run virtual trainings cover AI, leadership, fundraising, and succession planning, while the October summit aligned nonprofit leaders with Apollo on current economic adaptation.
Apollo deal teams guide nonprofits on board structure, process streamlining, and curriculum updates, exemplified by 35 process changes and new AI tools at partners like Acceleration Project and Marcy Lab School.

Apollo applies portfolio strategy to nonprofit operations

As first reported by Business Insider, Apollo Opportunity Foundation is extending elements of Apollo Asset Management’s playbook for more than 190 portfolio companies to nonprofit groups, pairing each grantee with a deal team of five to 10 employees from Apollo or Athene for pro bono projects, strategic advice and board support.

Scott Kleinman, co-president of Apollo Asset Management and chair of the Apollo Opportunity Foundation board, said the support mirrors the firm’s work in operational guidance, data and digital transformation, talent management and recruitment. He said capital is part of the model, but the main value comes from the deal teams working directly with nonprofit leaders.

The foundation, launched in 2022, also runs monthly virtual training sessions on topics including AI, leadership transitions, culture, real estate, fundraising and succession planning. At its October leadership summit, grantee executives met Apollo leaders and joined panels and working sessions focused on adapting organizations to current economic and labor conditions.

Hands-on support shapes nonprofit growth plans

Lauren Coape-Arnold, Apollo Global Management’s global head of citizenship and executive director of the Apollo Opportunity Foundation, said the work often begins with board structure and governance to strengthen leadership. That can include identifying candidates for boards of directors or advisory roles and helping organizations assess how leadership can support long-term expansion.

Jane Veron, cofounder and CEO of Acceleration Project, said Apollo helped the nonprofit identify 35 processes that could be removed or changed, from onboarding to technology and client data capture. She said the work includes building an AI tool to review client business-challenge notes and creating asynchronous training tools to speed consultant onboarding.

Reuben Ogbonna II, cofounder and executive director of The Marcy Lab School, said Apollo’s deal team helped revise the school’s curriculum to reflect changing software engineering roles. He said the update adds more business and industry context, along with cloud fundamentals and core DevOps knowledge, to better align training with employer needs.

In our earlier article on CEO adoption of AI agents, we noted that many large U.S. companies are already seeing efficiency and growth benefits, but only a small share consider the technology transformational so far. The piece highlighted that real impact typically requires broader operating-model changes—modernizing processes, preparing data, and investing in talent, retraining, and AI infrastructure.

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