What Ares Charitable Foundation does

Ares Charitable Foundation is a nonprofit philanthropic organization established in 2021 as the charitable arm of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a publicly traded alternative asset manager. The foundation's mission is to help nonprofits around the world identify, analyze, and address challenges to economic mobility through support of research, piloting, and scaling innovative solutions. It does not develop technology products; its core offerings are grant programs rather than commercial goods or services.

The foundation executes its philanthropy through three programmatic mechanisms: Signature Initiatives (multi-year, systems-thinking programs including AltFinance with Apollo and Oaktree for HBCU career pipelines, CREST with Jobs for the Future and World Resources Institute for clean energy workforce, Ownership Works for broad-based employee equity sharing, and Elevate with Brookings Institution for Latino entrepreneurship); Regional Grants (annual programs in key Ares geographies such as USA, India, UK, Nepal, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China, totaling $9.8 million across 25 grants); and Learning Communities (capacity-building networks for grantees). The foundation has committed nearly $65 million globally, with $54.6 million in Signature Initiatives and the balance in regional grantmaking.

The foundation is wholly funded by Ares Management Corporation and governed by a board composed of senior Ares executives including CEO Michael Arougheti, Partner/Vice Chair Gregory Margolies, and Partner/Global Head of HR Jessica Dosen. Its business model is fundamentally that of a corporate foundation: capital inflows are charitable contributions from the parent, and outflows are grants to qualifying nonprofit partners. There is no pricing model, no revenue from commercial customers, and no traditional go-to-market motion; distribution occurs through direct grantmaking relationships with partner organizations and outreach via website, annual impact reports, press releases, and email. The foundation is recognized across multiple ESG and civic engagement awards including The Civic 50 (2023, 2025), Stevie Awards (2023, 2024), Telly Awards (2023, 2025), Anthem Awards (2025), and Newsweek America's Most Charitable Companies (2026).

Name

Ares Charitable Foundation

Legal name

Ares Charitable Foundation

Website

https://aresfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Ares Charitable Foundation, established in 2021 by Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), is a nonprofit philanthropic organization that has committed nearly $65 million globally to support economic mobility through Signature Initiatives, Regional Grants, and Learning Communities for nonprofit partners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Economic mobility grants
• Workforce development funding
• Entrepreneurship support grants
• Personal finance education
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding: The foundation is funded by Ares Management Corporation. Established in 2021, the Ares Foundation has committed nearly $65 million to a global portfolio of organizations for multiyear initiatives intended to help people advance economically. As a charitable foundation, the primary revenue source is charitable contributions from its parent company.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ares Charitable Foundation provides philanthropic funding to nonprofit organizations working to improve economic mobility through research, piloting, and scaling of innovative solutions. Its funding supports career preparation and reskilling, entrepreneurship, personal financial knowledge, multi-year Signature Initiatives, Regional Grants, and Learning Communities.

Product overview

Ares Charitable Foundation is a philanthropic organization established in 2021 that operates a grant-based giving model rather than a technology product. The foundation's offerings consist of Signature Initiatives (major multi-year programs including AltFinance, CREST, Ownership Works, and Elevate addressing workforce development, clean energy, equity sharing, and Latino entrepreneurship), Regional Grants (annual grants supporting career preparation, entrepreneurship, and personal finance in key geographies), and Learning Communities (capacity-building network for grantees). The foundation has committed nearly $65 million to a global portfolio of organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Signature Initiatives: Signature initiatives including AltFinance (HBCU career preparation in alternative investment management), CREST (workforce for modern-energy economy), Ownership Works (broad-based equity sharing programs), and Elevate (Latino entrepreneur advancement)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship.

• ALT Finance CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the AltFinance initiative that delivers training and education, internships, scholarships and networking opportunities to help HBCU students prepare for and enter careers in alternative investment management.
• Apollo Global ManagementflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the AltFinance initiative along with ALT Finance Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management, focused on helping HBCU students enter careers in alternative investment management.
• Oaktree Capital ManagementflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the AltFinance initiative along with ALT Finance Corporation and Apollo Global Management, focused on helping HBCU students enter careers in alternative investment management.
• Jobs for the FutureflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the CREST initiative that helps close the gap between the demand for a skilled workforce for jobs in the modern-energy economy and the number of people prepared for these opportunities.
• World Resources InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the CREST initiative focused on closing the gap between workforce demand in the modern-energy economy and available skilled workers.
• WRI IndiaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the CREST initiative focused on workforce development for the modern-energy economy in India.
• Ownership WorksflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative partner that helps reduce stock ownership disparities by supporting companies to develop broad-based equity sharing programs that create employee-owners.
• Brookings InstitutionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Elevate initiative that examines barriers, challenges and vulnerabilities of Latino entrepreneurs to help advance growth in these businesses as engines of economic development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Apollo Foundation: Philanthropic arm of Apollo Global Management, a direct co-funder in the Ares-led AltFinance initiative for HBCU students entering alternative investment careers. Closely comparable as a corporate foundation of a major alternative asset manager targeting economic mobility themes.
• TPG Foundation / TPG Rise Foundation: Corporate-impact foundation of TPG Inc., a major private equity and alternative asset firm. Comparable as a peer alternative-asset-manager foundation with multi-year grant programs targeting economic mobility, climate, and equity themes.
• Blackstone Charitable Foundation: Corporate foundation of Blackstone Inc., one of the largest alternative asset managers. Directly comparable as a peer corporate foundation of a global alternative investment firm focused on workforce, education, and economic opportunity programs.
• Oaktree Foundation: Charitable arm of Oaktree Capital Management, a credit-focused alternative asset manager and direct co-funder in the Ares-led AltFinance initiative. Closely comparable as a peer corporate foundation in the alternative credit space.
• Carlyle Group Foundation: Corporate foundation of The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager. Closely comparable as a peer corporate foundation of an alternative asset manager funding workforce, education, and economic-mobility initiatives.
• Bain Capital Foundation: Corporate foundation of Bain Capital, a major private equity firm. Comparable as a peer alternative-asset-manager foundation focused on economic opportunity, education, and workforce development.
• KKR Foundation: Corporate philanthropic arm of KKR & Co., a leading global investment firm. Comparable peer as an alternative-asset-manager foundation that funds education, workforce, and economic-mobility programs globally.

Broad incumbents

• Goldman Sachs Foundation: Corporate foundation of Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank and asset manager. Comparable as a large, established financial-services corporate foundation running multi-year programs around workforce, education, and economic mobility (e.g., 10,000 Small Businesses).
• JPMorgan Chase Foundation: Corporate philanthropic arm of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest U.S. banks. Comparable as a much larger incumbent corporate foundation funding workforce development, small business, and economic mobility initiatives at global scale.
• Morgan Stanley Foundation: Corporate philanthropic arm of Morgan Stanley, a global investment bank and wealth manager. Comparable as a broader-incumbent financial-services corporate foundation with workforce, economic mobility, and ESG-aligned grantmaking programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ares Charitable Foundation