By Maksim Grinbgerg
There’s a distinction I keep coming back to: the difference between giving to a cause and investing in a person. Both are good. But over the years, I’ve found that the deepest impact comes from believing in specific people and backing them — sometimes long before anyone else does.
Causes are essential; I support many. But causes can be abstract, and people are not. When you invest in a person — when you decide that someone is worth your time, your belief, and your support — something different happens. You’re not just relieving a need; you’re telling someone they matter, that someone sees their potential and is willing to bet on it. That message often does more than the material help itself.
I’ve tried to make this belief in people a guiding principle. When I meet someone with promise who’s being held back by circumstances, my instinct is to ask what they need to get unstuck, and then to help provide it — whether that’s money, a connection, encouragement, or just someone in their corner who refuses to give up on them.
This is, I think, a more demanding way to give. It’s personal. It requires actually knowing people, staying involved in their lives, and accepting that growth is slow and uneven. But it’s also the most rewarding, because you get to watch people become who they were capable of becoming.
My vision for New York is full of this kind of investment — a city where people don’t just fund causes from a distance but back each other, person to person, with real belief. Because in the end, every cause is just people. And people, given enough belief, are capable of extraordinary things.