Anthony M. Pilaro, an accomplished attorney, investment banker, and philanthropist, is chairman of the CAP Charitable Foundation and the CAP Advisers Limited of Dublin. Supporting a myriad of causes from community-based charter schools that serve as educational havens in the inner-cities to life-changing medical procedures for those in need, Anthony Pilaro’s philanthropic philosophy is simple: given the proper nurturing and resources, people will give freely — not only with their dollars, but of their time, abilities, and creativity.
Following the 1996 death of Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown, Mr. Pilaro and the CAP Charitable Foundation undertook the perpetuation of Secretary Brown’s legacy of achievement, leadership and outreach by founding the Ron Brown Scholar Program. Selecting young African American students of outstanding promise, the program offers well-deserved funds for college and provides invaluable personal attention to accelerate student progress into mainstream leadership positions in business, medicine, law, the arts and a wide spectrum of professions.
“When our family founded the Ron Brown Scholar Program,” states Mr. Pilaro, “we began with a simple concept: to create a program where bright, motivated, young African Americans could come together and help each other succeed, not just through college but for a lifetime.” He continues, “We provided them with a foundation to begin their journey: a $40,000 scholarship and a network of dedicated Program staff and mentors to guide them along the way. What resulted from this vision has far surpassed our highest expectations and yielded a program that has not only changed lives but has created an institution for the cultivation of individuals who will become America’s next generation of great leaders. I ultimately believe that this powerful body of compassionate intellectuals that grows every year will make a lasting contribution to our nation.”
Through supporting the Scholars, who Mr. Pilaro refers to as “the best and brightest from the African American Community,” he, the CAP Foundation, and the RBSP have inspired many volunteers, contributors, and friends to join in the mission of perpetuating and strengthening the Ron Brown Scholar program.
Also a generous donor to his undergraduate and law school alma mater, the University of Virginia, Anthony Pilaro initiated the Jerome Holland undergraduate scholarship and the Hardy Dillard scholarship at the UVA School of Law. Both are merit-based scholarships for remarkably accomplished African American students.
From medical research to funding the arts to providing opportunities for young people of exceptional promise, Mr. Pilaro invests in people not programs. When asked why he devotes such tremendous energy to nurturing scholarship, artistry, and service without regard to international borders or budgets, Anthony Pilaro always states, “Because I can.”
