May 23, 2005
Mutual Fund Industry Takes Competition to the Golf Course
Mutual Funds Against Cancer to Raise Money for the Jimmy Fund, June 2
Boston's financial district, home of the mutual fund, is a hotbed of competition for 364 days a year. But for one day in June, Boston's most prestigious and aggressive mutual fund and financial investment companies take their rivalry to the golf course, playing with and against each other to raise money for a cause much greater than personal wealth or corporate profits.
Mutual Funds Against Cancer (MFAC) Expect Miracles Golf Classic has over 270 participants from dozens of financial firms, who will, on June 2, converge upon two courses at the Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, Mass. Their goal is to raise $200,000 for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and bring the tournament's 11-year Jimmy Fund contribution to more than $860,000. MFAC is one of 150 charity golf tournaments across the country, which together make up Jimmy Fund Golf, a program that has raised $42 million for the Jimmy Fund over the past 23 years.
What sets MFAC apart from traditional charity golf tournaments is its players, who are investors, senior financial executives, and marketing, sales, and operations managers from Boston's largest financial firms including Fidelity, Salomon Brothers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Eaton Vance, John Hancock, JPMorgan Chase, and Confluence. Founded by Frank Strauss, a principal with the Beacon Consulting Group, and an "okay golfer," MFAC gives people in the financial industry a charity to support, a cause to rally around as a team, and an opportunity to mix with their colleagues, all while raising substantial funds for cancer research. "It is tremendous for everyone in the industry," Strauss says. "MFAC has turned into the industry event. There used to be a couple of organizations that ran events during the year, but since the economy got tight, there have been fewer opportunities for those of us in the industry to get together. This golf tournament fills that void."
The success of the MFAC golf tournament — it is the sixth largest fundraiser of all 150 Jimmy Fund Golf tournaments — encouraged its leaders to expand the organization so that those associated with the financial industry who do not play golf can still get involved with the charitable and social components of the organization. MFAC is planning the second Expect Miracles International Wine Extravaganza for November. Last year, more than 300 people attended, from senior financial executives to CEOs. "People have really embraced the organization," Strauss says. "They want a way to give back to the community and, unfortunately, so many have been touched by cancer, we are unified by the cause."
Strauss started the tournament as a tribute to his mother, Sandra Strauss, while she was being successfully treated for leukemia at Dana-Farber. "Then I realized that I could leverage my ties within the financial community to do something really good for others," Strauss says. "There is not a similar event or charity around which Boston's financial industry has rallied."
This is Strauss' first year running MFAC without Steven Katzin, his right hand man for tournament operations. After helping Sandy Strauss successfully overcome leukemia, and spending a decade working to raise money for cancer research, Katzin died last year from multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the blood. "Steve experienced the fate that MFAC is trying to save others from facing," Strauss said. "His death was an unnecessary reminder of the importance of the work we are trying to do." For more information about Mutual Funds Against Cancer, visit mutualfundsagainstcancer.com or call Christina E. Thirkell at 617-515-3241.
