Mark’s Service & Philanthropic Passions over the Years:

Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for philanthropy or charity. It is a form of social justice in which donors benefit from giving as much, or more than, the recipients. It is much more than a financial transaction, tzedakah builds trusting relationships and includes contributions of time, effort and insight. This responsibility to society cannot be done to someone, instead it must be done with someone.

While Mark would never call himself a philanthropist, he has offered his time, heart, money and soul to many impactful missions. Mark has invested over 9,000 hours in volunteer service, over the last 30 years, and he has gifted away a substantial portion of his earnings and gains. He came from modest family means and intends to die with modest means – after having made the fullest effort to make a meaningful difference in the world.

  • American Ireland Fund, Ashoka, Human Rights Watch, the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, Social Venture Network, Upaya Zen Center, Housing Works, Grameen Foundation, Kiba, Rainforest Action Network, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) (starting in 1996), NORML (starting in 1993), the Cruickshank Volunteer Fund, the Temple of Understanding, Threshold Foundation focused toward three grant committees: Arts & Media Committee (1994-1996), Microcredit Lending Committee (2001-2003) and Psychedelics Research Education & Policy Committee (2018), local food banks in many cities, Witness.org / Peter Gabriel, the Green Belt Movement / Wangari Maathai, Natural Resources Defense Council, Jane Goodall, Rigoberta Menchú (Guatemalan indigenous rights), the ACLU, Babson College, Babson Sustainability & Energy Club, the Soil Association, Bioneers, Seva Foundation, Youssou Ndour, and more recently support for Ukraine.