Pitching in: Charity founded by Bay Street businessmen holds pitchfest to support kids’ mental health

The organizers: Jeffrey Gallant and Kyle MacDonald

The pitch: Creating Capitalize for Kids

Jeffrey Gallant and Kyle MacDonald became fast friends while studying business at Queen’s University and remained close long after graduating.

They both landed jobs on Bay Street – Mr. MacDonald as an equity analyst and Mr. Gallant as a portfolio manager – and were best man at each others’ wedding.

Mr. Gallant grew up in Ottawa while Mr. MacDonald is from Port Hawkesbury, N.S., but they had shared similar experiences with mental illness.

“Growing up, both myself and Kyle saw firsthand just how deeply depression and suicide can affect people’s lives and communities,” recalled Mr. Gallant. “When a few things transpired to our families, we realized that we needed to do something about that to benefit others.”

They came up with the idea of Capitalize for Kids, a Toronto-based charity that works with youth mental-health agencies to provide pro bono services and innovative funding.

Each fall, the organization holds the Capitalized for Kids Investors Conference where hundreds of representatives from pension funds, hedge funds and other investment firms discuss market insights. Participants pay a fee to attend and proceeds go to the charity.

“They’re all pitching their best investment ideas or where they believe opportunities exist over time, and it just so happens that the net proceeds are really what fuels the impact work at Capitalize for Kids,” Mr. Gallant said. “We’re trying to drive system-wide change by bringing a series of agencies together to work on a concurrent problem to ensure that we can reach the most amount of kids possible.”

The first conference held in 2014 raised $1-million and this year’s event, on Nov. 18 and 19, is expected to raise more than $3-million.

At first, the money went toward major health care centres including Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. But over time, the charity began funding community-based mental-health programs and they now work with close to 80 organizations.

Mr. Gallant and Mr. MacDonald, both 37, left their jobs for a year to establish the charity. They’ve since founded their own investment firm and are actively involved with Capitalize for Kids. “It remains a very important passion project for us,” Mr. Gallant said.