Grant Maker Bolsters Human Connection as a Way to Take on Polarization Lily-Anne Trainor One of Einhorn’s early relationship building grants was a $50 million award to establish Engaged Cornell, an effort that brings undergraduates together for community service. More than a year of lockdown has taught many Americans about the importance of social distancing and the effects of vaccines. But perhaps the biggest lessons are about people we’ve held close and those whose company we miss, says Jenn Hoos Rothberg, executive director of the Einhorn Collaborative. The need for human connection drives a new strategy that the philanthropy, founded by hedge-fund manager David Einhorn, introduced late last year. In collaboration with other foundations, it is creating a $100 million fund to support nonprofits that help people who are dug in on opposite sides of an issue see the humanity in their counterparts.