This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money (financing), or other values such as effort or time (sweat equity), for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions. The process of soliciting and gathering fund is known as fundraising.

Sources of funding include credit, donations, grants, savings, subsidies, taxes, Fundings such as donations, subsidies and grants that have no direct requirement for return of investment are described as "soft funding", "crowd funding", or "hyper funding".

Funds can be allocated for either short-term or long-term purposes.

See also[link]

Look up funding in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Foundation (charity)
• Investment
• Mass-funding
• Peer-to-peer lending
• Research funding
• Seed money

This business term article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Attorney Jay Sekulow in 2010
Born	Jay Alan Sekulow (1956-06-10) June 10, 1956 (age 56) Brooklyn, New York
Education	B.A. Mercer University (law) J.D, Mercer University (law) Ph.D., Regent University (legal history)
Occupation	Civil Attorney (ACLJ)
Years active	1978–present
Religion	Messianic Judaism (Christianity)
Spouse	Pamela (1978–present)
Children	Jordan and Logan

Jay Alan Sekulow (born June 10, 1956) is an American attorney and Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. He also hosts a talk show, which airs on radio and television. Sekulow is a frequent guest commentator on the Fox News Channel.

Education[link]

Sekulow graduated cum laude from Mercer University, receiving both a bachelor's degree and a doctor of jurisprudence while serving as an editorial staff member of the Mercer Law Review. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, authoring his dissertation on the subject of American Legal History.

Career[link]

As a young lawyer, Sekulow worked in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service as a tax trial attorney, bringing suits in the United States Tax Court on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury.^[1]

In 1990, Sekulow became the director of The American Center for Law and Justice where he currently serves as Chief Counsel.

Radio[link]

In addition to his duties as Chief Counsel for the ACLJ, Sekulow hosts Jay Sekulow Live!, a syndicated daily radio program that airs on nearly 850 stations nationwide, broadcast on terrestrial radio, as well as XM and Sirius. This live call-in program focuses on legal and legislative battles currently underway across America, occasionally featuring in-studio guests such as Jackie Mason and Chuck Colson.^[2]

Television[link]

Sekulow is the host of ACLJ This Week, a weekly television news program broadcast on TBN^[3] and Daystar.

Politics[link]

Sekulow is speculated to have been one of the "Four Horsemen" who "engineered" the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court.^[4] In 2007, Sekulow endorsed Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.^[5][4] He has opposed the building of an Islamic center near the site of the World Trade Center.^[6][7][8]

Cases before the Supreme Court[link]

Sekulow has argued in front of the United States Supreme Court multiple times throughout his career. The first was in 1987, involving Jews for Jesus and their clash with Los Angeles International Airport’s policy against free speech. He has specialized in arguing key issues of the First Amendment, arguing with opponents such as current Chief Justice John Roberts, the Deputy Solicitor General at the time.^[9]

In addition to his work as a Supreme Court advocate, Sekulow, as lead counsel of the ACLJ, has submitted several amicus briefs in support of conservative issues. He has submitted amicus briefs in landmark cases such as Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rasul v. Bush, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, and Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation. His amicus briefs for Van Orden v. Perry and Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC were cited by Justices John Paul Stevens and John Roberts respectively.^[15][16] Sekulow served as counsel to Robert and Mary Schindler during the controversy surrounding their daughter, Terri Schiavo. While he is widely acknowledged as a member of the Christian Right, Sekulow’s amicus brief in Morse v. Frederick was in support of the ACLU’s position; he argued that schools banning “offensive” speech would also be able to prohibit religious speech with which the administrators disagree.

Sekulow again argued before the Supreme Court on November 12, 2008 in Pleasant Grove City v Summum, case No.07-665. Sekulow represented the City in this case concerning government control over monuments and memorials in government-owned public places. On Feb. 24th the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the City's favor. On March 2, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a summary disposition in the companion case of Summum v Duchesne City. The Court was again unanimous, vacating the 10th Circuit opinion and remanding the case for an opinion consistent with Pleasant Grove City v Summum.

Awards and Accomplishments[link]

Jay Sekulow lecturing in 2006

Sekulow has been honored numerous times throughout his career. In 1994, he was named to the National Law Journal’s Power List, which highlights some of the most prolific attorneys in America.^[17] In 1997, he was named to the American Lawyer’s Public Sector 45, a list dedicated to legal public servants who have made the most impact in their respective fields.^[18] Following this accolade, the National Law Journal placed Dr. Sekulow in their highly coveted 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America list.^[19] Most recently, Legal Times profiled him as one of the 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 years, solidifying his place as one of the most renowned legal professionals in the United States today.^[20]

Criticism[link]

In November 2005, Legal Times published an article in which it was alleged that Sekulow "through the ACLJ and a string of interconnected nonprofit and for-profit entities, has built a financial empire that generates millions of dollars a year and supports a lavish lifestyle—complete with multiple homes, chauffeur-driven cars, and a private jet that he once used to ferry Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia." The article quotes a number of former donors and supporters (none identified by name) who claim that Sekulow has engaged in a pattern of self-dealing to finance his "high-flying lifestyle." And, according to a ranking by the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog group, Sekulow is the 13th-highest-paid executive of a charitable organization in the United States if the given figure for his salary is accurate.^[21]

Personal[link]

Jay Sekulow was born in Brooklyn, New York.^[22] Sekulow and his wife Pamela, who have been married since 1978 and have two adult sons, Jordan and Logan. Jordan is an attorney with the ACLJ and Director of International Operations. He also co-hosts the radio and television programming with his father. Logan oversees the ACLJ’s multi-media operations.^[23]

Sekulow was raised Jewish, but converted to Christianity in college and now considers himself a Messianic Jew.^[24]

Sekulow also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.

Publications[link]

• 1990: From Intimidation to Victory, Creation House
• 1993: Knowing Your Rights: Taking Back Our Religious Liberties
• 1996: And Nothing But the Truth
• 1997: Christian Rights in the Workplace, The American Center for Law and Justice
• 2000: The Christian, The Court, and The Constitution, The American Center for Law and Justice
• 2005: Witnessing Their Faith: Religious Influence on Supreme Court Justices and Their Opinions, Rowman & Littlefield

References[link]

External links[link]

• American Center for Law & Justice Bio
• "The Secrets of Jay Sekulow" Legal Times November 1, 2005
• Oyez Profile

Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity at King of Prussia Mall (2004)
Born	(1961-12-30) December 30, 1961 (age 50) New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Radio host/television host, political commentator, author
Employer	Citadel Broadcasting, Fox News Channel
Known for	Political commentary
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Jill Rhodes Hannity
Parents	Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity
Website
Hannity.com

Sean Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is a television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity, on Fox News Channel. Hannity has written three New York Times–bestselling books:^[1][2] Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism, Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, and Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda.

Personal background[link]

Hannity is the son of Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity. His paternal and maternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland. He has two sisters. He grew up in Franklin Square, New York ^[3] and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Hempstead, New York during his middle school years and St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary high school in Uniondale, New York.^[4] Hannity dropped out of New York University and Adelphi University.^[5][6]

Professional life[link]

Hannity in a radio and television interview with Vice President of the U.S. Dick Cheney

Hannity hosted his first talk radio show in 1989 at the volunteer college station at UC Santa Barbara, KCSB-FM, while working as a general contractor. The show aired for 40 hours of air time;^[7] Regarding his first show, Hannity has said, "I wasn't good at it. I was terrible."^[8] Hannity's weekly show on KCSB was canceled after less than a year by station managers. This was after two shows featuring the book The AIDS Coverup: The Real and Alarming Facts about AIDS by Gene Antonio; among other remarks made during the broadcast, Hannity told a lesbian caller "I feel sorry for your child".^[9] The station later reversed its decision to dismiss Hannity due in part to a campaign conducted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Hannity decided against returning to KCSB.^[10]

After leaving KCSB, Hannity placed an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America." Radio station WVNN in Athens, Alabama (part of the Huntsville market) then hired him to be the afternoon talk show host.^[7] From Huntsville, he moved to WGST in Atlanta in 1992, filling the slot vacated by Neal Boortz, who had moved to competing station WSB. In September 1996 Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes hired the then relatively unknown Hannity to host a television program under the working title Hannity and LTBD ("liberal to be determined").^[11] Alan Colmes was then hired to co-host and the show debuted as Hannity & Colmes.

Later that year Hannity left WGST for New York, where WABC had him substitute for their afternoon drive time host during Christmas week. In January 1997, WABC put Hannity on the air full-time, giving him the late night time slot. WABC then moved Hannity to the same drive time slot he had filled temporarily a little more than a year earlier. Hannity has been on WABC's afternoon time slot since January 1998.^[12]

Conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel, in their book Common Ground, describe Hannity as a leader of the pack among broadcasting political polarizers, which following James Q. Wilson they define as those who have "an intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another, rival group."^[13]

Television[link]

Hannity was a co-host of Hannity & Colmes, an American political "point-counterpoint"-style television program on the Fox News Channel featuring Hannity and Alan Colmes as co-hosts. Hannity presented the conservative point of view with Colmes providing the liberal viewpoint. Critics argued that the show highlighted Hannity's views and those of conservative guests over Colmes' and those of liberal guests.^[14]

Hannity had on air clashes with show guests such as Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer of Human Life International, who challenged Hannity on his public dissent from the Catholic Church on the issue of contraception.^[15][16] Hannity stated that if the Catholic Church were to excommunicate him over the issue, he would join Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church.^[17]

In January 2007, Hannity began a new Sunday night television show on Fox News, Hannity's America.

In November 2008, Colmes announced his departure from Hannity & Colmes. After the show's final broadcast on January 9, 2009, Hannity took over the time slot with his own new show, Hannity, which has a format similar to Hannity's America

Radio[link]

Hannity's radio program is a conservative political talk show that features Hannity's opinions and ideology related to current issues and politicians. The Sean Hannity Show began national syndication on September 10, 2001 on over 500 stations nationwide.^[18] As of spring 2008, the program is heard by over 13.25 million listeners a week.^[19] In 2004, Hannity signed a $25 million five-year contract extension with ABC Radio (now Citadel Media) to continue the show through 2009.^[20] The program was made available via Armed Forces Radio Network in 2006.^[21] In June 2007, ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Communications^[22] and in the summer of 2008, Hannity was signed for a $100 million five-year contract.^[23]

In January 2007, Clear Channel Communications signed a groupwide three-year extension with Hannity on over 80 stations.^[24] The largest stations in the group deal included KTRH Houston, KFYI Phoenix, WPGB Pittsburgh, WKRC Cincinnati, WOOD Grand Rapids, WFLA Tampa, WOAI San Antonio, WLAC Nashville, and WREC Memphis.

The opening theme music for the Sean Hannity Show is "Independence Day" by Martina McBride followed by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.

Books[link]

Hannity is the author of three books. The first two, Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism and Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, were published through ReganBooks. Both of these books reached the nonfiction New York Times bestseller list, the second of which stayed there for five weeks.^[25][26] Hannity has stated that he is too busy to write many books,^[25] and dictated a lot of his own two books into a tape recorder while driving in to do his radio show.^[27]

Hannity wrote his third book, Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda, which was released by HarperCollins on March 30, 2010.^[28] The book became Hannity's third New York Times Bestseller.^[29]

Freedom Concerts[link]

Since 2003, Hannity has hosted country music–themed "Freedom Concerts" to raise money for charity.^[30] According to WHIO, more than $9 million has been raised by the concerts and by WHIO listeners as of 2009.^[31]

Artists such as Charlie Daniels,^[32][33] Billy Ray Cyrus,^[32] Hank Williams, Jr., Ted Nugent, Montgomery Gentry,^[33][34] Martina McBride, Buddy Jewell, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Greenwood,^[32][33] Michael W. Smith,^[32] and Avalon^[33] have headlined at these concerts. Between musical sets, the concerts include short intermissions with politically conservative speakers such as Oliver North, G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, Newt Gingrich, Jon Voight, and Rudy Giuliani. Headlining names for the 2010 concert series were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, and Michael W. Smith.^[31][35]

Awards and honors[link]

• Hannity received a Marconi Award in 2003 and 2007 as the Network Syndicated Personality of the Year from the National Association of Broadcasters.^[36]
• In 2009, Talkers Magazine listed Hannity as #2 on their list of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America.^[37] The same magazine gave Hannity their Freedom of Speech Award in 2003.^[38]
• In 2005, Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, awarded Hannity an honorary degree.^[39]
• Radio and Records magazine has honored Hannity with the National Talk Show Host of the Year Award for three consecutive years.^[40]

Bibliography[link]

• Hannity, Sean (2002). Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism, ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-051455-8.
• Hannity, Sean (2004). Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-058251-0.
• Hannity, Sean (2010). Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda, Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 0-06-200305-4.

References[link]

External links[link]

Conservatism portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sean Hannity

• Sean Hannity's official website
• Sean Hannity's biography (Fox News)
• Hannity Official Fox News site
• List of radio stations streaming the Sean Hannity Show
• Sean Hannity's bio and title list from HarperCollins

Guy Hands ((1959-08-27)27 August 1959)^[1] is an English financier and investor. He is most notable as the founder and chairman of Terra Firma Capital Partners, one of the largest private equity firms in Europe. Hands also previously served as Chairman of the UK music company, EMI.

Hands and his wife were estimated to be worth £100 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, placing them at position 703 in the list of the richest people in the United Kingdom. Hands is well known for his frequently outspoken comments about the private equity industry.^[2][3] In April 2009 he moved from the UK to the tax haven of Guernsey where Terra Firma is based.

Biography[link]

Guy Hands was born 27 August 1959 in London, to South African parents.^[1] He was educated at Holy Trinity School, Cookham, where he was diagnosed as severely dyslexic.^[1] Subsequently, he was sent to Ravenscroft Preparatory School, a special needs school, aged 9 and The Judd Grammar School, Tonbridge.^[4] More recently, Hands contributed the funds for the construction of the Guy Hands Library at the Judd School. In a Ravenscroft production of Macbeth in 1970, he played the part of Lady Macbeth opposite Christopher Newbury as Macbeth.^[4]

Hands studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Mansfield College, Oxford,.^[5] At Oxford, Hands held the office of Bursar of the Oxford Union and was also President of Oxford University Conservative Association in Michaelmas Term 1980.^[4] Hands also provided funding for construction of the Hands Building at Mansfield College, Oxford.

Early career[link]

Hands started his career in 1982 as a eurobond trader at Goldman Sachs. He was appointed Head of Eurobond trading in 1986 and later rose to become head of global asset structuring world-wide for Goldman's European division in 1990.^[1] In 1994, Hands left Goldman to found Nomura's Principal Finance Group, which focused on European private equity investments. Hands joined Nomura after three other banks, including Goldman, turned down his investment plan.^[6] At Nomura, Hands and his team completed over $20 billion of leveraged buyouts. By 2000, Hands was reported to have generated profits for the bank in excess of $1.9 billion making him a star financier in London.^[7][8][9] Hands' most notable acquisitions at Nomura included Annington Homes, as well as William Hill, the U.K. bookmaker, and Angel Trains, the UK. Rolling Stock Operating Company^[10] As well, Hands effectively became the U.K.'s biggest pub landlord through a series of acquisitions in the 1990s.^[4]

Terra Firma[link]

In 2002, Hands founded Terra Firma Capital Partners, as a spinout from Nomura, which he had built into one of the largest private equity investors in Europe.^[11][12] Terra Firma debuted with a €2 billion private equity fund, immediately making the young firm one of the larger private equity players in Europe.^[13]

The firm's early investments, while still a division of Nomura, focused on housing (Annington Homes), leasing companies and pubs. Since 2002, the firm has made major investments in the waste management (Waste Recycling Group), energy (BGCL, East Surrey Holdings, Phoenix Natural Gas, aircraft leasing (AWAS), cinema (Odeon Cinemas/UCI) and music sectors (EMI). TFCP has also made significant investments in German residential housing (Deutsche Annington) and motorway services (Tank & Rast).

Terra Firma is now also one of the world’s leading private equity investors in renewable energy.^[14][15] Its investments include the UK based independent pure green energy business (Infinis), a US wind energy business (EverPower) and an Italian solar energy business (RTR).

Hands and Terra Firma are also known for the failed investment in British music company EMI, which was later taken over by Citigroup, the main lender in the investment. Citigroup took ownership of EMI Group from Terra Firma on 1 February 2011, wiping out the firm's investments and writing off £2.2 billion of debt.^[16][17] Despite implementing an operational turnaround,^[18][19] Terra Firma was reported to have lost $2.5 billion in the EMI transaction, representing roughly one-third of Terra Firma's investor's capital as well as more than 60% of Hands' personal net worth.^[20][21] Hands had spent much of 2010 engaged in litigation with Citigroup, claiming the bank engaged in fraud during its auction of EMI in 2007.^[22] The lawsuit went to trial in New York in late 2010^[23] and resulted in a jury finding in favor of Citigroup and against Terra Firma and Guy Hands.^[24] Hands acknowledged that the EMI deal had been a mistake when he said, "If we hadn’t done that, we’d have 90% of our funds still to invest and we’d look like complete geniuses. Instead, having written off well over a billion, we look like chumps." ^[25][26]

Personal life[link]

Hands started an art business before going to University. Once at Oxford it became known as ‘Artsake’ and employed a large number of Hands’ fellow students. While at university, he became friends with William Hague, who was later best man at his wedding, in 1984, to Julia Caroline Ablethorpe.^[1] The couple have two sons and two daughters.^[1] His wife's house in Kent, just outside Sevenoaks, was once presented to Winston Churchill, while his family's estate in Tuscany, Villa Saletta, produces wine and olive oil.^[1] The estate’s wines have won several awards.^[27][28]

Hands and his wife own the Hand Picked Hotels chain of 17 country-house properties, which is run by Julia Hands. The couple were estimated to be worth £100 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, placing them at position 703 in the list of the richest people in the United Kingdom.

In April 2009, in protest at the UK tax system, Hands moved to the tax haven of Guernsey. Since then, he has not been to the UK and his family travel to Guernsey to see him.^[29] In litigation against Citigroup on the EMI deal, Terra Firma chose to bring the litigation in New York. Part of the justification for the New York forum was due to Hands' residence in Guernsey, and he told the Court that he could not attend the trial in London if the trial took place there.^[30]

The Hands family support a number of charities including the The Princes' Trust, Mansfield College Oxford,^[31] King's College Cambridge, Duke of Edinburgh Awards,^[32] The Kid’s Company, The Eve Appeal, Hospice in the Weald, ICAN, and Outward Bound.

Honours and appointments[link]

• 2000 - elected a Global Leader of Tomorrow of the World Economic Forum
• President of Access for Excellence
• Bancroft Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford
• Member of the University of Oxford Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors
• Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme

References[link]

External links[link]

• Guy Hands. Terra Firma Capital Partners website
• Hand Picked Hotels (company website)

v t e Private equity and venture capital investors Investment strategy Buyout · Venture · Growth · Mezzanine · Secondaries History History of private equity and venture capital · Early history of private equity · Private equity in the 1980s · Private equity in the 1990s · Private equity in the 2000s Investor types Private equity investors · Venture capitalists · Corporate raiders