John Montgomery dreams of a world where genocide no longer exists. As a child in school, he learned about the tragedies of the holocaust. So cruel, foreign, and inconceivable; it felt as far away from his sheltered home as many centuries and another planet. How could neighbors living during the time of these atrocities have allowed it to happen? How could a land that produced so many of the world’s great writers, composers, scientists and theologians, also produce the Nazi Party? Certainly, the modern world could not again allow the methodical annihilation of a people because of their ethnic, religious, cultural or political differences. Or could it?

These questions haunted him. In fact, the Holocaust was not that far away; it happened in the decade just before John was born, in the land of some of his forbearers. And, as a teenager, John realized that genocide and ethnic cleansing are a contemporary reality. Today, John translates this in a more graphic and disturbing way. “With media bringing news immediately to our televisions, new economic ties, and now the Internet, we no longer have the excuse of distance or lack of knowledge. The neighbor I criticized in Nazi Germany has become—myself,” John says. “And I realized I wasn’t really doing anything about it. That was part of the Nazi strategy during the holocaust—counting on the fact that more than ninety percent of the people will go along with the crowd and turn their heads the other way.”

Even as a young man John knew with certainty that he did not want to be a part of that 90 percent. He wanted to take a stand consistent with his own faith to reduce poverty and injustice. He wanted a place beside those promoting peace and reconciliation. Prudent, compassionate philanthropy would be his tool. In 1991, he took the first step toward making that possible, in a rather unusual way. His success at investing his own funds led him to consider creating a mutual fund company.

While thinking about creating the company, John visited a church in Monterey, Massachusetts, and heard a sermon that shaped the future of the enterprise he had in mind. The guest preacher mentioned the work of Amnesty International. On reflection, it occurred to John that the mutual fund company, specifically the advisory firm, he was contemplating, could be a vehicle for creating profits that would benefit organizations whose missions align with his dream.

John began investigating the possibility of organizing an investment advisory firm as a non-profit organization, but quickly discovered that this was not feasible for a number of reasons. Among other things, a mutual fund company does not have charitable direct cause; in other words, the federal government considers it a taxable private sector business. So, in 1993, Bridgeway Capital Management (“Bridgeway”) was organized as a for-profit entity with an objective of donating 50 percent of its profits each year. In John’s thinking, a mutual fund company could also create opportunities for him to manage the endowments of organizations he wanted to support, thereby leveraging the effectiveness of Bridgeway’s mission.

Bridgeway is distinctive in that its mission statement affirms the company’s objective to “support charitable services, nurture educational services, improve the quality of community life, and oppose and alleviate the effects of genocide and oppression.” In December of 2000, the dream was realized with the creation of Bridgeway Foundation.

Bridgeway Capital Management made its first contribution to the Foundation on December 31, 2000. The Foundation awarded its first grant of $15,000 on January 3, 2001, to The Third John Two Family Life Center in Houston, Texas. Since then, the Foundation has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations working in diverse issue areas both nationally and internationally.

Does John know how Bridgeway Foundation will oppose and alleviate the occurrence of genocide and oppression around the world? In John’s blunt style, he says, “I readily admit that I haven’t got a clue. But I work with people of amazing talent and commitment, and now we are partnering with organizations of ‘off the charts’ amazing talent and commitment. Twelve years ago, I had never worked for a mutual fund company and didn’t even know what a transfer agent was. But I knew Bridgeway possessed a vision, some tools, and would attract other talented people of faith who understand there is a discontinuity between what exists today and what is possible.”

Does John know specifically how Bridgeway Foundation will help eliminate genocide? “No. But I have faith that along the way that will become clear. Maybe somebody can stand on Bridgeway’s shoulders and see farther in vision than I. I can’t myself see, but I have no doubts.”