Building for a Better NYC: How Roswell's Founder Helped Power Robin Hood’s Record-Breaking Impact

From our roots as a digital commerce agency to our ongoing commitment to giving back, we believe the best way to change the world is to start with the community that shaped us. That belief has never been clearer than in the work of our founder and CEO, Hugh Lim, with Robin Hood—one of the nation’s most powerful poverty-fighting philanthropies, dedicated entirely to serving New Yorkers in need.
Nihar Kulkarni

When Crisis Hit, So Did Purpose

In March 2020, as the city went into lockdown and uncertainty loomed, Hugh was brought in to help Robin Hood enhance their website. But, what began as a digital refresh quickly evolved into something much greater. Robin Hood, backed by a board of some of the city's most influential leaders and supported by key figures across business, entertainment, and the nonprofit sector, had a mission: to fight poverty in New York City in the face of a global pandemic.

With the city reeling and traditional fundraising options shut down, they envisioned a bold new approach — a nationally televised primetime telethon, Rise Up New York, hosted by Tina Fey. It aired across every major network and streaming platform, spotlighting the urgency of the moment and calling viewers everywhere to give.

That’s when Hugh was given the opportunity to contribute and fulfill a lifelong dream. Within just two months, he and a dedicated team, including AWS’s elite engineering crew, built a platform from scratch. It needed to scale and handle the volume of processing hundreds of thousands of transactions. The result: over $115 million in donations during the live event, making a real difference for more than 2.5 million people directly affected by the pandemic.

The Platform That Powers Generosity

Since that breakthrough moment, Roswell has proudly continued to power Robin Hood’s signature fundraising events, most notably its annual benefit at the Javits Center. This event brings together hundreds of the country’s most influential philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and executives. At the center of it all is a custom-built donation platform designed by Hugh and the Robin Hood team — built to handle a high volume of real-time pledges.

The stakes are high: each pledge can represent millions of dollars. The system must be flawless and it has been. The platform was built to be highly scalable and performant to ensure that every single pledge is captured.

Why It Matters

Robin Hood’s mission is simple yet deeply impactful. Since 1988, it has distributed over $3 billion in poverty-fighting grants to nonprofits across all five boroughs, supporting programs that address hunger, housing insecurity, education gaps, economic mobility, mental health, and more. In 2023 alone, Robin Hood invested over $120 million to fund organizations such as:

  • Part of the Solution (POTS): Providing food, housing support, and legal services in the Bronx
  • Harlem Children’s Zone: Offering cradle-to-career support for thousands of families
  • Children’s Aid: Supporting children, youth, and their families in high-need NYC communities
  • Henry Street Settlement: Delivering education, employment, housing, and other vital services
  • West Side Campaign Against Hunger: Providing emergency food to New Yorkers experiencing hardship

At Roswell, this work is personal. Members of our team have seen firsthand how Robin Hood’s support empowers nonprofits, uplifts schools, and creates real change in communities we know and love. When we say we’re Roswell NYC, we mean it. Giving back to the city that gave us everything isn’t a side project — it’s a core value.

Our Way of Showing Up for NYC

For Hugh, this project was never about the spotlight. For years, his work with Robin Hood flew under the radar — an intentional act of service during a time of crisis. But as Roswell continues to grow, earn industry recognition, and take on some of the most exciting digital commerce challenges out there, we’re also pausing to reflect on what matters most.

This is our way of showing up for New York — not just in business, but in impact. Not just with platforms, but with purpose.

Learn more about Robin Hood and the incredible work they do: robinhood.org