Jim and Anna McKelvey
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Square, Invisibly
FUNDING AREAS: STEM Education, St. Louis Community
OVERVIEW: Jim and Anna McKelvey do not appear to have a formal family foundation; however, they’ve supported institutions in the St. Louis area, including McKelvey’s alma mater Washington University. He founded LaunchCode in order to teach people how to program.
BACKGROUND: Jim McKelvey graduated with a B.A. in economics and a bachelor’s in computer science from Washington University in St. Louis in 1987. He was a visiting scientist at IBM. A serial entrepreneur, he has started several companies, including a CD cabinet maker and a glass-blowing studio. McKelvey co-founded payments firm Square with Jack Dorsey in 2009. He has since launched Invisibly, handling micropayments for journalism and publishing.
Swedish born Anna McKelvey received her L.L.M. from Stockholm University in 2005 and received her M.A. in digital media and instructional design from Harvard University in 2016. She is a lawyer and digital media professional.
ISSUES:
STEM EDUCATION: The McKelveys established LaunchCode in 2013, a non-profit organization that creates pathways to economic opportunity and upward mobility through education, apprenticeships and job placement in technology. When launching Square, McKelvey himself wanted to hire talent from his hometown St. Louis, but noticed the “brain drain” in the region, inspiring him to act.
LaunchCode partners with over 500 companies, from Fortune 500 companies to up-and-coming startups, and matches them with job seekers through a mentorship and paid apprenticeship program.
Jim McKelvey serves on the board of his alma mater Washington University in St. Louis and is a major patron. His father Jim McKelvey Sr., was a professor at the Washington University School of Engineering for more than two decades before serving as its dean for nearly three decades. In 2017, McKelvey gave $15 million for a new engineering building in his father’s name. In 2019, he made a gift of an undisclosed amount to the School of Engineering & Applied Science renaming it the James McKelvey School of Engineering.
ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY: Anna is on the board of St. Louis Zoo and The Magic House St. Louis Children’s Museum, which the couple support. She is also recently joined the board of Danforth Plant Science Center.
LOOKING FORWARD: Only in his 50s, McKelvey is still very much engaged in business but this billionaire couple should be watched for greater giving down the line, perhaps through a formal family foundation. Anna lived in Japan for years and her interest in the arts and media should be watched as well.
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