Harvey E. Najim
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Sirius Computer Solutions, Chairman Emeritus
FUNDING AREAS: Medical Needs & Research, Children, Education, Developmental Disabilities
OVERVIEW: Harvey Najim and his wife Nancy move their philanthropy through the Harvey E. Najim Charitable Foundation, which was established in 2006 with Najim's donation of $75 million. The Najim Family Foundation supports various public charities in Greater San Antonio that advance children’s well-being, including education, medical treatment, medical research for illnesses and diseases affecting children, and other children’s charitable purposes. Since 2007, the Najim Family Foundation and Najim has funded approximately $65 million in grants and pledges to close to 200 different organizations. The foundation is accessible, with a website, staff, and is open to LOIs.
BACKGROUND: Harvey E. Najim graduated from the University of Wichita with a B.A. in mathematics in 1964. He spent more than a decade at IBM Corporation before founding Star Data Systems in 1980. In 1993, Najim renamed his company Sirius Computer Solutions, which has grown into one of the largest IT solutions integrators in the United States. Sirius is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and its revenue approximated $1.3 billion in a recent year. It's unclear how much Najim himself is worth.
ISSUES:
MEDICAL NEEDS & MEDICAL RESEARCH: Najim's foundation has supported organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation, the Epilepsy Foundation, the Down Syndrome Association, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and South Texas, Miracle Flights for Kids, Miracle League of San Antonio, and Transplants for Children. In a recent year, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System received $3 million, while Santa Rosa Children's Hospital in San Antonio received $250,000 a year from 2013-2015.
CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT: Najim supports children through two grantmaking categories: Child Abuse & Neglect and Improving the Lives of Children. Recent grants have gone to Child Advocates San Antonio (CASA), Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, Family Violence Prevention Services, Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services, Boysville (a comprehensive, residential care facility in south Texas, providing support and a home for children), San Antonio Food Bank, Healthy Futures of Texas, and SAMMinistries, which tackles homelessness in San Antonio.
Najim helped create the Harvey E. Najim Hope Center at the San Antonio Children's Shelter, "a specialized outpatient mental health clinic that provides accessible mental health services for children and families as a result of abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment." The Hope Center officially opened its doors in the Fall of 2015. In 2014, Najim chaired the annual United Way Campaign, helping the organization raise a record-breaking $55 million.
EDUCATION: Najim has recently supported the University of Texas Foundation, Idea Public Schools (which received a $115,000 grant in a recent year), Junior Achievement of South Texas, various Texas chapters of the dropout prevention organization Communities in Schools, and KIPP Aspire Academy, which received $200,000 in a recent year and many more. In 2020, he gave $3 million to the University of Texas at San Antonio to establish the Harvey E. Najim Innovation and Career Advancement Center.
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: Grantees include special education school The Arc of San Antonio, Any Baby Can Austin and Any Baby Can San Antonio, which offer a wide variety of services for families of children with chronic illness or disability; Kinetic Kids, which provides therapy services to children with special needs; and Autism Community Network.
LOOKING FORWARD: Najim prioritizes children and youth in Greater San Antonio and has contributed $84 million to his foundation since its inception. Najim has pledged another $125 million to the foundation within three to five years. In 2015, he added $41 million of that amount to the foundation's funds.
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