Edmund and Barbara Hajim
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Furman Selz; finance executive
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Health Services & Healthcare, Arts & Culture, Conservation, Preservation, Recreation
OVERVIEW: Edmund and Barbara Hajim move their philanthropy through the Hajim Family Foundation, which makes grants to organizations that promote education, health services, health care, arts, culture, conservation, preservation and recreation. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded just over $286,000 in grants in 2017. Edmund Hajim has given particularly strong support to alma mater University of Rochester—the family has provided more than 200 scholarships to deserving students.
BACKGROUND: Born in Los Angeles, Edmund A. Hajim received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Hajim served in the U.S. Navy and the Naval Reserve; his first civilian job was as an applications research engineer. He held leadership positions at Capital Group, Inc., E.F. Hutton & Co., Lehman Securities and Lehman Management. In 1983, Hajim joined Furman Selz LLC as chairman and later became CEO. In 2010, he joined Diker Management LLC as president of the employee-owned investment management firm. He’s currently the chairman of HighVista Strategies
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: Hajim is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of University of Rochester. He gave a $30 million gift in support of engineering and applied sciences and created the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. The family has provided more than 200 scholarships to deserving students at the University of Rochester, Harvard Business School, University of Vermont, University of Denver, Westchester Community College, the Brunswick School and Middlesex School. The forces here are personal, as Hajim pursued his studies at University of Rochester on a Naval ROTC scholarship. Barbara was once the fund-raising director for the Brunswick School in Greenwich. Another important grantee is Horatio Alger Association, where Hajim sits on the board; he received a 2015 Horatio Alger Award.
HEALTH SERVICES & HEALTHCARE: Grantees have included Episcopal Charities New York, Fountain House, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Autism Speaks, Ocean Reef Medical Center Foundation, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
ARTS & CULTURE: Hajim is an avid golfer and is on the board of Nantucket Golf Club, a course he built with a group of investors and continues to support. The family has a vacation home on the island. Other grantees have included Artist Association of Nantucket, Central Park Conservancy, Nantucket Atheneum, and Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater.
CONSERVATION: The couple supports Ocean Reef Cultural Center in Florida. Other grantees have included Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: The family has ties to several geographic areas including New York City, Florida, Nantucket, and Colorado. Expect their support of education, in particular, to continue.
CONTACT:
The Hajim Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
The Hajim Family Foundation
c/o CBIZ MHM 1065 Avenue of Americas
New York, NY 10018
