Christopher M. James
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Partner Fund Management, Andor Capital Management
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Arts & Culture, Environment, Poverty
OVERVIEW: Chris James and his family conduct their philanthropy through the James Family Foundation, which supports scholarships, health, and anti-poverty causes, among others. According to available tax filings, the foundation gave away around $530,000 in 2017. James chairs the board of Tipping Point Community.
BACKGROUND: Christopher M. James graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tulane University. His career began at JGM Management in the early 1990s. He was also an analyst at Ethos Capital and Moore Capital, as well as a managing director at Pequot Capital. In 2004, he co-founded Andor Capital Management. He serves as the managing partner and portfolio manager for Partner Fund Management’s diversified and global strategies.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The James Family Foundation runs a scholarship program for out-of-state students seeking to attend Tulane, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke, RISD, Stanford, or any Ivy League school.
It also supports students within natural resource conservation and/or environmental studies at schools including Colorado State University, Montana State University, Utah State University, University of Wyoming, Michigan State University, Penn State and Cornell.
HEALTH: James has steadily supported the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN), funding an innovation award for bladder cancer research. Other grantees include Alzheimer’s Association.
ARTS & CULTURE: Grantees include SFJazz, Bay Area Discovery Museum, and SFMOMA.
ENVIRONMENT: James and family, via their foundation, also support environmental organizations like Sustainable Conservation and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
POVERTY: James chairs the board of Tipping Point Community, which addresses poverty in the Bay Area. Other grantees include the Acumen Fund, “a nonprofit that raises charitable donations to invest in companies, leaders, and ideas that are changing the way the world tackles poverty.”
LOOKING FORWARD: James can be expected to stick with his established interest areas.
CONTACT:
A recent 990 indicates that submission deadlines are in April. Applicants must include a transcript, a personal statement, 2 teacher recommendations, 1 recommendation from a community member, and a signed scholarship agreement form. Applications should be submitted to the following address
James Family Foundation
c/o Laura Alford
38 Miller Avenue, PMB#114
Mill Valley, CA 94941
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