Jamie Dimon and his wife, Judith, donate $12 million to 12 HBCUs—betting they’re the ‘springboard to success’ for the next generation

Jamie Dimon is well-known for his historic career as CEO of JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank, and for his hot takes on the economy, work culture, and geopolitics.

Less well known are his philanthropic efforts with his wife through their organization, The James and Judith K.

Dimon Foundation.

The foundation, which was established in 1996, doesn’t even have its own website, but according to ProPublica data , the private charitable organization donates millions of dollars each year to support education and economic mobility for young people.

Its most recent 990-PF form (the annual tax and information document for private foundations) shows that in 2024 the organization paid out more than $9 million across organizations mostly focused on public schools and career advancement.

On Aug.

20, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) announced The James and Judith K.

Dimon Foundation had donated $12 million to 12 historically Black colleges and universities.

The gift establishes The Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity, and is part of UNCF’s $1.5 billion capital campaign.

It’ll provide permanent endowment capital to the selected schools as part of their $5 million institutional match from UNCF’s pooled endowment fund.

“Our system of HBCUs continue to serve as the springboard to success for thousands of students in pursuit of the American Dream,” Jamie and Judith Dimon said in a joint statement.

“As the children of first-generation high school and college graduates, we were imbued with a thirst for knowledge and a drive to succeed—principles that we have passed on to our own children and that we wish to share with all the students at the selected HBCUs.” What HBCUs are receiving funding from the Dimons? The selected HBCUs for this round of donations include: Benedict College (Columbia, S.C.) Dillard University (New Orleans) Edward Waters University (Jacksonville, Fla.) Huston-Tillotson University (Austin) Jarvis Christian University (Hawkins, Texas) Johnson C.

Smith University (Charlotte) Miles College (Fairfield, Ala.) Oakwood University (Huntsville, Ala.) Shaw University (Raleigh, N.C.) Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Ala.) Voorhees University (Denmark, S.C) UNCF said the 12 schools were selected for their leadership and their records preparing teachers, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, which are the high-demand fields where HBCUs punch above their weight for first-generation students.

Rather than funding a single program, the donation from the Dimons flows into permanent endowments, which UNCF argues gives schools the freedom to plan for decades instead of scrambling to find donations year to year.