Jeff and Karen Miller
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Venture capital, tech startups
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Environment, Arts, Veterans
OVERVIEW: Jeff and Karen Miller support American Prairie Reserve, a Montana-based nonprofit that grew out of a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conservation effort in the Montana Glaciated Plains. Miller serves on the board of directors of American Prairie Reserve. The Millers have given modest but steady support to various organizations across the Bay Area. The couple have also been major supporters of Miller's alma mater, Santa Clara University, making a recent $25 million grant that renamed the Center for Science, Technology, and Society as the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship.
BACKGROUND: Jeff Miller was born in the Bay Area. Miller earned his B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from Santa Clara University in 1973 and his MBA in 1976. Miller worked at Intel, where he met his wife, Karen. Miller was also a venture partner with Redpoint Ventures, where he mentored CEOs of enterprise and infrastructure software companies. He was also CEO of Documentum, an enterprise document management software company, from 1993 to 2001. Miller is currently the president of JAMM Ventures, a business consulting company.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: The Millers are major donors of Santa Clara University, making a recent $25 million grant to the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Miller is a trustee at Santa Clara and serves on the center's advisory board, which he has chaired since 2011. Apart from Miller's alma mater, the couple has also supported Loyola Marymount University.
ENVIRONMENT: The Millers have been steady supporters of American Prairie Reserve, where Miller serves on the board of directors. Based in Montana, the reserve's main focus is "to create the largest nature reserve in the continental United States."
OTHER: Other grantees have included SF MOMA and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the Tech Museum, KQED, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Millers have talked about the global impact of social entrepreneurship, and it is certainly an element in their latest $25 million gift to Santa Clara University. Miller and members of the center have traveled abroad to see the impact of their work, with the goal to help companies positively impact the lives of 1 billion people by 2020. Perhaps more global development work is down the road for this funder.
CONTACT:
The Millers' foundation doesn't have a website or any means for grantseekers to get in touch, but you can refer to the address below.
The Miller Family Foundation
11100 Santa Monica Blvd., No. 600
Los Angeles, CA 90025
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