The James Family Charitable Foundation

OVERVIEW: The James Family Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Blackstone COO Hamilton James and his wife Amabel. The foundation's environmental grantmaking includes land and fisheries conservation.

IP TAKE: The foundation keeps a low profile and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals.

PROFILE: The James Family Charitable Foundation, founded by Hamilton E. James and his wife Amabel, was created after Hamilton spent 25 years at investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and is currently COO and president of Blackstone Group in New York. Hamilton James sits on several key environmental organizations, including Wildlife Conservation Society and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He also serves as vice chair of Trout Unlimited’s Coldwater Conservation Fund. Tax filings suggest an interest in environmental conservation work, but without a website, it is unclear what strategies the foundation uses in this area of grantmaking.

Grants for Environmental Conservation

Past grantees include Alliance for the Great Lakes, American Prairie Reserve, Classical American Home Preservation, Conservation Resource Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, Rainforest Trust, Montana Land Reliance, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Central Park Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Hamilton James has also shown an interest in government environmental policy investing in environmental policy organizations like League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, which "works to turn environmental values into national, state and local priorities."

James is a trustee of Wildlife Conservation Society, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and serves as vice chair of Trout Unlimited’s Coldwater Conservation Fund. Supporting select environmental organizations is a top interest of this funder. The James couple has also supported Alliance for the Great Lakes, American Prairie Reserve, Classical American Home Preservation, Conservation Resource Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, Global Coral Reef Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Grants for Higher Education

This funder makes educations grants for schools with which the family is affiliated in same way, with a few outliers. James supports his schools, Harvard and Choate Rosemary Hall. Harvard is home to a professorship in Amabel's name. The couple has also supported Amabel's alma mater, Wellesley College, as well as Bard College, Antioch College, Garrison Forest School (Where Amabel serves on the board), The Brearley School, USC, and Collegiate School. Garrison Forest is home to the James Center.

Grants for Arts and Culture

James is a trustee of the Met, and chairman emeritus of the board of American Ballet Theatre. The couple has also supported Jazz at Lincoln Center, MoMA, Second Stage Theater, and Stark Naked Theatre Company.

Grants for Health

The foundation’s health grants support a broady strategy invested in large, established organizations, like hospitals and disease research institutions, that can scale. The foundation has supported Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Northern Michigan Hospital Foundation. James is a trustee of Mount Sinai Health System.

Important Grant Details:

Conservation grants tend to be under $100,000 but a few exceed that number annually.

Important Grant Information

The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

The James Family Charitable Foundation
615 W. Mount Pleasant Ave.
Livingston, NJ 07039
Telephone: (973) 994-9122