Civic Leadership

Students who take AP Computer Science Principles in high school are more than 3 times as likely to major in computer science in college. Yet many minority students lack access to Computer Science education, contributing to underrepresentation in fields that rely upon these skills.

With $2.75 million in support from our firm and our colleagues, 500 more high schools with significant Black student populations across the United States will be able to offer AP Computer Science Principles. By bringing new students into these courses, we aim to broaden interest and participation in STEM fields among historically underrepresented students across the country.

Amid the growing crisis of COVID-19, our firm’s partners committed over $50 million to global relief and recovery. To accelerate international vaccine development, they supported the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and partnered with hospitals to fund critical COVID-19 research. They were also instrumental in architecting Operation Warp Speed’s life-saving vaccine development strategies to save hundreds of millions of lives. As our founder and CEO Ken Griffin emphasized, “Gearing up to manufacture vaccines without knowing whether they’d work was critical.”

Our partners supported humanitarian responses globally, and worked with the U.S. State Department to repatriate 800 Americans from Wuhan, China.

To combat discrimination and create opportunities for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, our firm and our colleagues helped launch the The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). “I’m proud to be a co-founder and equally proud that colleagues from Citadel and Citadel Securities are pledging more than $40 million to this new initiative,” said Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao.

TAAF has already raised $250 million to support its three key goals: applying data and research to help Asian Americans realize the American dream, ensuring community safety and educating Americans about Asian American heritage, culture and achievements.

We are proud to be headquartered in Miami, one of the most innovative, vibrant and dynamic places in the world. In 2022, with a $5 million leadership gift from the firm’s founder and CEO Ken Griffin, Miami launched a first-of-its-kind public-private initiative that is redefining emergency preparedness and resilience for coastal cities.

The Miami Disaster Resilience Fund provides nonprofits with resources to enhance preparation and accelerate response and recovery efforts in the event of a disaster. The Fund supports nonprofits focused on the city’s sustainable future. Mayor Levine-Cava noted that it will help prepare for disasters by “increasing capacity and deepening coordination and collaboration across sectors.”

To provide students with opportunities to get the best education possible, regardless of economic circumstance, our CEO and Founder Ken Griffin established the Griffin Scholars Fund. This $150 million gift to support financial aid at Harvard College will help to sustain Harvard’s need-blind admissions policy for future generations. Griffin described it as “an investment in the next generation of leaders as we continue to break down barriers to an outstanding education.”

The fund has made more than 1,000 financial aid awards since its inception in 2016, encouraging alumni and friends to support the financial aid program through matching funds.