The Kimsey Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1996 by James Kimsey, who was the co-founder and first chairman of America Online (AOL). Based in Washington D.C., the foundation provides grants primarily for community development, education, and international cooperation to reduce human suffering. The foundation’s primary focus is on educational and cultural initiatives, building thriving communities that offer hope and opportunity to youth. It also serves the international community through policy research and humanitarian outreach.
The Kimsey Foundation has narrowed its focus to a few specific projects that leverage systemic change in public education and community development. The foundation emphasizes educational and cultural initiatives and building enduring, livable communities that offer hope and opportunity to youth. The foundation also supports studies that identify global interdependencies and the United States’ role as an engaged world leader.
The Kimsey Foundation is committed to educating, strengthening, and serving the global community. It supports educational and cultural initiatives for young people, with an emphasis on the delivery of quality, community-based programs that benefit economically disadvantaged youth. The foundation aims to build enduring, livable communities at home and abroad while alleviating human suffering and facilitating a collective response to conditions that give rise to human tragedy.
The Kimsey Foundation also serves Washington D.C. through a variety of educational programs aimed at providing opportunities for students and improving the District’s education system. The foundation’s initiatives aim to improve educational outcomes, ensure that Washington D.C.’s children receive the academic preparation and community support needed to succeed in life, encourage positive change, and stimulate creative expression.
One of the foundation’s initiatives is the Kimsey Athletic Center at West Point, established in 1995 by James Kimsey. The foundation also funded internships for military academy students through the Kimsey Scholarship. Cadets and midshipmen from West Point, the Air Force Academy, and the Naval Academy were competitively selected to serve in significant offices of government, such as the Supreme Court, State Department, and Congress, through the scholarship.
The Kimsey Foundation also serves the international community through policy research and humanitarian outreach. It supports Refugees International, an independent advocacy group that works to protect refugees and end the cause of displacement. The foundation also served as a member of the board of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and as a Senior Fellow to the Department of Defense Business Board.
In 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell named James Kimsey Chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons, an organization dedicated to identifying hundreds of thousands of missing from conflicts and natural disasters worldwide through DNA research. Kimsey received Presidential appointments to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and the West Point Board of Visitors.
Kimsey died in McLean, Virginia, of cancer in 2016 at the age of 76. He had three sons, and his philanthropy includes the Kimsey Athletic Center at West Point. Kimsey’s legacy lives on through the Kimsey Foundation, which continues to support educational and cultural initiatives and building enduring, livable communities that offer hope and opportunity to youth.
About Jim Kimsey
James Verlin Kimsey, born on September 15, 1939, was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of America Online (AOL), an online service company. Before founding AOL, Kimsey had a successful career in the military, serving as an Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, where he earned various awards for his service and valor. In July 2005, Kimsey was inducted into the U.S. Army Rangers Hall of Fame, and in 2008, he received the Distinguished Graduate Award for Outstanding Service to the Nation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
After retiring from the military, Kimsey bought a building in downtown Washington, D.C. and built and opened a bar known as The Exchange, becoming successful and opening other bars in the 1970s. In May 1983, he was brought in as a manufacturing consultant for Control Video Corporation (CVC), which later became Quantum Computer Services, with co-founders Kimsey as CEO, Marc Seriff as CTO, and Steve Case. Quantum Computer Services was later reorganized as AOL. Kimsey served as CEO until 1995, when Steve Case took the helm.
Kimsey was also known for his philanthropic endeavors. He served as Chairman Emeritus of Refugees International, a member of the board of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and a Senior Fellow to the Department of Defense Business Board. He was a member of the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress, and in 2010, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Kimsey to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board. His philanthropic endeavors also included the Kimsey Athletic Center at West Point, which he established in 1995. He also funded internships for military academy students through the Kimsey Scholarship.
Kimsey received Presidential appointments to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and the West Point Board of Visitors. In 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell named Kimsey as Chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons, an organization dedicated to identifying hundreds of thousands of missing from conflicts and natural disasters around the world, through DNA research. One of the office buildings on the former AOL Campus in Ashburn Virginia, now an office for Verizon Media, is named The James Kimsey Center in his honor.
Kimsey died of cancer on March 1, 2016, at the age of 76. He had three grown sons, and resided in McLean, Virginia. He established The Kimsey Foundation in 1995, which included the Kimsey Athletic Center at West Point. In 2000, Kimsey purchased Marden House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, for $2.5 million.
References:
