Ken Griffin Offers $10M in Perks to Steer Citadel Employees Into Philanthropy

Company perks can range from commuter benefits and free meals to on-site gyms and pet insurance. At Ken Griffin’s Citadel, the company now also offers a program that encourages employees to join nonprofit boards, backed by personal gifts from Griffin himself. The initiative provides nonprofits with checks of up to $20,000 when Citadel employees take on board roles, as first reported by Bloomberg. Griffin’s funding helps cover required board donations and is paired with additional resources, including governance training and nonprofit matching.

“Our people are driven to make a difference,” said Julia Quinn, Citadel’s director of philanthropy, in a statement to Observer. “By empowering employees to engage more deeply in their communities and giving them the tools and resources to do it well, we are developing the next generation of civic leaders and strengthening organizations and communities over the long term.”

Citadel’s Community Leaders program, launched last year, has already attracted more than 350 sign-ups and is expanding beyond the U.S. to Citadel’s global offices. To date, Griffin has committed more than $10 million to support the effort.

While the program is designed to encourage employees to deepen their civic and philanthropic engagement, it also addresses a persistent challenge for nonprofits: recruiting active, fundraising board members. More than 70 percent of nonprofit leaders say they struggle to get board members to participate in fundraising, according to a 2024 report from NonProfit PRO.

The initiative adds to Griffin’s long track record of philanthropy. The Citadel founder, whose net worth is estimated at $50.5 billion, has donated more than $2 billion over the past few decades to causes spanning education and medicine. His largest gifts include $300 million pledged to Harvard University, a joint $400 million donation to Memorial Sloan Kettering alongside fellow billionaire David Geffen, and $15 million to the National Constitution Center, a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.

The charitable interests of Citadel employees span universities and local community organizations focused on health, the arts, and anti-poverty efforts. Nonprofits that have benefited from the Community Leaders program include Mount Sinai, the New York Piano Society, Serpentine Galleries, Minds Matter NYC, Lotus House and Harlem Lacrosse.

Griffin’s direct financial involvement makes the program relatively unusual, but Citadel is not alone in using workplace perks to spur philanthropy. Other corporations have rolled out benefits to support employees’ nonprofit involvement.

Microsoft and Apple, for example, match employee donations up to $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. Both companies pledge $25 for every hour an employee volunteers. Chevron allows staff to apply for $500 grants for every 20 volunteer hours served, in addition to offering a matching-gifts program.