Meet Our Donors
James “Jim” Kimmel, MBA ’74
A Giving Strategy that Honors His Grandfather’s Legacy
Finance professional James “Jim” Kimmel, MBA ’74 understands the value of philanthropy. Since establishing a scholarship in honor of his grandfather – the former chief of staff at Hahnemann Hospital – he has used four charitable gift annuities and a bequest pledge to ensure that future medical students can carry on his grandfather’s legacy.
As a private wealth advisor and international banking pro, James “Jim” Kimmel, MBA ’74 worked with companies around the world and high-net-worth clients. Today, Jim brings that financial prowess to his philanthropy, supporting Drexel University in ways that are both deeply personal and intentionally diverse.
Jim’s Drexel roots began long before he was born. His grandfather and namesake, Walter James Blackburn, MD, was the chief of staff at Hahnemann Hospital – partner to Hahnemann Medical College, a predecessor to Drexel’s College of Medicine – in the early 1900s. In 1966, Jim set out to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps at Swarthmore College, but he found that medicine was not his forte. Instead, he earned his degree in economics. During the subsequent four years, he served in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, became a bank examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and, finally, acquired his MBA from the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business at night.
“Drexel was a good school with good academics and good flexibility,” Jim says. “It gave me a strong foundation for my career – lessons in business, banking, commerce, international finance, accounting and more.”
For four decades, Jim drew upon that foundation in leadership roles at Citibank, Alex Brown and Sons, and Morgan Stanley. Though he is now semi-retired in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he still exercises his financial expertise. He mentors emerging entrepreneurs, supports seed funds and gives back to Drexel in multiple meaningful ways.
In honor of his grandfather’s time at Hahnemann Hospital, Jim established the Dr. Walter James Blackburn Scholarship for Drexel medical students. He says, “My grandfather was always a doctor and always had his office at Broad Street and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia. That connection to medicine and the community mean a lot to me, so I made the scholarship in honor of him.”
To support both the scholarship and the Mario’s Market Food Pantry, which combats on-campus food insecurity, Jim has used stock and created several charitable gift annuities (CGAs). Why CGAs? He explains, “As a finance guy and a retiree, I appreciate income. And a CGA provides three things: 1) A gift to Drexel, 2) A one-time tax deduction upfront and 3) Fixed income. Of course, the driving factor is the gift. But the tax benefits and stream of income are better than other alternatives, so why wouldn’t you give that way?”
Even after establishing four CGAs, Jim further deepened his commitment to Drexel in 2023 by making a bequest pledge to the Dr. Walter James Blackburn Scholarship.
Jim’s philanthropy is one-of-a-kind: rooted in finance, focused on medicine and food security, and realized by multiple giving methods. It reflects the same spirit of breadth and purpose that defines Drexel today. More deeply, though, it speaks to the legacy of his grandfather, a man whose life of service to the community inspired Jim’s journey and now, through Jim’s generosity, will inspire generations of medical students to come.