SOURCE OF WEALTH: Hudson River Trading, Chaincode Labs
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Human Services, Global
OVERVIEW: Alex and Amanda Morcos move their philanthropy through the 2A Foundation. Available tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded $2.26 million in grants in 2017. Morcos supports his alma mater MIT as well as other educational institutions. STEM education is an interest. Other grants go to human services and more.
BACKGROUND: Alex Morcos graduated from MIT in 1997 with degrees in mathematics and computer science. He was one of the early pioneers of automated trading and co-founded Hudson River Trading in 2002, where he spent a decade working to make markets more efficient and improve market structure. In 2014 he co-founded Chaincode Labs, whose mission is to support and develop Bitcoin and other peer-to-peer decentralized systems.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Morcos supports his alma mater MIT, including its math department renovation fund. Morcos also made a six-figure contribution to the MIT Bitcoin Club. That gift, with other donors, allotted $100 in bitcoin to each MIT undergraduate. The couple have also supported Duke University, Greensboro Day School, Texas A&M Foundation, NYC Foundation for Computer Science Education, New York Math Circle, and NC School of Science & Mathematics Foundation. Morcos attended NC School of Science & Mathematics.
HUMAN SERVICES: Amanda has sat on the board of City Harvest, which the couple supports. Other grantees have included Bowery Mission and Robin Hood Foundation.
GLOBAL: Funds go to Doctors Without Borders, The Project on Middle East Democracy, and CARE, which works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.
OTHER: The family directs money to a donor advised fund within Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund. Support has gone to animal organizations including Best Friends Animal Society. Other grantees include NY Presbyterian Hospital, Central Park Conservancy, and ACLU.
LOOKING FORWARD: Still young and very engaged in business, Morcos should be watched for greater giving down the line. His work in the nascent cryptocurrency space may be significant, should he make gifts similar to the MIT Bitcoin Club gift.
CONTACT:
The 2A Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact but below is an address:
2A Foundation
1375 Broadway, Fl 16 c/o Anchin
New York, NY 10018
LINKS:
