Why GiveDonors

For some, it’s the desire to honor someone or someplace that had a profound impact on their lives . For others, it’s wanting to ensure that others have an opportunity to experience something that they otherwise would not have . Yet others feel an obligation, or a calling to use their success to make a positive impact .

For Jim and Amy Chapman, it’s a combination of all three, and more.

Jim grew up in Wisconsin and discovered Miami through a good friend, Jim Lockman, who was a Miami student and invited him to a local alumni meeting . He recalled, “I just thought it was so much fun . They raved about the business school, and how accepted it was in the Milwaukee area . My parents took me on a trip to Miami . I loved the school and made the decision that of the four schools to which I applied, Miami was the school I wanted to go to .”

Amy grew up in Ohio and got to know Miami through her next-door neighbor who invited her to Little Sibs weekend, where she, too, fell in love with the school . Both entered as business majors – Jim in 1968 with an interest in finance, and Amy in 1977 in marketing . A class with the legendary Bruce Olson sparked Jim’s interest in the bond market . “The class led me to a career in managing and later trading fixed income securities . It really started with Doc O” .

Although Amy enjoyed marketing, it didn’t turn into a career path . “I didn’t end up doing anything with marketing . I became a paralegal after Miami .”

In 1990, Jim and two partners started Meuse, Rinker & Chapman . “Three of us were doing investment banking and trading and selling of fixed-income securities . We grew the firm from three people to about 50 people and added a real estate department . Amy was hired to be a paralegal .

Jim didn’t know Amy, but knew that she was a Miami grad and invited her to a Miami event being held nearby . The rest, as they say, is history They were married less than six months later . This year they will mark their 38th wedding anniversary . Two of their three children, son Matt and daughter Brynne, are Miami grads .

“The client challenge has definitely been the most formative experience for me as a freshman in the business school. It's been a challenge, but I also think it's highlighted all the strengths that could not be highlighted in other programs,” NIKKI WHITE ‘25 SAID. “It's something that's really unique to Miami and it's really made my freshman year experience and made me love the Farmer School even more.”

But the decision to make charitable giving central in their lives predates Jim and Amy’s meeting . The concept came from Jim’s business partner, David Meuse . The partners got together for a dinner and Meuse declared, ‘We’re going to give 10% of our profits every year to charity.’ At the time, Jim wasn’t financially secure, and the firm needed capital, so he wasn’t 100% sold on the concept and thought that waiting a few years might be sensible .

“The first year in 1981, we actually lost money, but in 1982, we had a great year . The three of us sat down over breakfast and we gave over $100,000 to charity . We all picked ones that we were near and dear to us . It really changed my life . It felt so good, especially to give it when I couldn’t really afford to give it .”

It felt so good in fact, that in addition to the firm’s giving, Jim and Amy have done the same thing personally, donating a significant amount every year . As Jim explained, “Because Miami provided such a wonderful base for the two of us, Miami has actually been the number one beneficiary of our charitable dollars .” Amy’s experience and passion for volunteering with at-risk children and families experiencing homelessness makes those two more key beneficiaries of the Chapmans’ financial support .

Amy added, “Jim and I have a philosophy that it’s our responsibility to give back to the community in ways that we can because we have been blessed.”