Our foundation honors Frieda C. Fox, an accomplished teacher, artist, and musician who was the first in her family to attend college in the 1920’s. Throughout her life, she inspired a love of learning, self-expression, and compassion within her family and community. Through this foundation, four generations of her family hope to do the same.
The Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation’s mission is to maximize the potential of children and youth in our communities. Our greater family vision is that all children should enjoy strong and effective learning environments that encourage their talent, creativity, and excellence, irrespective of their families’ socio-economic circumstances.
Founded in 1999 by Alan C. Fox and Daveen Fox, the foundation began making grants for education in 2003, and over the past decade has become known for its venture funding of innovative projects and its ‘beyond the check’ service, delivering high engagement, pro-bono non-financial assistance to grantees and programs we incubate. The Foundation is currently completing a strategic planning process to inform its next decade of work.
Alan C. Fox made it a priority for young members of his family (starting at age 8) to be involved in the Foundation. In his words,
“I want to help young kids in our family and the communities we serve because they are the most susceptible to intervention and it lasts longer. Kids have amazing energy and ideas that must be tapped into!”
Alan’s daughter, Ingrid, was 13 when the foundation was formed in 1999 and was involved from the beginning. When she was 19 she became a board member and helped start the Foundation’s formal Junior Board (for those ages 8-18).
“The Foundation’s mission — to maximize the potential of youth — resonates with me as it has been ingrained in me as a person and is important to my parents and was important to my grandmother, Frieda C. Fox. I want to contribute to the lives of young people to help them succeed.”