F. M. Kirby Foundation
MORRISTOWN May 20, 2022
Following a recent meeting of the Board of Directors, the F. M. Kirby Foundation announced that 83 grants totaling $6.1 million were made in the first four months of 2022 to nonprofit organizations working to foster self-reliance and create strong, healthy communities throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, as well as national nonprofits largely based in Washington, D.C. and New York City.
Early 2022 grantmaking included continued COVID-19 recovery support and increased contributions to long-term partner organizations in the fields of arts and humanities, education, environment, health and medicine, human services, public policy, and religion. The Foundation also welcomed several new grantees and initiatives, including El Futuro of Durham, N.C.; Young Audiences New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania of Princeton, N.J.; and the Fund for the Central Adirondacks, hosted by the Adirondack Foundation. Additionally, the Foundation awarded a $75,000 grant to the Americares Foundation, Inc. in support of their humanitarian crisis response in Ukraine.
Most of the grants awarded will provide general operating support, giving these organizations the flexibility to decide where funds are needed to best support their missions. “As our non-profit partners work to recover from the pandemic, address staffing challenges, and build capacity for the challenges ahead, general operating support is critical,” stated Justin Kiczek, Executive Director. “Unrestricted funding demonstrates our trust in non-profit leaders and staff to deploy their own resources strategically.”
Board Chair Laura H. Virkler expanded on this, “With steady support for local organizations, our grantmaking thus far in 2022 represents the tried-and-true principles of this Foundation’s 91-year history, while also demonstrating our commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. As we look to build up under-resourced communities, like Hamilton County in the Adirondacks, we are also supporting groundbreaking research at institutions like Boston Children’s Hospital and helping the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship educate the next generation of inventors and problem-solvers.”
A full listing of 2021 grants and additional funding docket summaries can be found here.
About the F. M. Kirby Foundation:
The F. M. Kirby Foundation is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Endowed in 1931 by Fred Morgan Kirby, one of the founders of the F.W. Woolworth Company, it was designed to continue in perpetuity through generations of the family. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded nearly $750 million in grants. Five Kirby family members, currently spanning two generations, serve on the Board, as well as two non-family directors.