OVERVIEW: The Robert A. Fox Family Foundation supports the blind and visually impaired, workforce development, education, poverty-fighting efforts and vision and literacy screenings in California and beyond.
FUNDING AREAS: The blind and visually impaired, workforce development, education, poverty-fighting efforts, vision and literacy screenings
IP TAKE: Pitch an idea to this funder about how to make local communities more inclusive of people with vision issues, especially those that come from low-income backgrounds.
PROFILE: Established in 2017, the Robert A. Fox Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Santa Monica, California. Robert A. Fox held top leadership roles at Foster Farms, Revlon International, Clark Hooper America, Continental Can, Nabisco, Del Monte and other companies. Other Fox family members serve as foundation board members and leadership staff too. The foundation aims to "provide the most vulnerable and under-resourced populations, especially people who are blind or visually impaired, with equal opportunity to thrive in their schools, careers, and communities.” Its grantmaking supports local efforts for workforce development, education, poverty-fighting efforts and vision and literacy screenings.
Grants for Public Health, Disabilities and Economic Development
The Robert A. Fox Family Foundation is mostly concerned with people who are blind and have vision loss because these individuals are vulnerable and affected often by poverty. It conducts related grantmaking through its Data for Inclusion program, which invests in “open research projects which (i) identify challenges, available interventions and probable solutions in Eye Care fields; and (ii) expose the barriers blind and visually impaired populations face in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) degree attainment and non-bachelor tech occupations that are vital to increasing inclusion at the employment level.” In contrast, the foundation awards organizations working to close the gap between low-income and those who are low-vision or blind through its Inclusion Innovation program. As well, the latter program helps support people with low-vision or who are blind live independently and conduct lucrative lives.
Grants for Education
K-12 and STEM
The foundation conducts education grants through its Exceptional Scholars program, funding K-16 schools, teachers and students who are visually disabled or work with the blind. The foundation also awards STEM education grants, benefitting organizations addressing the exposure of barriers the blind face in attaining STEM degrees, through its Data for Inclusion program.
Grantmaking Insights
Grants range between about $10,000 and $50,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking largely focuses on the state of California; however, other grants extend to additional parts of the country. Past local grantees include Vista Center, the USC Roski Eye Institute and Project ECHO.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant pre-applications from nonprofits. Grantseekers should complete the foundation’s online pre-application form, which should only take about five minutes. Direct general questions to the staff at 424-234-3669.
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