“Forty years on…”
2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the Frey Foundation, and that’s cause for both celebration and contemplation. It brings to mind Britain’s Harrow School and its students’ song, Forty Years On, in which they contemplate what it will be like looking back forty years after graduation. The Frey Foundation has reached that milestone and the view in both directions is remarkable!
Our late parents Ed and “Tollie” Frey created this foundation in 1974 and handed it to the second generation in 1988-89 at their passing. Because they intentionally did not leave a rigid road map for the future of the foundation, moving it from a “pass-through” to permanently endowed operating status required challenging conversations, cooperation and commitment to shared principles and purpose. The process forged sibling bonds and created a…
“Collaboration embraces a healthy exchange of ideas.”
Foundations have the greatest impact when they take the initiative to seek out issues and help support new directions in community development. During the past 40 years the Frey Foundation has done just that, supporting major community projects in downtown Grand Rapids, preserving precious watersheds, farmlands and forests in Northwest Michigan, and supporting a systemic approach for school readiness in young children. Now, through the process of strategic planning the Frey Foundation is taking a fresh look at our program areas and governance, and the insights we’ve gained are bringing a new, exciting dynamic to our work.
Of all we’ve learned in this process, one central observation is this: the Foundation’s funding is most effective when we have clear, well-defined priorities that are paired with a high degree of…
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