Benjamin Franklin Trust

Established in 1790 in Philadelphia. Transferred in part to Chester County Community Foundation in 1995.

Mission Statement

Ben Franklin once wrote: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” We at the Community Foundation know that a 200+ year-old endowment fund is definitely “worth the writing.”

Franklin was a scientist, an inventor, and philosopher. Franklin was a musician, an economist, a postmaster, and editor. He was also a statesman, a printer, and a philanthropist. Yes, Benjamin Franklin was an all-around overachiever and legacy-leaver, and 200+ years later we remain the beneficiaries of his innovations and foresight. Indeed, Franklin’s legacy has taken many shapes: bifocals, the lightening rod, the odometer, and even swim-fins. We have Franklin to thank for America’s first fire company, insurance company, and public lending library.

One of Franklin’s lesser known contributions is the legacy he left in June 1789, just one year before his death. Today it is the Chester County Community Foundation’s oldest endowment fund: the Benjamin Franklin Trust.

 

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For more information, contact:
Karen Simmons, President/CEO at (610) 696-8845
or
Stephenie D. Stevens, Grants & Outreach Officer at (610) 696-0501.

 

All meetings are confidential and informational in nature.