Foster-Davis Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Foster-Davis Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, the environment, and health.
IP TAKE: The foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts transparency about grantmaking strategies and guidelines.
PROFILE: Established in 1966, the Foster-Davis Foundation is steered by lawyer Foster Bam and family. Foster Bam graduated from Yale University in 1950 and received his L.L.B. from Yale in 1953. He joined Cummings & Lockwood, where he made partner at the Greenwich law firm.
The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest that the Foster-Davis Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, the environment and health.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
This foundation’s education grants are broad and tend to support organizations with which the family has a personal conneciton. Bam supports his alma mater Yale University. Grantmaking has also supported Dartmouth College, Bam son-in-law’s alma mater. Other grantees have included Northfield Mount Hermon School, and Solebury School. Beyond personal ties, education grantmaking does not appear to have a targeted grantmaking approach.
Grants for Conservation
As with other areas of grantmaking, conservation grants are broad in scope and typically support organizations that the family is affiliated with. However, environmental conservation grantmaking tends to be more diversified and invests in a wide range of conservation issues — from conservation to wildlife.
Foster Bam is a member of the board of the American Museum of Fly Fishing and a life trustee of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Wife Sallie is on the board of Greenwich Audubon Center. The family has supported places like Environmental Defense Fund, Rainforest Alliance, and Atlantic Salmon Federation.
Grants for Health and Science Research
Health giving addresses local hospitals, as well as disease research — including neurological diseases. Grantees have included Norwalk Hospital Foundation, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and Steadman Philippon Research Institute, which deals with “orthopedic research and education in arthritis, healing, rehabilitation, and injury prevention.”
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between $500 and $200,000. In a recent year, the foundation gave away around $777,000.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records.
Grantmaking also addresses Connecticut, as well as other states like New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
Past local grantees include Yale University, Norwalk Hospital Foundation, Wilton Family YMCA, and Greenwich Emergency Services.
The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Foster-Davis Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 1669
Greenwich, CT 06836
(203) 571-1515
