KRFrench Family Foundation

The KRFrench Family Foundation is the private grantmaking foundation of economist Kenneth French and his wife Vickie French. The Foundation makes donations to educational, humanitarian, and health organizations and is a consistent donor to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.  1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Formation:

2013

Board Chair:

Kenneth French

Location: Etna, NH View on map
Tax ID: 46-1592953
Most Recent Filing: 2025
Budget (2025): Assets: $128,320,387 Revenue: $1,492,337 Expenses: $1,485,481

Contents

    The Foundation reported over $29 million in assets in its 2023 tax filings.  2

    Grantmaking

    The KRFrench Family Foundation makes donations to organizations that support education, humanitarian efforts, and healthcare.  1

    In 2018, the Foundation established the KRFrench Family Scholars Program at the University of Rochester with a $5 million donation. The scholarship provides financial aid to students with high academic potential and demonstrated financial need within the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering department at the University, which is one of Kenneth French’s alma maters. The scholarship will offer preference to underrepresented minority students and first-generation college students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.  3

    In 2019, the KRFrench Family Foundation established the Kenneth R. French ’75 and Vickie A. French Endowed Scholarship Fund at Lehigh University with a $5 million donation. Kenneth French received his undergraduate degree from Lehigh. The fund will provide scholarships for four years of undergraduate study for five students per year, to be known as “French Scholars,” with preference given to underrepresented, first-generation college students. 4

    The KRFrench Family Foundation makes donations to organizations supporting public health and health care, including the Dartmouth Hitchcock Long Covid Clinic, the Maine Medical Center, the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, and Mass General Hospital. The Foundation is also a consistent donor to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and the International Rescue Committee, an international humanitarian aid, relief, development, and pro-migration NGO. 1

    Funding

    The KRFrench Family Foundation is funded by its board chair, Kenneth French, who in 2023 contributed over $17.6 million in mutual funds to the Foundation.  5

    Board of Directors

    Kenneth French is the chair of the board of the KRFrench Family Foundation and the Roth Family Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. French is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an advisory editor of the Journal of Financial Economics, a fellow of both the American Finance Association and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the advisory board of the International Rescue Committee. French is a former associate editor of both the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies, a former president of the American Finance Association, and a former member of the faculty of MIT‘s Sloan School of Management, the Yale School of Management, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 6

    Vickie French is the treasurer and secretary of the board and the wife of board chair Kenneth French.  7

    Donation Recipients

    Bates College (nonprofit)

    Cato Institute (nonprofit)

    Dartmouth College (nonprofit)

    Dartmouth Health (nonprofit)

    Dartmouth Hitchcock Long Covid Clinic (nonprofit)

    Grassroots Soccer (nonprofit)

    Harlem Children’s Zone (nonprofit)

    International Rescue Committee (nonprofit)

    Lehigh University (nonprofit)

    Maine Medical Center (nonprofit)

    Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (nonprofit)

    Mass General Hospital (nonprofit)

    Northern Forest Center (nonprofit)

    University of Rochester (nonprofit)

    Valpo Surf Project (nonprofit)

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $128,320,387 $1,492,337 $1,485,481 View
    2024 $117,141,470 $1,498,582 $1,907,095 View
    2023 $97,258,514 $18,969,877 $1,379,759 View
    2022 $67,678,298 $12,952,599 $701,077 View
    2021 $68,911,462 $11,960,130 $562,526 View
    2020 $47,934,209 $7,079,320 $1,088,142 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $11,133,738
    • Number of Grants: 56
    • Number of Recipients: 19

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $451,3972020 University of RochesterEducation
    $410,3932024 International Rescue Committee, Inc.HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION
    $370,2722020 Mary Hitchcock Memorial HospitalHEALTHCARE
    $356,4282022 University of RochesterEducation
    $354,9892023 Cato InstituteRESEARCH
    $267,5932024 Dartmouth-Hitchcock HealthHEALTH CARE
    $265,0002024 VALPO SURF PROJECT INCCOMMUNITY SUPPORT
    $250,0002023 Dartmouth CollegeEDUCATION
    $232,8172020 International Rescue Committee, Inc.Humanitarian
    $223,6552021 University of RochesterEducation
    $219,0562024 Waynflete SchoolEDUCATION
    $186,7942024 GRASSROOT SOCCER INCEDUCATION
    $158,4132022 Grassroot Soccer IncEDUCATION
    $154,9362022 Cato InstituteResearch
    $146,0882023 Mass General HospitalHEALTH CARE
    $117,5922024 Maine Medical CenterHEALTH CARE
    $117,5922024 Mass General HospitalHEALTH CARE
    $115,7262024 University of RochesterEDUCATION
    $109,5282024 Cato InstituteRESEARCH
    $89,6432023 International Rescue Committee, Inc.HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION
    $89,4672021 Grassroot Soccer IncEDUCATION
    $74,9762023 Grassroot Soccer IncEDUCATION
    $73,0242023 NORTHERN FOREST CENTER INCEDUCATION AND CONSERVATION
    $60,5992021 Cato InstituteResearch
    $58,8332024 Lehigh UniversityEDUCATION

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. KRFrench Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023.
    2. KRFrench Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part II, Line 16.
    3. Thompson, Kristine. “$5 million gift establishes the KRFrench Family Scholars Program.” University of Rochester, April 2018. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.rochester.edu/advancement/5-million-gift-establishes-the-krfrench-family-scholars-program/.
    4. “$5 Million French Scholarship Gift Increases Access to Lehigh.” Lehigh University. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://gocampaign.lehigh.edu/milestones/5-million-french-scholarship-gift-increases-access-to-lehigh.
    5. KRFrench Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Schedule B, Part II.
    6. “Kenneth R. French.” Dartmouth College, Accessed September 11, 2025. https://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/ken.French/biography.html.
    7. KRFrench Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2023, Part VII, Line 2.