When Tom and I founded The Motley Fool, we believed doing well and doing good could go hand in hand. While helping our members build personal wealth, we also worked to expand access—sharing guidance with a broader community so more people could tap into the power of the markets to fuel their dreams. From the start, we were optimistic Fools.
In 2012, we launched our first Foolathropy campaign. We solicited nominations of worthy nonprofit organizations from the greater Fool community. Submissions were scrutinized for their sustainability and ability to scale, the strength of their financials, and their ability to educate, amuse, and enrich the communities they served. The winning organizations received collective financial support from The Motley Fool and Fool members.
Together, we funded some great organizations: Co-op America, Half the Sky Foundation, The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and Room to Read, to name a few. We learned a great deal through Foolanthropy and thought it was a powerful idea. We also launched Fool School — our grassroots financial literacy courses taught to local school and community groups by our very own Foolish employees. With so many Fools willing to help in so many ways, we began to wonder—what if we scaled this impact?
We founded the Fool Community Foundation to build on what was learned. We recognized there were great organizations trying to help more Americans find a path to financial freedom—the ability to live their greatest financial selves. We also recognized the role technology could play in connecting our nation’s strivers to the guidance and encouragement of those who had achieved financial freedom. As we’ve always done, we’ve invited our entire community of Fools to join us as we’re much stronger and smarter together
We believe more entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and innovators will emerge from our work. We believe more Americans can build lasting prosperity. We believe more people living the American Dream preserves faith in our collective ability to make progress. And this growing community of Fools for Good can help lead the way. Are you ready to join us?
—David Gardner
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