Founded with proceeds from the Robert E. Kelly Memorial Foundation, Inc. as a donor advised fund, with preference given to ocean-related environmental causes.

Robert “Bob” E. Kelly loved the ocean. Born in Washington, DC in 1948, Bob attended St. John’s Military Academy and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where he played football for the Cavaliers. Graduating with a degree in economics, he worked in financial services in Virginia, New Jersey and California, before starting his own company in Indianapolis, Indiana. An avid traveler and sportsman, Bob enjoyed basketball, motorcycling and scuba diving. He passed away while on a dive trip in Florida at the age of 38 in 1987. At that time, the Robert E. Kelly Memorial Foundation. Inc. was established to honor Bob’s memory. In 2005, the private foundation was dissolved and its proceeds created The Robert E. Kelly Memorial Fund. As a donor advised fund, charitable disbursements from the fund support causes in keeping with the Kelly family’s charitable intentions, subject to the approval of the Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Preference is given but not limited to benefiting environmental and oceanic preservation causes, reflecting Bob Kelly’s passions.