Fort Monroe Foundation

What Fort Monroe Foundation does

Fort Monroe Foundation is a Virginia-based nonprofit organization serving as the exclusive private fundraising and community engagement partner of the Fort Monroe Authority. The foundation exists to raise private funds, launch initiatives, and activate communities in support of stewardship of the 565-acre Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark District, which encompasses approximately 180 historic structures. Its primary constituents are donors, corporate partners, visitors, volunteers, and youth and families in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.

The foundation delivers a portfolio of cultural programming, preservation projects, and community events. Core programs include the African Landing Memorial (a multi-year memorial project, with its first phase, the plaza, completed in January 2026), the Youth Black Culture Fest, the West Bastion Preservation effort, The Canoe Project (an Indigenous living-history education program), the Music by the Bay summer concert series at Continental Park, the Fourth at the Fort Independence Day celebration, and the Pathways of Freedom initiative. In 2025, it also launched Fort Monroe Forward, a year-long campaign activating the Landscape Action Plan developed with Hargreaves Jones Landscape Architecture and James Lima Planning + Development. Technology infrastructure is minimal: the foundation operates a standard Squarespace website, uses DonorPerfect for donation processing, and conducts all program delivery on-site at Fort Monroe rather than via a digital product surface.

The revenue model is nonprofit donation-driven rather than transactional. Income streams consist of individual donations routed through the website, corporate sponsorships (Dominion Energy, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Dodson AMP, and Old Point Financial Corporation are named as corporate partners), and philanthropic support channeled through the foundation by partners such as the Hampton Education Foundation. Pricing is non-commercial — donations are accepted to support programming, preservation, and engagement — and there is no subscription or product pricing structure. The organization operated with an all-volunteer team through mid-2025, when Aazia (Aaz) Mrozinski was appointed as the foundation's first full-time Executive Director, marking the transition to a professionally staffed operation.

Name

Fort Monroe Foundation

Legal name

Fort Monroe Foundation

Website

https://fortmonroefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fort Monroe Foundation is a Virginia-based nonprofit that serves as the exclusive private fundraising and community engagement partner of the Fort Monroe Authority, raising donations and delivering cultural, preservation, and educational programming across the 565-acre Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark District for donors, visitors, volunteers, and Hampton Roads families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic Preservation Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education & Community Programs (Junior Ranger, Citizen Science, School Programs) (THAAAGAK)

Keywords

• Historic preservation fundraising
• Community event programming
• Cultural heritage education
• Nonprofit donor engagement
• Public landscape stewardship

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Monroe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation raises funds through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and philanthropic contributions to support the Fort Monroe Authority's mission. Donors can give through the website's donor portal, with funds supporting programming, preservation, and engagement efforts.
2. Event Support and Sponsorships: Corporate partners sponsor events and programs at Fort Monroe, providing financial support in exchange for visibility and association with the historic site. Partners include Dominion Energy, Dodson AMP, Old Point Financial Corporation, and Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fort Monroe Foundation raises private funds and delivers community-oriented programming, cultural events, and preservation projects in support of the Fort Monroe Authority's stewardship of the 565-acre Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark District in Virginia. Its offerings include signature community events (Fourth at the Fort, Music by the Bay, Youth Black Culture Fest), preservation projects (West Bastion, African Landing Memorial), living-history education (The Canoe Project), and donor engagement programs (Let's Build a Fort, Fort Monroe Forward).

Product overview

Fort Monroe Foundation operates as a nonprofit partner of the Fort Monroe Authority, offering a unified portfolio of cultural programming, preservation initiatives, and community engagement programs. The organization delivers experiences including the African Landing Memorial, Youth Black Culture Fest, Music by the Bay concert series, Fourth at the Fort celebration, The Canoe Project living history program, and West Bastion Preservation. The Fort Monroe Forward initiative serves as a cross-cutting campaign supporting the Landscape Action Plan, while the Let's Build a Fort donation program enables philanthropic support for all Foundation activities. These products collectively serve park enhancement, donor engagement, and visitor enrichment objectives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• African Landing Memorial A memorial initiative honoring the 1619 site where the first Africans in British North America arrived, featuring a reverent plaza and three monumental sculptures designed as a site of remembrance and a call to build a more just future. Targeted at visitors, donors, and the Hampton Roads community.
• Youth Black Culture Fest

Quantifiable outcome

• 24,000+ attendees at Fourth at the Fort 2025 celebration
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered major, supporting, core and corporate partner.

• Echelon Resources Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Echelon Resources Inc. is investing $20 million to transform the historic Post Hospital and Old Arsenal into approximately 85 new apartment residences, representing one of the largest private residential investments at Fort Monroe. Combined with earlier projects, their total investment exceeds $35 million.
• Virginia's American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025VA250 partnered with Fort Monroe Authority and the Foundation to host the 2025 Fourth of July celebration, which included a naturalization ceremony and programming as part of the nation's 250th anniversary preparations.
• Fort Monroe AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fort Monroe Foundation serves as the official nonprofit partner and private fundraising arm of the Fort Monroe Authority. The foundation raises funds, launches initiatives, and activates communities to support the Authority in stewarding this historic public landscape. This is the foundation's primary strategic relationship.
• Huntington Ingalls IndustriesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuntington Ingalls Industries provides generous support for educational programming at Fort Monroe, including the Canoe Project which brings Indigenous maritime traditions to life through hands-on living history education for students and visitors.
• Hampton Education FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hampton Education Foundation provides generous support to expand access to the Canoe Project for local students, enabling more youth to participate in this transformative living history educational experience.
• Dominion Energycorporate partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerDominion Energy is listed as a generous corporate partner of the Fort Monroe Foundation, supporting events and initiatives at the historic site.
• Dodson AMPcorporate partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerDodson AMP is listed as a generous corporate partner supporting Fort Monroe Foundation's programs and events.
• Old Point Financial Corporationcorporate partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerOld Point Financial Corporation is listed as a generous corporate partner supporting the Fort Monroe Foundation.
• Hargreaves Jones Landscape ArchitecturemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHargreaves Jones, selected through an international juried process, leads the Landscape Action Plan for Fort Monroe. The firm brings global expertise in transforming complex waterfront and historic sites into dynamic public spaces, with a portfolio including Louisville Waterfront Park and Hudson Yards Public Square.
• James Lima Planning + DevelopmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerJames Lima Planning + Development provides economic vitality and place-making expertise for the Landscape Action Plan, supporting Fort Monroe's economic strategy and community engagement.
• Mitchell Silver (Former NYC Parks Commissioner)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMitchell Silver, former City Parks Commissioner for New York City, serves as a national leader in public realm design and community outreach to ensure resident voices shape the Landscape Action Plan.
• Fort Monroe Museums, Education & Interpretation TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Museums, Education & Interpretation team at Fort Monroe provides expertise, creativity, and dedication to turn history into tangible and engaging programming for audiences of all ages, including the Canoe Project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Park Foundation: The official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, raising private funds for national parks and historic sites. Highly comparable structural peer: a nonprofit fundraising arm supporting a federal/state-managed historic-lands portfolio, including signature events and corporate partnerships.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation: National nonprofit focused on saving historic places, providing grants and advocacy. Broader incumbent peer that overlaps with Fort Monroe Foundation on historic-site preservation, donor stewardship, and programming, but operates at the national scale rather than stewarding a single site.
• National Parks Conservation Association: National independent nonprofit advocating for and supporting the National Park System. Comparable in mission overlap with Fort Monroe Foundation's stewardship role, though NPCA focuses on advocacy and policy rather than stewarding a single site directly.

Direct peers

• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: The nonprofit that funds and operates programming at Colonial Williamsburg, a historic site in Virginia. Direct peer to Fort Monroe Foundation in operating a fundraising-driven nonprofit that stewards a large historic landmark district, runs living-history programs, and engages donors and corporate sponsors for preservation.
• Historic Deerfield: Nonprofit operating a preserved early-American village in Massachusetts with living-history programs, preservation of historic structures, and donor-driven funding. Direct peer in operating and fundraising for a heritage site with immersive educational programming.
• American Battlefield Trust: National nonprofit that preserves American battlefield lands through land acquisition and donor-funded campaigns. Direct peer in using donor dollars to preserve significant American historical sites and running educational programming tied to Civil War-era history, which is central to Fort Monroe's Freedom's Fortress narrative.
• Preservation Virginia: Virginia's statewide historic preservation nonprofit, operator of multiple historic house museums. Direct peer in mission and operating model, focused on preserving Virginia heritage sites through fundraising, advocacy, and visitor programming.

Others

• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit working to conserve land for public use, including parks and historic landscapes. Tangentially comparable as a nonprofit that combines land conservation, donor campaigns, and community programming around public landscapes.

Regional players

• Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation: Virginia state agency operating living-history museums at Jamestown and Yorktown, sharing a Hampton Roads/Virginia geography and 1619-era historical narrative with Fort Monroe Foundation. Strong overlap in educational programming around colonial and early American history.
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation: Private foundation supporting a major Virginia cultural institution. Comparable as a Virginia-based cultural nonprofit that raises private funds, hosts signature events, and stewards significant programming and collections for public access.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fort-monroe-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fort Monroe Foundation