Our Vision: To enable people in our local communities
to achieve their full potential.

The Blakeley Foundation, founded in 2007, is an IRS registered (Tax ID: 26-1633993) 501(c)(3) charitable foundation. We support and provide Capital to organizations who are eager to use their expertise and services for the advancement of education and health. .

Foundation Goals

  • Develop innovative and sustainable solutions, empowering people to improve their lives and achieve their full potential.

  • Provide sustainable opportunities to keep families together, encouraging entrepreneurship.

  • Enable people to become givers and not takers.

  • Stress and support the importance of business principles and social skills

  • Measure the results of our programs and make adjustments as needed

  • Work with local resources, familiar and able to adjust to local knowledge, culture and customs

 

 

Blakeley Foundation History

From 2007 to the present day, we are actively supporting Health Issues (Tinnitus and Restless Leg Syndrome) as well as communities on Cape Cod, Greater Boston around the world, including:
- Food banks
- Workshops to promote small business skills
 - Initiatives provided to high school students to provide lessons on social responsibility

OTHERS:
 - Fellowship at Fletcher School for graduate students to enable them to spend 8-10 weeks every summer working in remote areas of the world developing strategic plans to improve the lives of people less fortunate
 - Programs to protect abused children and women and help abused women through music therapy
 - Bicycle programs to enable children in less developed countries to get to school while teaching them about Responsibility and Philanthropy
 - Working with major NGO organizations to teach basic business skills
 - Providing assistance to victims of natural disasters.

The foundation has identified several qualified organizations to support, many of which are listed in the Current Projects section of this website.

 

People

Gerald W. Blakeley, III

Gerald W. Blakeley, III (“Jerry”) is a serial entrepreneur who worked in the private sector for many years. After 38 years of running a successful business, Extech Instruments Corporation, with offices in the United States, UK, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong he sold Extech in  2007. He immediately  setup and funded the Blakeley Foundation with a goal of developing and implementing sustainable programs for reducing poverty.

Jerry feels strongly that the most effective way to get people out of poverty and to improve their lives and that of their communities is to work with organizations already experienced with solving these issues.. 

Jerry was largely influenced by his son Kipper, a 1994 graduate of the Fletcher School who worked alongside Mechai Viravaidya, founder of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) and Population and Development International (PDI) in Thailand, as well as by reading the book "A Billion Bootstraps : Microcredit, Barefoot Banking and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty" by Phil Smith and Eric Thurman.

Jerry now spends his time on the Foundation as well as working as a volunteer Counselor with SCORE, mentoring entrepreneurs starting or growing a business idea. 

mail@blakeleyfoundation.org

 

Christopher "Kipper" R. Blakeley

Kipper has been involved with philanthropy, both as a donor and as an implementing partner of programs, for more than 20 years. His field experience includes working in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Most recently, he served as an International Advisor for the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), run by one of the world’s most well-known "social entrepreneurs," Mechai Viravaidya. In this capacity, Kipper worked on a senior management team tasked with development, implementation and follow-up of myriad programs, including microcredit and HIV-prevention initiatives, as well as the post-Tsunami socio-economic rehabilitation of nearly 100 villages.

Kipper's private sector experience includes working at Accenture in Colombia and five years of international business development for Extech Instruments Corporation, a printer manufacturer in the United States. He earned a Master's degree from The Fletcher School, where he supplemented his business courses with classes on microcredit, refugee issues, and non-profit management. He currently lives and works outside of Zurich, Switzerland running Social Investors.