# Fridolin Charitable Trust

Fridolin Charitable Trust is an Endowment / Foundation based in New York, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** New York, NY, United States
- **Founded:** 2006
- **Assets under management:** Less than $100M (Altss estimate)

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Fridolin Charitable Trust was established in 2006 in New York City, funded entirely by the estate of Fred Howard. Howard's posthumous gift created a private foundation governed by a five-member trustee board that includes legal practitioners and estate fiduciaries. The trust's original asset base included a cooperative apartment in Manhattan and a life insurance policy, augmented over time by the estate's residual capital. The trust has no public website and does not solicit outside donations. Grant-making from the roughly $56 million asset base concentrates on Education, Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Human Services. The trust restricts its geographic focus to New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, favoring small-to-midsize operating charities over institutional endowments. IRS filings show the foundation making annual distributions consistent with the 5% minimum required of private foundations, but no individual grants above the public disclosure threshold have drawn notable press attention. The trust does not appear to deploy capital in private equity, venture, or direct real estate outside its legacy residential holding. Governance rests with the five trustees, a group that includes Herbert Kozlov, a partner at Reed Smith, and Michael Wahl, who served as co-executor of the Howard estate and was later involved in litigation over asset transfers related to the estate's settlement. The trust maintains no additional offices, no investment staff, and no known affiliation with Tiger 21, R360, or similar peer networks. What distinguishes the Fridolin Charitable Trust is its nearly invisible operating posture. Unlike family foundations that brand their giving or publish impact reports, this trust avoids public engagement entirely — no website, no press releases, no named executive director. The governance structure ties directly to the legal machinery of the Howard estate, with trustees who were involved in the original probate and settlement process. That tight alignment between estate fiduciaries and foundation governance creates a closed loop unusual even among private foundations of this size.

## Sectors

- Education
- Philanthropy
- Human Services

## People

- Herbert Kozlov — Trustee
- Neal Lewin — Trustee
- Bonnie Kaye — Trustee
- Ada Samuelsson — Trustee

## Questions

### Which sectors does the trust explicitly avoid?

The trust's grant-making excludes international causes, medical research, arts and culture, and environmental programs based on available IRS records. Its focus stays narrowly on Education, Human Services, and general philanthropy within the tri-state region.

### How is the trust related to the Fred Howard estate?

Several trustees, including Michael Wahl, served as original executors of the Howard estate. Legal disputes over estate asset transfers involved the trust peripherally, and the governance structure remains closely tied to the probate process that created the foundation.

## Related profiles

- [Dedalus Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/dedalus-foundation-inc)
- [Home For Little Wanderers](https://altss.com/profile/home-for-little-wanderers)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/fridolin-charitable-trust

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