# Joan and Tim Fenton Family Foundation

Joan and Tim Fenton Family Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Midvale, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Midvale, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 6900 S 900 E Ste 230, Midvale, UT 84047, United States
- **Assets under management:** $92M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** joanandtimfoundation.com

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Joan and Tim Fenton Family Foundation operates from Midvale, Utah, as the philanthropic and investment vehicle for a fortune forged inside the global fast-food system. Tim Fenton rose to Chief Operating Officer of McDonald's Corporation, a role that produced the liquidity now concentrated in the foundation. Alongside his corporate career, Fenton built a portfolio of 17 McDonald's franchises in southwest Florida — locations confirmed in Port Charlotte, North Port, Fort Myers, and Charlotte Harbor — generating operating-company cash flows separate from any deferred compensation or equity awards. The foundation also holds residential and commercial development interests across Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Strategy tilts heavily toward direct buyouts and distressed credit, not traditional grantmaking or fund commitments. The foundation acquired a portfolio of distressed FDIC commercial loans, a sourcing channel that emerged from the post-2008 banking cleanup and continues to shape its opportunistic credit posture. Real estate holdings include the foundation's own headquarters in Midvale plus a mix of legacy residential and commercial developments across Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Geographic concentration runs strongest through the Mountain West, with a secondary operating footprint in southwest Florida where the franchise portfolio sits. No venture, growth-equity, or fund-of-funds positions are publicly visible — what surfaces is hard-asset and debt exposure managed directly. Asset scale is modest by institutional standards, with Altss estimating roughly $92 million in total deployment. No team size or additional office locations are publicly documented. The foundation maintains ties to Utah institutions through board service: Joan Fenton sits on the boards of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the Hale Center Theater, and the couple established a $5 million Founders Fund at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, where they are alumni. University President Taylor Randall is cited as a close philanthropic associate. These relationships anchor the foundation within Salt Lake City's community of donor-advised and family-directed giving vehicles but do not appear to influence the investment-side mandate, which stays focused on credit and real estate. What distinguishes this foundation structurally is its disregard for the standard endowment model. It makes no visible fund commitments to third-party managers, eschews the public-equity exposure typical of Salt Lake City peers, and deploys directly into credit instruments and hard assets — a posture closer to a single-family office buying discounted paper than a foundation writing checks to local nonprofits.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Private Credit

## People

- Tim Fenton — Founder
- Joan Fenton — Founder

## Questions

### Where does the foundation's capital originate?

Tim Fenton served as Chief Operating Officer of McDonald's Corporation, producing executive compensation, and continues to operate 17 McDonald's franchise locations in southwest Florida as a franchisee. The resulting wealth forms the foundation's capital base, supplemented by returns from a distressed FDIC commercial loan portfolio and legacy real estate holdings across Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Joan Fenton's board service with the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the Hale Center Theater reflects a parallel commitment to Utah's philanthropic community.

### How does the foundation invest its assets?

It operates as a direct buyout vehicle, not a traditional grantmaking foundation allocating to external managers. Documented holdings include a portfolio of distressed FDIC commercial loans, 17 McDonald's franchise units in Florida, and commercial and residential real estate across Utah, Nevada, and Arizona — including the foundation's headquarters in Midvale, Utah. No public filings indicate commitments to venture capital, growth equity, or fund-of-funds structures.

### What is the foundation's relationship to McDonald's Corporation?

Tim Fenton's career at McDonald's culminated in the Chief Operating Officer role, during which he held significant executive compensation reported in SEC filings. Separately from his corporate tenure, he acquired and operates 17 McDonald's franchise locations concentrated in Port Charlotte, North Port, Fort Myers, and Charlotte Harbor, Florida. The foundation holds that franchise portfolio as a direct operating asset distinct from any corporate affiliation.

### How large is the foundation's investment portfolio?

The foundation does not publicly disclose assets under management. Altss estimates approximately $92 million, derived from the scale of the franchise portfolio, real estate holdings, and distressed debt positions visible in public records. This figure should be treated as an approximation based on observable holdings.

### What is the foundation's geographic focus?

Investment activity concentrates in the Intermountain West — principally Utah, Nevada, and Arizona for real estate holdings — with a secondary operating footprint in southwest Florida, where the 17 McDonald's franchise locations operate. The foundation's headquarters is in Midvale, Utah, just south of Salt Lake City.

## Related profiles

- [Niagara Community Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/niagara-community-foundation)
- [Oakville Community Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/oakville-community-foundation)

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

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/joan-and-tim-fenton-family-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology
