# Sorenson Legacy Foundation

Sorenson Legacy Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Salt Lake City, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Salt Lake City, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- **Founded:** 2005
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.sorensonlegacyfoundation.org
- **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/company/sorenson-legacy-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

James LeVoy Sorenson, a former medical-device and real-estate entrepreneur, and his wife Beverley Taylor Sorenson, a University of Utah-trained educator, established the Sorenson Legacy Foundation in 2005 as a Utah-focused 501(c)(3). James, who held 60 patents and founded Sorenson Companies, bequeathed his entire estate to the foundation upon his death in 2008; Beverley, who championed the integration of arts into elementary curricula, endowed programs and physical spaces at seven Utah universities before her death in 2013. The foundation's board includes the founders' children James Lee Sorenson and Joan Fenton, as well as longtime associates such as Gary L. Crocker, chairman of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. Its philanthropic deployment spans education, arts, healthcare, and community development — with a pronounced tilt toward physical infrastructure on Utah campuses. The foundation has funded the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex at the University of Utah, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence at Utah State University. Direct investments from related Sorenson entities, such as Sorenson Capital — where James Lee Sorenson is managing partner — lean toward buyout strategies. Real-estate holdings tied to the foundation or its affiliates include Jordanelle Ridge and River View in Wasatch County and commercial space in Holladay, Utah. The board directs capital through a small, family-governed structure that remains closely tied to Utah's institutional landscape. James Lee Sorenson maintains a YPO membership, linking the family to a global peer network of chief executives, while the foundation operates adjacent philanthropic vehicles including the Sorenson Impact Foundation and the Art Works for Kids! Foundation. Real-estate development activity flows through affiliated parties such as Tim Fenton, Joan Fenton's husband, who manages Sorenson-linked development projects. The foundation's structure mirrors the founder's inventor ethos: a concentrated, generalist charter executed through a single permanent pool of capital rather than a fundraising cycle. Unlike endowed foundations tethered to a living donor or a corporate balance sheet, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation received the entirety of its founder's fortune and deploys it with no external fundraising mandate and perpetual time horizon — a governance model rare among family philanthropies.

## Sectors

- Education
- Arts & Culture
- Healthcare Services
- Community Development

## People

- James LeVoy Sorenson — Founder
- Beverley Taylor Sorenson — Founder
- James Lee Sorenson — Board Member
- Joan Fenton — Board Member
- Gary L. Crocker — Board Member
- Tim Fenton — Affiliated Real Estate Developer

## Questions

### Who runs the Sorenson Legacy Foundation's grant decisions?

The foundation is governed by a board that includes the founders' children — James Lee Sorenson and Joan Fenton — along with longtime business associates such as Gary L. Crocker. The board sets the philanthropic strategy, with day-to-day grantmaking administered internally. No outside investment committee is disclosed.

### Where did the foundation's endowment capital come from?

The endowment was seeded by the founders' wealth. James LeVoy Sorenson built his fortune across real estate, technology, and medical-device manufacturing — his inventions include the disposable surgical mask and the disposable venous catheter. Upon his death in 2008, he contributed his entire personal estate to the foundation.

### What is the relationship between the foundation and Sorenson Capital?

James Lee Sorenson, a board member of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, is managing partner of Sorenson Capital, a private equity firm focused on buyouts. The two entities share the family name and overlapping governance through James Lee Sorenson but are legally distinct — one is a 501(c)(3), the other a for-profit investment manager.

## Related profiles

- [Sorenson Impact](https://altss.com/profile/sorenson-impact)
- [Soria Futuro](https://altss.com/profile/soria-futuro)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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