Donor Spotlight: Ferrari Owners Charitable Foundation
The Ferrari Owners Group (FOG) began in 2009 with a simple question posted on the Internet by founder Joe Keon: “Are there other Ferrari owners out there that would like to join me for a back roads drive in Marin County this weekend?”
Five then-strangers turned up for that inaugural drive followed by a leisurely breakfast. Word spread rapidly and FOG membership grew quickly. New members and the general community were astounded by the sight and sound of twenty or more Ferraris touring “in formation.”
Keon wanted to do more than build a community of car owners. He had the idea to harness the spectacle of these impressive cars to give back to the greater Bay Area community.
“We found that no matter where we went, there were always people who came up and asked questions,” explains Keon. “It occurred to me that because the Ferraris were so magnetic and drew people in, that it would be a wonderful device to get people’s attention and then direct it toward something that we were all passionate about.”
Thus the FOG Rally was born—an annual fundraising event that uniquely combines the spirit of a Ferrari road rally with a commitment to giving back. Since 2011, Ferrari lovers have been gathering to share their passion for the iconic automobiles while touring some of California’s most beautiful roads and raising funds for charities and organizations that make a difference.
Early on, Keon and the other members of FOG knew that they wanted to target charities that were doing important work in their direct community. In their first year, they partnered with a small San Francisco-based organization, Opportunity Impact, which works with kids whose needs are not being met by social services programs. In 2012, the FOG Rally benefitted Blue Planet Network’s U.S. program, which is chiefly focused on access to clean healthy drinking water.
In 2013, Keon founded the Ferrari Owners Charitable Foundation (FOCF), a nonprofit organization, to better administer the rally and the fundraising that went with it. The group selected a new charity partner and set an ambitious goal to raise $100,000. That partnership ended unexpectedly, leaving FOCF in urgent need of a worthy cause to support.
Thankfully, Keon wasn’t out of good ideas. “I had been thinking about Make-A-Wish for some time, having had relationships with families whose children had been served by Make-A-Wish in the past,” he says. “I’ve also always been really interested in reading stories about how, in both children and adults, their trajectory changes when they get good news or hopeful news or a promise of something. It can really affect their immune function and other parameters of health.”
So Keon asked another simple question. As he puts it: “I picked up the phone that afternoon, called Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, and said ‘Hey—how would you like us to raise $100,000 for you?’” Just like that, another incredible team began to form. “Something really clicked,” says Keon.
With Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, FOCF found an incredible opportunity to make a direct impact in the community, which is at the heart of their mission. “Because of Make-A-Wish’s chapter system, the group can know that their funds are going to directly help children in their own community,” explains Lance Dublin, FOCF chairman and president. “That’s huge.”
Over the past seven years, FOCF has raised $1.8 million dollars for Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, plus another $25,000 for Make-A-Wish Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada.
“With their incredible fundraising, the generous community of Ferrari owners have greatly accelerated our ability to grant wishes for children with critical illnesses in Northern California,” says Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area CEO Betsy Biern.
In addition to fundraising, FOCF hosts guest speakers and special meet and greets in conjunction with the FOG Rally, exclusively for wish kids and their families. This not only brings joy to wish kids who love cars, it spreads awareness of the Make-A-Wish mission to the FOCF community.
“During the rally, all fifty cars—one hundred people—do a lunchtime event where we invite former wish kids,” says Dublin. “These kids are sitting in the cars—hundred-thousand-dollar cars, iconic cars—the kids are smiling, but what’s rewarding to me is that our people are smiling too. We bring the power and joy of a wish experience right into the heart of our community.”
Over the years, more and more Ferrari enthusiasts have learned about Make-A-Wish, the power of a wish, and how it can impact entire communities. “And they’re not just writing checks to Make-A-Wish—they’re getting involved with wishes,” says Dublin.
This year, FOCF is approaching two major milestones: The 10th anniversary of the FOG Rally and $2 million raised on behalf of Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. “Given their history of success in rallying behind important causes in our community, I have no doubt that FOCF will pass that two-million-dollar mile marker very soon,” says Biern.
This anniversary year, FOCF plans to identify some other local organizations to be beneficiaries of the 2021 FOG Rally. “We’re celebrating a decade of making a difference for kids. We want to spread the wealth and really make a broad impact in our community,” says Dublin.
Of course, Make-A-Wish and FOCF will still remain “in formation” down the road for the benefit of wish kids and their families. “What’s important to us is the kids who we help,” says Dublin. “With Make-A-Wish, you can see the direct connection between dollars raised to the experience of changing kids’ lives.”