About

The Foundation

Learn about the history of the Foundation
and its founders.

Who was Fanny?

Fanny Carlgren, née Kempe (1887-1973), was the daughter of Frans Kempe, who worked for several years first as the CEO and then as the chairman of Mo and Domsjö AB. After her father, Fanny Carlgren received a large inheritance, and she always considered the management of this inheritance a highly responsible task. This legacy also laid the foundation for The Kempe-Carlgrenska Foundation, established on December 28, 1951.

Fanny Carlgren was exceptionally interested, first and foremost, in everything concerning children and teenagers and the problems that could arise, whether it concerned an organization working with these groups or the individual themselves. In the last years of her life, the drug problem among the youth garnered her engagement.

She started an association, 'Home and School', in her time and brought many brilliant lecturers to the public debates she organized. Therefore, one of her main interests remained schools, and both Waldorf schools and other independent schools received quite extensive contributions from the foundation during Fanny Carlgren's chairmanship.

As Fanny Carlgren was deeply religious, the 'church was always central' to her, though far from uncritically. She was also one of those who helped Manfred Björkqvist fulfill his life's work – the Sigtuna Foundation.

Fanny Carlgren was born and remained all her life a daughter of Norrland. During her upbringing, Norrland was Sweden's underdeveloped area, and the issues concerning Norrland always personally affected her.