Leopold Schepp established the Foundation in 1925. His objectives were to encourage young people to develop good character and to help them complete their high school education, an opportunity he never had.

The son of German immigrants, he had to stop school at age 10 to help support his widowed mother. He started by selling fans on horsecars; then with the help of his minister, he bought a pushcart and became a street peddler. By the age of 27 he built a successful business importing and selling coffee, tea, and spices. At the height of his career, he owned his own building in lower Manhattan and used his own sailing vessels to import coconuts from Cuba and the Caribbean. He was not only a wealthy man but a respected member of the business community and a well known philanthropist.

After his death in 1926, at age 85, the leadership of the Foundation passed to his only child, Florence. As a trustee, she devoted her life to the Foundation’s work.

In 1932, in recognition of the changes in a society that made a high school education universally available, the Foundation changed its focus to include young men and women pursuing full-time undergraduate and graduate study. The scope of the Foundation was further broadened following Miss Schepp’s death in 1964 by a bequest she made for the purpose of establishing fellowships for post-doctoral study and research in specific fields.

Twenty-two trustees, all volunteers, and a small administrative staff now govern the work of the Foundation. Concern for the individual and emphasis on character remain the priorities as established by Mr. Schepp and interpreted by his daughter, Florence.