Established in 1995

Brooks

The Brooks Fund’s mission is to encourage the inclusion, acceptance and recognition of Middle Tennessee’s LGBTQ residents, to protect their dignity, their safety and their health. By supporting and encouraging the development of programs to enhance the quality of life for LGBTQ individuals in Middle Tennessee, The Brooks Fund hopes to raise philanthropic awareness within the LGBTQ community.

For 25 years, Franklin Brooks was one of the most beloved figures on the Vanderbilt University campus. As an associate professor in the Departments of French and Italian, he was repeatedly recognized for his work in the classroom – as much for his creative teaching technique as for his natural bonhomie and his personal integrity. The Brooks Fund was created to perpetuate another avenue of Franklin’s work, his forthright championing of human rights.