Legacy

The Oak Hill Fund was founded in 2001 by William “Bill” and Liza Edgerton, as a successor family foundation to the W. Alton Jones Foundation (est. 1944). The title Oak Hill comes from the name of the family farm in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Both Bill and Liza are conservationists, and so the environment is an important area of focus for The Oak Hill Fund. Bill’s professional background as an architect led him to sponsor cutting-edge sustainable design techniques, an area of expertise that eventually earned him a spot as a founding member of the President’s Green Building Council in 1992. Liza has always been an avid supporter of women’s rights, and Bill joined her in the quest to ensure access to reproductive freedom. With Bill’s and Liza’s skills and passions, Oak Hill invested heavily in environmentally sustainable affordable design of housing for low-income communities, reproductive health, rights, and justice, and the broader community of their hometown in Charlottesville.

Through their philanthropy, Bill and Liza not only gave back to the community, they also nurtured the spirit of generosity in their own children by involving them in the work of the foundation. As the next generation takes over the work of the foundation, The Oak Hill Fund’s legacy continues by supporting the health of our planet and justice for its people.