Established in memory of Franko Richmond to provide scholarships to a Key West High School graduating senior seeking to pursue the study of music, piano, other instruments, or musical theater, at a college, specialized or technical school or other institution of higher learning.
Franko Richmond was a world-class pianist, composer, teacher and performer who lived in Key West for 10 years before his untimely death in 2009. Franko began studying piano at age three, and was considered a child prodigy. He went on to earn a masters degree in music from Penn State University and worked on his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh.
As a teenager, Franko performed in Carnegie Hall and studied at both Chautauqua Institute and Curtis Institute. At the young age of 23, Franko was the guest soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC where he played “Rhapsody in Blue” under the baton conductor Anatol Dorati.
Franko wrote music for three Broadway shows, a movie score, recorded 12 CDs and three concert DVDs. In 1989, Franko and his producer/wife Gail Lima founded Earth, Emerge and See, a non-profit organization in the state of New York with the mission of teaching children music and art to raise awareness of the environment. Through this project, they produced hundreds of stage performances of their theme song “The Time Has Come”, an original song that has been sung in more than 30 languages all over the planet. Earth Day USA chose “The Time Has Come” as the theme for the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. At the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2000 homeless street children sang the song to world leaders at the opening ceremonies.
The Franko Richmond Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys has been established by Gail Lima to honor the memory of her husband Franko, his extraordinary musical gift that he shared with the world, his love of teaching and his life lived with passion, dignity and love.
You may make an online donation on this page by clicking the button above. If you are making a donation by check, please send to the CFFK office, 300 Southard St., Suite 201, Key West, FL 33040. Note in the Memo field that this donation is for the Franko Richmond Scholarship Fund.
You may also make gifts to this fund by stock, wire transfer, real estate, and more. Please click here for instructions.
If you are interested in leaving a legacy gift to the Franko Richmond Scholarship Fund through your will or estate plan, please contact CFFK at (305) 292-1502 or email here.
Thank you for your generosity.
The Community Foundation of the Florida Keys manages over 160 funds and endowments throughout the Keys and is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit (EIN #65-0648968). Since 1996, the Community Foundation has been helping individuals and families leave a legacy in the Keys by inspiring giving and by investing in people and solutions to benefit every resident from Key Largo to Key West. Over $32 million in grants have been made to student scholarships, arts and culture, beautification and preservation of the Keys, health and human services, hurricane relief, and youth programs. The Community Foundation, In Paradise For Good, celebrated its 25th year in 2021. CFFK is known for its signature “Unsung Heroes” event which honors nonprofit volunteers. For more information, call (305) 292-1502 or click here.
