Creativity is essential to how young people learn, grow, and engage with the world. To that end, the Foundation supports initiatives in Philadelphia that strengthen creative skillsets through creative approaches.
We define creativity in broad, ever-expanding terms – seeing it as an essential capacity that enables young people to learn, lead, and imagine new possibilities. Our Foundation supports the full landscape that furthers creative growth, including the many settings, disciplines, and stakeholders who interact with youth. We recognize that creativity flourishes through varied approaches and strong collaborations. We look to partner with visionary leaders who share our vision of unlocking every young person in Philadelphia’s creative potential.
our funding focus
creative
learning
We support programs that place creativity at the center of how young people grow, learn, and connect with communities. We support both evidence-based and emergent models that intentionally align creative practice with specific learning goals or core curricular competencies. This work can take place in structured learning environments or in more open, unstructured spaces.
leaders
We support the adults and organizations who make creative growth possible for young people, including teachers, leaders, teaching artists, and community members. This includes efforts to expand the skills, confidence, and systems-level capacity of leaders so they can embrace creative practices across diverse settings and communities.
community
We look for opportunities to strengthen the broader field of creative growth in young people. We support initiatives that bring people and organizations together, helping them share ideas, resources and approaches that advance their work. This includes efforts that elevate storytelling, cross-sector learning, and collaboration – creating space for new perspectives and innovative practices to emerge. By amplifying stories, research, and shared insights, we aim to deepen collective understanding of creative impact and reinforce a dynamic, interconnected community committed to supporting youth creativity.
ideas
Our Foundation’s mission itself requires openness to new ideas, new partners, and new ways of approaching ways to deepen creativity in youth. Because the work is constantly evolving, we actively welcome bold, experimental, and visionary concepts that challenge convention and invite new thinking around creative learning and growth.
about us
Elinor ("Ellie") and Jeffrey ("Jeff") Marrazzo
Ellie and Jeff Marrazzo founded the Marrazzo Family Foundation in 2022 based on a shared belief that creativity is fundamental to how young people learn, grow, and engage with the world—and that access to creative opportunity can open doors that might otherwise remain closed.
The Foundation reflects the personal role creativity has played in both of their lives.
Ellie’s creative journey began in an after-school photography program at a local community center, where early access to artistic education sparked a lasting passion. She later pursued photography formally, earning her degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and built a career spanning more than a decade in the commercial photography industry. That professional path deepened her conviction that creative practice builds confidence, discipline, and new ways of understanding the world.
Jeff similarly grew up immersed in the arts. Raised in a household shaped by music—including an opera singer mother—he sang throughout his early life in choirs and a cappella groups and briefly considered pursuing music professionally. While he ultimately chose a different path, Jeff credits his musical training with shaping how he approaches problem-solving and innovation. His career has spanned public service, entrepreneurship, and leadership in science and medicine, including founding and leading Spark Therapeutics, where he helped usher in a new era of genetic medicine. Today, Jeff continues to work at the intersection of science, healthcare, and public policy.
Ellie and Jeff believe that creativity has always driven progress—and that it will only become more essential as technology reshapes how we live and work. Living and raising their family in Philadelphia, they established the Foundation to expand creative opportunity for young people across the city.
Their own experiences demonstrated how early exposure to creative environments can open pathways far beyond artistic fields. Through the Marrazzo Family Foundation, Ellie and Jeff seek to help ensure that young people have opportunities to develop creative confidence—the ability to see new possibilities and to shape their own futures and communities.
FOR INQUIRIES
We welcome inquiries for any idea or program that aligns with our mission and funding areas.