Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation Partners with Project: Cold Case
Miami, Fla., October 16, 2019 – The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation, a family-run charitable organization dedicated to creating a generational legacy of giving, recently entered into a philanthropy collaboration with Project: Cold Case, a Jacksonville, Fla., public charity focused on providing support and hope to families of unsolved homicide victims. The Foundation’s donation will assist Project: Cold Case in expanding its reach throughout the US.
Project: Cold Case advocates for victims and families, creating partnerships with law enforcement that help bridge the information gap between investigators and victims, working with local media to generate awareness about unsolved cases.
Project: Cold Case has thus far operated primarily in Florida, thanks to state grant funding. The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation’s donation will not only help the organization expand, but also provide it with important resources, such as genetic genealogy testing at private labs, a technology which has been used in recent years to solve decades-old cold cases.
“The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation is honored to support Project: Cold Case’s tireless efforts to help families get one step closer to solving their cases and making their communities safer,” said Lazar Finker, Director of the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation. “Project: Cold Case’s mission to strive for justice resonated with our family. We have always supported and recognized the valuable work done by law enforcement and those who aid them.”
To help solve cold cases and bring attention to older cases with no information online, Project: Cold Case developed an online database with over 23,000 unsolved criminal homicides from 50 Florida counties, 46 U.S. states and three international countries. Project: Cold Case also features a Cold Case Spotlight section on the website dedicated to stories and photos of victims submitted by families. Additionally, Monthly Remembrances honor the anniversaries of homicides with details of the victims and cases.
“When you’ve lost someone from murder, you’ve been stripped of your control. You sit there with a feeling of helplessness,” said Ryan Backmann, Founder and Executive Director at Project: Cold Case. “The donation from the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation will give us an opportunity to expand our services nationally. We are grateful for the ability to connect with more families and publicize their cases in an effort to help those who feel powerless feel hopeful again.”
Eleven cases submitted and featured on the website have resulted in arrests. Since Project: Cold Case is not an investigative firm, it asks for those with information to provide it directly to law enforcement or anonymous tip lines.
If interested in donating to the organization, please visit https://www.projectcoldcase.org/get-involved/.
