The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, a private grant-making foundation, was organized in 1952 by Libby Holman Reynolds. Mrs. Holman Reynolds established the Foundation in memory of her son, Christopher, who died in a mountain climbing accident in 1950 when he was 18 years old.

Libby Holman Reynolds, a singer and actress, had acted upon her passionate belief in human rights long before organizing the Foundation in her son's memory. Christopher, even as a youth, had begun to devote his substantial fortune to the furtherance of humanitarian causes.

Jack Clareman, legal counsel to Mrs. Holman Reynolds, was instrumental in the formation of the Foundation. He served as the Foundation's original executive director, secretary/treasurer and investment counselor for more than four decades.