Orville W. Forté Charitable Foundation was organized as a 501(c)(3) private foundation on October 6, 1952 under the name "Forté, Dupee, Sawyer Charitable Foundation, Inc." An important reason for its founding was Orville W. Forté's belief that annual support of public charities should not depend on the vicissitudes of the wool trade, the business of the Foundation's corporate parent. Over the years, the Foundation received contributions from Forté, Dupee, Sawyer Co., Forté Cashmere Company, and individual members of the Forté family. On June 7, 1962, after Mr. Forté's retirement as chairman of Forté, Dupee, Sawyer Co., the Foundation changed its name to honor its founder. In 2015, the Foundation became a donor-advised fund at Fidelity Charitable.