This fund was established in 1994 by the estate of Ben B. Coffey, Jr. to support ornithology research and collections improvement in the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Ben B. Coffey, Jr. was born on April 28, 1904. He became interested in birds as a Boy Scout working on his Bird Study merit badge. His wife, Lula, always shared his interests and enthusiasm for birds and bird study and was his constant collaborator in ornithological endeavors. In 1964, Ben began recording the songs of tropical birds. These efforts resulted in the publication of several tapes produced in collaboration with J. W. Hardy. Ben and Lula became Field Associates in Ornithology and Bioacoustics at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, where many of his tapes now constitute the Coffey Neotropical Collection in the Museum archives.

Ben passed away on August 22, 1993 at age 89.