[1][2] To provide continuity in the event of her death and to cultivate the memory of Eduard Fresenius, Else Kröner founded the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Foundation on 7 April 1983.

In her will, Else Kröner laid out the foundation's purpose:The Foundation aims to promote medical science, giving priority to the areas of research and the treatment of diseases, including the development of equipment and preparations, such as artificial kidneys .

[3][7] This prize is handed out every four years and is worth 4 million euros, 500,000 of which goes directly to the researcher, with the remainder being project-directed.

[7][8] In 2023, the foundation awarded a 2.5 million euro prize to immunologist Akiko Iwasaki for work on post-acute viral syndromes like Long COVID and ME/CFS.

[10] The Graduate School for "Translational Research Innovation – Pharma" (TRIP) was founded by the EKFS at the Goethe-University Frankfurt in 2012.