The Burke Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Burke Foundation aims to improve the health and well-being of underserved children. The foundation invests in the most promising programs narrowing developmental, achievement, and health gaps in New Jersey.

IP TAKE: The foundation focuses its investments on proven and promising initiatives within the focus areas of early childhood development and arts education. The foundation also keeps an eye out for innovative, up-and-coming models across its focus areas. 

PROFILE: The James E. and Diane W. Burke Foundation was established in Princeton, New Jersey in 1989. It was founded by the late Jim Burke and his wife Diane “Didi” Burke, a painter and arts advocate. Jim Burke spent nearly four decades with Johnson & Johnson, where he eventually rose to the role of chairman and CEO. With Jim and Didi’s joint interests and commitment as its guide, for over 25 years the foundation has supported programming in various fields including the arts, health care, education, and community revitalization, with an emphasis on creating opportunities for underserved families and children. The Burke Foundation invests in proven and promising initiatives within the focus areas of early childhood development and arts education.

The Burke Foundation gives out Nurture Grants that “support and scale evidence-backed programs that empower families and equip children with the core life skills needed to become healthy adults.” The foundation isn’t just focused on children, but also on the parents, caregivers, and communities that support them. The foundation’s Spark Grants focus on the arts, specifically increasing access to high quality arts programming that engages underserved youth and empowers them through the development of new skills. The Burke Foundation’s Innovation Portfolio touches both early childhood development and arts education, “identifying the individuals and organizations generating new solutions to health and equity challenges facing underserved families.” 

Grants range from $10,000 to $600,000. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $2.4 million. Past grantees have included Trenton Circus Squad, Johns Hopkins University, Young Audience New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania, Princeton Healthcare Foundation, and Princeton University Art Museum.

The foundation accepts proposals by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests for funding. 

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