Brian and Aileen Roberts

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Comcast

FUNDING AREAS: Health, Education, Philadelphia Community

OVERVIEW: The Comcast CEO and his wife Aileen have made about $10 million in grants through their foundation over the last decade. Most of these grants support schools that have ties to the family. Roberts has also helped fund a cutting edge cancer treatment facility at Penn that specializes in proton therapy.

BACKGROUND: The son of Comcast co-founder Ralph Roberts followed in his father’s footsteps, attending the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, and then going to work for the family business, and eventually taking over as CEO when his father retired.

ISSUES:

PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY: Aileen and Roberts may not be as active in arts and culture as Roberts' parents, but Aileen does sit on the board of the Barnes Foundation, which houses fine art collections and offers educational programs. It also has a horticultural component, which may explain donations to several area arboretums. The couple steadily supports the Barnes Foundation via their family foundation.

They have also made grants to the Philadelphia Theater Company, as well as to organizations like United Way, Police Athletic League, and PA State Boys Choir.  

HEALTH: After Aileen received treatment for breast cancer at the University of Pennsylvania, Roberts and Aileen, along with his parents announced a $15 million donation for a groundbreaking new proton therapy center.  Aileen also sits on the board of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

EDUCATION: The bulk of the Roberts’ charitable grantmaking supports schools where they appear to have family connections, including Penn, Brown, Germantown Academy, and the William Penn Charter School, though smaller donations have also been made to a number of other local area schools, and even a few outside the area.

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS:  Roberts is one of the largest donors to the restoration efforts of Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue, which is named in honor of his maternal grandfather. Though Jewish, the family has been known to make donations to a number of churches in addition to synagogues and Jewish organizations.

SPORTS: Roberts is a talented and avid squash player, having competed numerous times in the Maccabiah Games. He is a rather large contributor to Maccabi USA, and multiple national squash organizations. He has supported community programs that use squash as a hook to provide educational opportunities to children from low-income families, such as SquashSmarts.

LOOKING FORWARD: While a lot of Roberts' wealth is still tied up in company stock, and may not be available for grantmaking right now, sooner or later, we should see larger chunks of money flowing toward charitable causes.

CONTACT:

The Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts Foundation
℅ Comcast Corp
1701 John F. Kennedy Blvd., 52nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 246-2474