Gerber Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Gerber Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of the Gerber Products Company. The foundation supports pediatric research and youth services in West Michigan. It also awards scholarships to students from select counties in Michigan.  

IP TAKE: Gerber’s research grants support studies of pediatric health, nutrition and environmental hazards, with most grants going to researchers and teams at universities or hospital-affiliated medical schools. This is an accessible corporate funder, which accepts applications for all its funding programs and posts application guidelines on its website. While this is also a bureaucratic funder, its work may evolve in the future to more deeply address environmental hazards to pediatric health since its baby food products were found to have high levels of heavy metals. It does not take grantmaking risks, so if your work takes an innovative research approach, look elsewhere.

PROFILE: Daniel Gerber, Sr. and the Gerber Products Company established the Gerber Foundation in 1952. Formerly known as the Gerber Baby Foods Fund, the organization changed its name to the Gerber Foundation in 1997 after the Gerber Products Company merged with Sandoz Ltd. In its early years, the foundation focused its grantmaking on agriculture, education, infant care and youth programs. The foundation has since narrowed grantmaking and mainly supports pediatric research and college scholarships and youth programs in select areas of Michigan. 

Grants for Science Research

The Gerber Foundation’s research grants support studies that aim to improve health outcomes for children, emphasizing the search for “practical solutions that can be easily and rapidly implemented on a broad scale with a predictable time frame to clinical application.” The foundation’s research focus areas are pediatric health, pediatric nutrition and environmental hazards. 

In the area of pediatric health, the foundation’s specific areas of interest include the development of new diagnostic tools, treatment regimens for common illnesses and studies of preventative medicine and nutrition. Grants are generally awarded to research universities, medical schools and medical research institutes that are affiliated with major hospital systems. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston received funding for a study of the role of zinc in the development of preterm infants, and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles received a grant to study tracheostomy-associated respiratory infections in pediatric patients. At Vanderbilt University, the foundation supported the development and testing of new protocols for weaning neonates from ventilators, and a team at the University of Michigan used funding to study “mechanisms for high risk of sudden death” in pediatric epilepsy patients. 

Gerber’s pediatric nutrition grants focus on the effects of specific nutrients on children’s health. In this funding area, Gerber supports scientific studies of the benefits, side effects, deficiencies, excesses and dosing of nutrients, as well as studies of the general effect that various nutrients have on children’s growth and development. At the St. Jude Research Hospital, a grant supported research on “the influence of vitamin A and D supplements on pneumococcus vaccine activity.” Other organizations that have received grants for studies of pediatric nutrition include individual researchers and research teams at St. Louis University and Washington University.  

Gerber’s third research initiative concerns environmental hazards and supports research that aims to document, eliminate or ameliorate the effects of environmental hazards in children’s lives. One recent grant supported a study of “the detection of marijuana metabolites in human milk” at the University of California, San Diego, and another grant supported a study of opioid withdrawal in neonatal patients. 

Grants for Higher Education

The Gerber Foundation supports higher education via its scholarship programs for students graduating from select high schools in Newaygo, Muskegon and Oceana counties in Michigan. Current scholarships include: 

  • The Daniel Gerber Sr. Medallion Scholarship, which is awarded to high school seniors from select high schools in Michigan with a GPA of 3.71 or higher and who plan to attend accredited postsecondary baccalaureate, associate or vocational programs. This scholarship is awarded in amounts of $10,600. 

  • The Gerber Foundation Merit Scholarship, which is awarded to high school seniors from Newaygo, Muskegon or Oceana Counties who have a GPA of 2.0 to 3.7 and who plan to attend accredited baccalaureate, associate or vocational programs. These scholarships are awarded in amounts of $2,600.

  •  The Gerber Foundation Career-Tech Scholarship, which is awarded to seniors graduating from the Newaygo County Career-Tech Center who intend to pursue study in select vocational fields. These scholarships are awarded in amounts equal to half of the student’s estimated tuition costs.

Other Grantmaking Opportunities

The Gerber Foundation runs a local grantmaking program for organizations providing services and programs for youth between the ages of 0 and 18. Grants serve organizations working in Newaygo, Muskegon and Oceana Counties and prioritize programs in the areas of health, nutrition, dental care, early childhood services, literacy, parent education, STEAM and out-of-school learning programs. These grants are generally awarded in amounts up to $10,000, but have been as high as $20,000 for large-scale programs. Past grantees include the Newaygo Area District Library, Bethany Christian Services, Catholic Charities of West Michigan, the West Michigan Symphony, Fremont Public Schools and a beekeeping education program run by the Muskegon Conservation District.  

Important Grant Details:

Gerber’s research grants range from about $20,000 to $350,000, with an average grant size of about $150,000. In a recent year, the foundation awarded 15 research grants. Local youth grants for West Michigan-based organizations are generally awarded in amounts of $10,000 and under, and scholarships are awarded in set amounts. The Gerber Foundation provides information about past grantees on individual program pages. 

Gerber accepts applications for all its funding programs. Guidelines and application due dates vary by program, with information posted on individual program pages and linked below. The foundation can be contacted by email or telephone at 231-924-3175. 

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