Gilchrist and Amy Berg

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Water Street Capital

FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Arts & Culture, Florida Community, Policy

OVERVIEW: Gilchrist Berg and family conduct their philanthropy through the Berg Family Charitable Foundation. Berg has primarily supported scholarships and schools, but arts and policy are other interests. Northern Florida is an important focus of giving. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded just over $2 million in grants in 2017 and gave away around $7 million from 2014 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: Gilchrist B. Berg graduated from Lee High School and Princeton University. He spent nine years at Kidder, Peabody & Co. In 1987, he founded Water Street Capital with an initial investment by Tiger Management. 

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH: Berg has supported Davidson College, University of North Florida, Aspen Music School, and Kahn Academy. He is also interested in scholarships: in the 1990s, he created the Julian H. Robertson Jr. Scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also established the Gladys Prior Awards for Career Teaching Excellence in honor of his elementary school teacher.

Berg's wife Amy serves as president of The Better Angels Society, a "nonprofit that supports the work, educational programs and legacy of the documentarian Ken Burns."

ARTS & CULTURE: Grantees include Theatre Aspen, Cummer Museum, JAX Symphony Orchestra, JAX Children’s Chorus, and Cathedral Arts Project.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY: The Bergs have supported environmental organizations in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, including Greenscape of Jacksonville and St. Johns Riverkeeper. Other grantees include World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, "a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote an understanding of the world and its people and to engage citizens of Northeast Florida in becoming better informed participants in the global community." Amy sits on the board of directors of World Affairs Council of Jacksonville.

POLICY: Berg has supported American Enterprise Institute and Aspen Institute via his foundation. Amy was once executive vice president for development and operations and corporate secretary for Aspen Institute, where she worked for more than a decade and a half. Some of the family's work at Aspen Institute has involved the environment. 

LOOKING FORWARD: It is unclear how much money is waiting in the wings, but expect the Berg family to stick with their select interest areas. 

CONTACT:

The Berg Family Charitable Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact, but below is an address:

Berg Family Charitable Foundation
4306 Pablo Oaks Ct.
Jacksonville, FL 32224