Bernice Barbour Foundation Inc.

The Bernice Barbour Foundation operates as a quiet, relationship-driven private foundation with a narrow and well-defined mandate: hands-on animal welfare work across the United States. Founded in 1986 by New Jersey resident Bernice Wall Barbour, the foundation distributes income from an approximately $18.7 million endowment—managed by Glenmede Trust Company at 1650 Market Street, Philadelphia—to organizations that share her lifelong dedication to animal well-being. The foundation does not solicit public contributions; its annual grantmaking flows entirely from investment income, which reached $904,797 in FY 2023 after a period of market volatility, supporting $887,535 in direct grants paid that year.

The foundation's grantmaking philosophy places direct, tangible animal care above advocacy or systems-change work. Wildlife rehabilitation centers, spay/neuter programs, humane societies, raptor rescue operations, and university veterinary programs constitute the core grantee base. What stands out in the historical grantee data is a strong preference for ongoing relationships: among the top 50 grantees on record, the vast majority received 3–4 consecutive annual grants — an unusually high renewal rate signaling that the foundation views grantees as long-term partners, not one-time recipients.

First-time applicants should understand there is no open application portal. The process is structured around invitation, though unsolicited introductory emails to Executive Director Kathryn Champ at katy@bernicebarbour.org are genuinely welcomed. The foundation's website indicates that organizations invited to apply receive notification in early June for each grant cycle, suggesting a calendar that flows: spring cold outreach → June invitations → August 15 submission deadline → fall award decisions. Organizations that send introductory emails in April or May position themselves for consideration in the current cycle's review window.

University and academic veterinary programs receive the foundation's largest single awards — the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine accumulated $750,000 across four grants (averaging $187,500 per grant). Community-level shelters, wildlife rehabilitators, and spay/neuter programs typically receive $7,500–$20,000 annually. New applicants should calibrate initial requests accordingly, planning to build a track record before seeking larger support. Geography is not a gatekeeping criterion: the foundation funds organizations across the continental United States, making mission alignment — not ZIP code — the primary selection factor.

The Bernice Barbour Foundation's annual total giving has remained consistent over more than a decade, ranging from approximately $1.14 million (FY 2011) to $1.61 million (FY 2021), with FY 2023 at $1.27 million in total giving and $887,535 in direct grants paid. The foundation's assets have fluctuated between $16.8 million and $19.8 million from 2011 to 2023, reflecting conservative endowment management that insulates grantmaking levels from year-to-year market swings. FY 2021 was an outlier: $19.8 million in assets and $2.5 million in net investment income drove a peak of $1.2 million in direct grants. FY 2022–2023 saw a return to baseline as investment income normalized.

Grant sizes span a meaningful range. The database-documented minimum is $3,000 and the maximum is $200,000, with a median of $8,750 and an average of $15,559 — though the average is skewed upward by outlier institutional awards. The top cumulative recipients illustrate the full spectrum: University of Pennsylvania Veterinary ($750,000 across 4 grants, $187,500 average), California Veterinary Medical Foundation ($175,000, single grant), and UC Regents/Davis Wildlife Disaster Program ($150,000, single grant). Removing these institutional outliers, the typical operational grant to a humane society, wildlife center, or spay/neuter program falls in the $7,000–$15,000 range per year.

Breaking down program areas by grant count across the documented grantee history:

• Spay/Neuter and TNR Programs: The single largest category by number of grants. Mobile clinics, community cat TNR programs, and low-cost owned-pet sterilization — organizations like Alley Cat Advocates, Animal Rescue League of Iowa, First Coast No More Homeless Pets, and Frederick County Humane Society — represent roughly 35–40% of grants by count.
• Wildlife Rehabilitation: Raptor centers (Rocky Mountain Raptor Program at $40,000 cumulative; Cascades Raptor Center at $27,200), marine bird rescue (Pelican Harbor Seabird Station at $40,000), and wildlife refuges (Woodlands Wildlife Refuge at $70,000; Wildcare Eastern Sierra at $42,000) account for approximately 20–25% of grants.
• Humane Societies and Animal Shelters: Medical care, surgical programs, and adoption support at shelters — Cleveland Animal Protective League ($99,000), Humane Society of Tampa Bay ($55,500), Animal Friends Alliance ($70,000) — represent roughly 20% of grants.
• Veterinary Research and Education: Fewer grants by count but highest in dollar value; includes UPenn ($750,000), California VMF ($175,000), and UC Davis ($150,000).
• Large Animal Rescue: A smaller slice, exemplified by Days End Farm Horse Rescue ($27,000 across 4 grants).

Geographic distribution shows Florida (25 grants), California (23), Maryland (20), Ohio (18), Oregon and Colorado (13 each), Pennsylvania (13), Louisiana and New Jersey (12 each), and New York (9) as the top states — together representing the majority of 281 tracked grants. Multi-year commitments dominate: 43 of the top 50 grantees received exactly 4 consecutive grants.

The Bernice Barbour Foundation occupies a specific niche in animal welfare philanthropy: mid-sized, operationally lean, and genuinely focused on direct animal care rather than systems-level change or exclusively scientific research. The table below places it against peer funders active in overlapping program areas:

Bernice Barbour is considerably smaller than the corporate-backed animal welfare funders (PetSmart Charities, Petco Love), meaning competition for its grants is less intense and the reviewer-to-applicant relationship is more personal. Compared to Morris Animal Foundation — which focuses almost exclusively on scientific research grants to credentialed researchers — Bernice Barbour is more accessible to community shelters, wildlife rehabilitators, and veterinary programs that emphasize operational impact over publishable research. Unlike Maddie's Fund, which prioritizes systemic, transformational change at large scale, Bernice Barbour funds front-line programs at small and mid-sized organizations, making it a natural fit for groups with strong direct-care track records but modest organizational budgets.

No press releases, program announcements, or leadership changes have been identified for 2025–2026 through public web searches. The Bernice Barbour Foundation maintains a deliberately low profile consistent with its character as a quiet, invitation-driven private foundation that has operated without significant media attention since 1986.

The most recent grant cycle information publicly available comes from the foundation's own grantees page, which references the 2023 grant cycle with early June notifications to invited applicants. IRS data confirms FY 2023 remained active and consistent: $887,535 in grants paid, $1,266,685 in total giving, and $18,707,055 in total assets — broadly in line with the prior three-year average.

Leadership has been exceptionally stable. Kathryn Champ has served as Executive Director and Trustee across all available reporting periods, earning between $73,667 and $75,000 annually. Henry Turmon serves as President (compensated at $4,000–$5,000 per year) and Sterling Champ as Treasurer. The board of trustees includes the Lloyd family (Karen Lloyd, Heather Lloyd) and the Little family (Greg Little, Judith Little, Jacqueline Little), suggesting multi-generational involvement that reinforces the foundation's identity as a closely held, mission-driven organization.

Total assets have remained in the $18–19 million band for most of the period from 2019 to 2023, with conservative endowment management through Glenmede Trust providing stability. Organizations that have received grants in prior cycles can expect reasonable continuity in the foundation's program priorities and award levels in the near term.

The Bernice Barbour Foundation's application process rewards patient, relationship-oriented grant seekers who communicate genuine engagement with hands-on animal work. The following guidance is specific to this funder:

• Start with a brief introductory email, not a cold proposal. Executive Director Kathryn Champ (katy@bernicebarbour.org) welcomes unsolicited emails. Inside Philanthropy specifically notes that "an email describing your organization's work might open the door here." Keep it to one page: your mission in one sentence, the specific program you would like funded in two to three sentences, two or three key impact metrics, and your annual operating budget. The goal is to be invited to apply — not to convey every program detail up front.

• Time your outreach for April or May. The foundation notifies invited applicants in early June. Cold outreach sent in late June or July will miss the current cycle's review window. Organizations that contact the foundation in spring give decision-makers time to consider their work before June invitations are issued.

• Treat August 15 as a hard deadline. This is the foundation's published annual submission deadline. No publicly documented exceptions or extensions exist.

• Lead with direct animal impact numbers. Bernice Barbour's founding story — including her personally delivering hay to Colorado elk during harsh winters — reflects a board that values direct, physical involvement with animals. Proposals should foreground concrete outcomes: surgeries performed, animals rehabilitated, TNR procedures completed, species populations stabilized. Phrases like "systems-level change" or "environmental advocacy" are less resonant than "1,800 spay/neuter procedures completed last year serving 600 low-income households."

• Calibrate your first-year ask realistically. The foundation's median grant is $8,750 and average is $15,559. First-year grants to new relationships typically fall in the $5,000–$25,000 range. Requesting $100,000 without a prior relationship is unlikely to succeed. Build the relationship first — the $187,500 annual grants to UPenn Vet reflect years of established trust, not a cold application.

• Highlight underserved geographies or unique niches. The foundation funds across the country and has shown interest in programs in Louisiana, rural Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, and other underserved regions. If your organization fills a geographic or species gap not currently represented in the foundation's grantee portfolio, note it explicitly.

• Use the grantees page as a style guide. Review bernicebarbour.org/grantees.html before drafting any materials. The grant purpose language used by funded organizations ("SPAY IT FORWARD TNR," "WILDLIFE REHABILITATION IN," "TRAINING AND BEHAVIOR") reflects the framing that resonates with this board.