Bursky Family Foundation

The Bursky Family Foundation operates as a deeply personal philanthropic vehicle for Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky, both Washington University alumni who have channeled their giving almost exclusively through long-standing institutional relationships rather than open competitive grantmaking. Andrew Bursky, co-founder and CEO of Atlas Holdings LLC and current Chair of the WashU Board of Trustees, brings a private equity lens to philanthropy — favoring concentrated, measurable, high-leverage investments in institutions with demonstrated capacity to scale impact.

The foundation was formally recognized by the IRS in June 2025 and maintains its principal office at 100 Northfield Street, Greenwich, CT (EIN: 33-1531703). In fiscal year 2024 — the first year with available 990-PF data — the foundation disbursed $1,671,999 in charitable grants from total assets of $25,306,618, while simultaneously receiving $29 million in new contributions. This pattern reveals a structure that functions less as a traditional endowed foundation and more as an active pass-through vehicle being capitalized in real time by the Burskys to fulfill large-scale pledges.

The giving philosophy centers on depth over breadth. Rather than distributing modest grants across many organizations, the Burskys make concentrated, institution-defining investments in a small number of trusted partners built over years of personal engagement. Washington University in St. Louis is the definitive example: the relationship began with alumni ties, deepened through board service, and progressed from a $10 million immunology center gift in 2016 through COVID-era emergency research funding to a landmark $200 million public health school commitment in May 2026.

First-time applicants must understand this is not a foundation that responds to cold proposals. There is no public grants portal, no published RFP calendar, no application form, and no contact email or phone number available anywhere. Grants flow through personal relationships, board connections, and years of demonstrated alignment with the Burskys' interests in medical research, public health infrastructure, and higher education access. Organizations seeking proximity to this foundation should pursue board-level introductions, co-investment opportunities at WashU, and deep engagement within the human immunology and public health research communities where the Burskys are most visibly embedded.

The Bursky Family Foundation's formal grantmaking record reflects a foundation in its early operational years. The 2024 Form 990-PF (filed July 29, 2025) shows $1,671,999 in charitable disbursements — representing 6.6% of total assets of $25,306,618. Revenue for 2024 reached $35,266,860, driven primarily by $29,000,000 in contributions (82.2% of revenue) and $6,112,216 from asset sales, with investment income comprising only $154,644. Net assets grew to $25,306,618 with zero liabilities reported.

The foundation does not disclose individual grantee names or award amounts in publicly accessible summaries, but the Burskys' documented philanthropic history provides meaningful signal. At the smaller end, early-stage and seed grants appear to have ranged from several hundred thousand dollars to low single-digit millions — consistent with the COVID-era rapid-response research support and seed funding for the Center for Vaccines and Immunity to Microbial Pathogens at WashU. The 2024 disbursement of approximately $1.67M likely reflects a small number of awards (estimated 2-6 grants) in the $250,000 to $750,000 range, though individual grant sizes are not publicly confirmed.

The $200M WashU commitment announced May 13, 2026 represents a categorical shift that dwarfs the foundation's current balance sheet. This is a multi-year pledge structured to fund faculty recruitment, endowed scholarships, fellowships, and research infrastructure at the Bursky School of Public Health — consistent with the Burskys' 2024 capital injection of $29M into the foundation.

By program area, documented giving allocates the dominant share to public health and medical research, anchored by immunology and immunotherapy at WashU Medicine. Higher education access — scholarships, fellowships, and emergency student financial aid — represents a secondary category. STEM education comprises a third, smaller thread. No giving to environmental, arts, housing, or social services sectors has been documented. The geographic footprint is heavily concentrated in St. Louis (WashU) with the foundation's registered address in Greenwich, CT suggesting some national giving breadth.

The Bursky Family Foundation sits within the Philanthropy and Grantmaking NTEE category (T22) alongside several similarly sized private foundations near the $25M asset threshold. The peer set below reflects foundations matched on asset size and classification from the IRS EO Business Master File. Note that these are structural peers by asset scale — not programmatic peers — as each pursues distinct focus areas with limited public disclosure.

What distinguishes the Bursky Family Foundation from these size-matched peers is the dramatic asymmetry between its current balance sheet and its philanthropic ambitions. A $200M pledge from a $25.3M foundation signals that this entity functions as a structured giving conduit — funded in real time by the Burskys' personal wealth (Andrew Bursky co-founded Atlas Holdings, a major industrial private equity firm) rather than operating from a fixed endowment. For grant seekers, this distinction matters: the foundation's capacity to give far exceeds the balance sheet snapshot, but access remains entirely relationship-dependent with no open application process.

The Bursky Family Foundation's defining recent event is the May 13, 2026 announcement of a $200 million commitment to Washington University in St. Louis — the largest gift in WashU's 172-year history. The gift funds the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky School of Public Health, which launched in January 2025 as the first major new U.S. school of public health established since the COVID-19 pandemic. Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and Dean Sandro Galea announced the commitment alongside the Burskys at a campus event in St. Louis.

The $200M pledge will support: immediate faculty hiring to build the school's core research capacity; student scholarships and fellowships to expand access for future public health leaders; new research initiatives spanning pandemics, chronic disease, and the social determinants of health; and an implementation institute designed to translate research into real-world public health practice.

Prior to this landmark gift, the foundation's 2024 IRS filing (submitted July 29, 2025) documented $1,671,999 in charitable disbursements for fiscal year 2024, with the foundation receiving $29M in new contributions that year — consistent with active capitalization in advance of the WashU pledge.

Previous documented milestones include the 2016 establishment of the Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy at WashU Medicine (initial gift reported at $10M), COVID-19 rapid-response research funding during the pandemic, and seed capital for the Center for Vaccines and Immunity to Microbial Pathogens. No leadership changes have been reported; Andrew M. Bursky remains Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary, with Jane M. Bursky serving as Director and Vice Chairman. No other new programs or grantee announcements were identified in publicly available 2025-2026 sources.

The most critical piece of intelligence about the Bursky Family Foundation is that it does not accept unsolicited applications — full stop. There is no grants portal, no published RFP, no listed phone number or email address, and no application instructions on file with the IRS or in any public directory. The foundation's IRS filing carries the designation that no application instructions exist. This is a deliberate design choice reflecting a giving philosophy built entirely on personal relationship and institutional trust.

Effective strategy here is relationship and visibility strategy, not proposal writing:

• Pursue WashU board and faculty pathways first. Andrew Bursky chairs the Washington University Board of Trustees. His philanthropic decision-making is inseparable from this role. Organizations that can demonstrate formal research partnerships, adjunct faculty appointments, or co-investigator status on WashU grants occupy the highest-probability adjacency for Bursky visibility. Identify mutual board members who serve on both your organization's board and WashU's.

• Center your pitch on immunology, public health infrastructure, or higher education access. These are the three documented investment pillars. Proposals touching human immunotherapy, vaccine research, pandemic preparedness, or population-level health systems will resonate. Generic health equity or community wellness framing, without a clear research university partner, is unlikely to align.

• Match the institutional profile exactly. Every documented Bursky grant recipient is a research university or affiliated academic medical center. Community health organizations, advocacy nonprofits, K-12 programs, and social services agencies are not apparent fits based on available giving history.

• Lead with metrics and scale. Andrew Bursky's private equity background (Atlas Holdings, co-founded with partners, focused on industrial company acquisitions) creates strong preference for proposals with clear, measurable outcome frameworks. Quantify: patients treated, researchers trained, publications generated, or public health crises addressed.

• Cultivate over years, not months. The $200M WashU commitment reflects a relationship built over more than 20 years of alumni engagement, board service, and incremental giving escalation. Expect a minimum 12-24 month runway for any relationship cultivation before a funding discussion becomes realistic.

• Do not attempt cold digital outreach. The listed website (bursky.org) resolves to an entirely unrelated company (Bursky Enterprises, an SDVOSB janitorial services firm). There is no foundation web presence and no email or phone contact to target.