The Bunbury Fund supports non-profit organizations making significant impacts across central New Jersey, and most specifically Mercer County, to strengthen their capacity to effectively advance their missions toward sustainable, organizational maturity.

The Fund awards one-year capacity building grants of up to $50,000. It also accepts proposals for multi-year grants focused on developing organizational effectiveness over a period of up to three years and a total amount of up to $150,000. It will also consider awarding a planning grant of up to $10,000 to help an organization evaluate the resources required to undertake a more comprehensive capacity building project.

Important Dates for 2023

Dates
Monday, January 23, 2023 2023 Bunbury Fund Cycle 1 Opens
Monday, February 6, 2023 Virtual Grant Info Session (Feb. 6 2:00pm – 3:00pm)
Monday, February 27, 2023 Cycle 1 requests due by 12:00pm noon from applicants
4/27/23 – 5/1/23 Cycle 1 Site Visits
Thursday, May 18, 2023 Cycle 1 Decisions emailed
Friday, June 30, 2023 Cycle 2 Opens
Thursday, July 20, 2023 Virtual Grant Info Session (2:00pm – 3:00pm)
Tuesday, September 5, 2023 Cycle 2 requests due by 12:00pm noon from applicants
10/12/23 to 10/17/23 Cycle 2 Site Visits
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Cycle 2 Decisions emailed

Bunbury Fund Grantee Featured in National Philanthropy Media.
Read more about the capacity building grant here.

The Bunbury Fund recently awarded more than $1.4 million in grants to local nonprofits.
You can read more about the capacity building grants here.

Bunbury Fund Community Survey Response

In spring 2021, the Bunbury Fund sent a survey to its grantees and recent applicants seeking feedback on our processes and communication. Thank you to all who responded. Your comments were helpful and we have used them to make some specific adjustments to the process.

  • Extremely high response rate – 33% (43 out of 130 invited participants)
  • Appreciation of the Bunbury Fund’s distinct focus on capacity building grants
  • Keen desire for more networking, collaboration and information sharing among the Bunbury Fund grantees and including Bunbury Fund advisors
  • Interest in regular feedback from advisors on fund priorities, grantee progress and declines

  • Further streamlining the application
  • Reducing the number of attachments
  • Increasing the added Administrative Grant from 10% to 15% but continuing to not fund staff salaries
  • Committing to consistent grantee feedback through virtual grant updates and site visits
  • Finding new ways to strengthen our partnership with grantees by facilitating grantee learning opportunities through the Community Foundation and by staying abreast of the changing needs and demands being placed on the community we serve.

Thank you to our grantees for the important work you are doing. We are learning with you.

Bunbury Fund Advisors

Watch this video to learn more about the Rescue Mission, including how the nonprofit used a grant from The Bunbury Fund to help upgrade its medical information technology.

The Bunbury Fund sponsored a seminar for board and executive leaders on The Power Good Governance.

To learn more about that event, read 12 Takeaways from our Good Governance Seminar.

The Bunbury Legacy

In 1952, longtime Princeton resident Dean Mathey created The Bunbury Company as a private, grant-making foundation to further his charitable intentions. With a touch of humor, he named the foundation after Uncle Bunbury in Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Ernest. For years when an important project needed funding, and friends came seeking Dean’s support, he would routinely defer the decision until he could consult with his trusted advisor, Mr. Bunbury.

Mathey died in 1972, but his philanthropic legacy lived on through The Bunbury Company’s grantmaking. Over the next 40 years, the foundation awarded more than $75 million to central New Jersey non-profits working on important social, environmental and educational projects. In 2015, The Bunbury Company started a new chapter as a fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation. The Bunbury Fund at the Community Foundation continues original foundation’s legacy of dedication to supporting the nonprofit sector, now with a focus on capacity-building.

Recently funded Bunbury projects:

While PACF / Bunbury Advisors do not endorse or recommend any specific consultants, we encourage applicants to reach out to peer organizations to discuss their consultant outcome and experience. A list of recent projects that Bunbury has funded is available below.

ORGANIZATION
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
FUNDING
CYCLE
Arts Council of Princeton Planning grant to engage a consultant to assist the Arts Council in a deeper examination of organizational effectiveness and stability specifically focused on Board governance, the organization’s executive structure, and improved processes and procedures. This Deep-level work will lead to the development of a comprehensive plan. $11,000 SPRING
Boys & Girls Club of Trenton & Mercer County Implementation of an organizational strategy to improve student outcomes for Social Emotional Learning and enhance the infrastructure needs of the organization. $42,900 SPRING
Community Loan Fund of New Jersey (d/b/a New Jersey Community Capital) Maximize the capacity for staff and resident leaders of the East Trenton Collaborative (ETC) to fully on-board organizational infrastructure and continue creating impact and sustainability. $48,400 SPRING
HiTops Funding for Capacity Building Initiative, an intentional synthesis of strategies that will result in a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable organization. $165,000 SPRING
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. Finalize strategic planning process and implement priorities to strengthen board governance, incorporate leadership and staff training, improve communications and branding, strengthen service delivery and organizational expertise in order to address growing needs and increased demand in Mercer County. $165,000 SPRING
Mercer Street Friends Reorganize the development office, finance office, improve operations and measure organizational impact. $110,000 FALL
Millhill Child & Family Development Develop board ownership and expertise around the issue of succession planning. $66,825 FALL
Old Barracks Association Accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums to increase the credibility and value of the Museum to funders, policy makers, and peers. $5,665 SPRING
Prevention Education Inc. Conduct a comprehensive organizational risk assessment to analyze current and potential risks. $32,469 FALL
Princeton Nursery School Perform a comprehensive self-assessment and planning period to create a multi-year capacity building plan that is contextual, collective and continuous. $11,000 SPRING
Princeton Senior Resource Center Build and strengthen capacity through executive and board coaching, strategic and technological improvement in communications. $165,000
Roebling Museum Implementation of technology to manage collections, donors and visitor relations in a more efficient and effective manner. $8,580 FALL
Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum Planning grant to evaluate current resources and determine strengths, weaknesses and needs including board development, fundraising, volunteer management, marketing/communications, new programs/service development, strategic relationships, succession planning and other areas critical to the long-term growth and sustainability of the organization. $11,000 FALL
The Paul Robeson House of Princeton Preparation of a strategic plan to develop a social justice program and a fund-raising campaign. $11,000 FALL
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen A planning grant to identify the resources required for the development of a leadership development and succession plan for the organization. $10,120 FALL
Trenton Children’s Chorus Developing a partnership between TCC and BGC will improve its overall program offerings, expand TCC’s influence, and align with TCC’s goals to improve children’s lives through artistry in music. $33,000 SPRING
Trenton Circus Squad Support for training and professional development for African American or Hispanic employees from Trenton to facilitate their transition into leadership roles. $13,200 SPRING
Trenton Music Makers Board development in the creation of an organizational Strategic Revenue Development Plan. $9,460 SPRING
UIH Family Partners Implementation of the UIH Family Partners re- branding plan by developing marketing tools and strengthening the organization’s social media presence. $55,000 FALL
VolunteerConnect Conduct an assessment of the organization’s mission and strategic direction to inform the development of a new strategic plan that provides a roadmap for the future. $16,500
West Windsor Arts Center An organizational assessment that will provide a strategic plan, capital campaign plan and board development. $28,623 FALL

ORGANIZATION
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
FUNDING
CYCLE
Planning and execution of partnerships, collaborations, and/or mergers $6,875.00 October 2020
—
Community Action Service Center d/b/a/ Rise Reassessment of financial policies, internal controls, and financial forecasting for long-term sustainability. $29,700.00 December 2020
—
Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, Inc. Sustain and expand the East Trenton food security program. $50,000.00 September 2020
—
Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, Inc. Board Development & Succession Planning Proposal $17,847.50 September 2020
—
Isles, Inc. Strengthening Governance $34,100.00 December 2020
—
LifeTies, Inc Organizational assessment $70,675.00 November 2020
—
Millhill Child and Family Development Succession Planning $41,250.00
—
People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos Financial and Scenario Planning $7,920.00 December 2020
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Princeton Nursery School Using existing financial and operational data to create scenario based models $8,690.00 November 2020
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The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey To develop and build a clear and efficient pathway for automated HIPPA compliant Medicaid billing $23,144.00 November 2020
—
The Father Center (Formerly UIH Family Partners Succession Planning while simultaneously growing their board’s capacity to guide and assist the agency in critical areas such as fund development and financial planning $38,500.00 November 2020
—
Trenton Circus Squad Financial and Scenario Planning $11,000.00 December 2020
—
Trenton Music Makers Using the Adaptive Planning model to create a new strategic plan $16,500.00 December 2020
—
We MAKE Autism at Work Strengthening Governance $33,000.00 December 2020
—
YMCA Princeton Strengthening Governance $53,900.00 December 2020
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The Bunbury Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded more than $1.4 million in grants in 2021 to local nonprofits to help build their internal capacity. Read more

The Bunbury Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded a total of over $1 million in grants to more than 20 nonprofits in 2022. Read more

For more information or support, please contact:

Danny Freund
Grants Manager
Email Danny Freund

Nelida Valentin
Vice President, Grants & Programs
Email Nelida Valentin