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 Bunbury Fund is celebrating 75 years of philanthropic grantmaking made possible by the private foundation that was The Bunbury Company. The grants made in 2024 celebrate The Bunbury Fund’s 10-year anniversary as a donor advised fund that opened at the Princeton Area Community Foundation in 2015.
The Bunbury Fund Advisors are grateful for the opportunity to serve as grantmakers during the ten years The Fund was housed at the Princeton Area Community Foundation. We have learned so much from our community of nonprofits and are in awe of their commitment, work ethic and impact. The decision to “sunset” The Bunbury Fund evolved over time. We believed spending down The Fund was our best shot at fulfilling our purpose. The sunset was accomplished through the trusting, respectful, and collaborative relationship we developed over the course of a decade. The steps and tools we used are outlined in this article. We share our story in the hope that The Bunbury Fund’s distinct sunset experience can be a resource to private foundations, community foundations, donor advised fundholders and all those interested in creating a lasting philanthropic impact.
The evolution from the Bunbury Company, a 65-year-old private foundation, to the donor advised fund that became The Bunbury Fund was an integral step in the process. The Advisors acknowledge with appreciation our home at the Princeton Area Community Foundation and the partnership with former CEO Jeff Vega, current CEO Mathieu Nelesson and their grantmaking, communications, administrative and financial services teams. Of particular note was the helpful consistency of our grantmaking colleague, Danny Freund.
The Bunbury Fund Advisors
Nancy Kieling, Shannon Mason, Meredith Moore, Carolyn Sanderson, Jamie Kyte Sapoch, John Thurber and Jay Watson
September 2025
An Update from the Bunbury Fund
Read more about the Bunbury Fund Sunsetting
The Bunbury Fund Sunset Grantees
Read more about the grantees
Bunbury Fund Grantee Featured in National Philanthropy Media.
Read more about the capacity building grant here.
The Bunbury Fund awarded more than $1 million in grants to local nonprofits in 2023.
You can read more about the capacity building grants here.
Thank you to our grantees for the important work you are doing. We are learning with you.
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.
For more information or support, please contact:
Danny Freund
Director of Discretionary Grantmaking Activities
Email Danny Freund
Nelida Valentin
Vice President, Grants & Programs
Email Nelida Valentin