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Henrietta B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation

Annual Giving
$1.6M
Grant Range
$9400K - $12.9M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: ~$1.6 million (2024: $1,640,000 to American Heart Association)
  • Total Assets: $39.8 million (2024)
  • Total Donated: Over $63 million since inception
  • Decision Time: Not applicable (no public application process)
  • Grant Range: Multi-million dollar research networks ($9.4M - $12.9M per major initiative)
  • Geographic Focus: United States (cardiovascular and stroke research)

Contact Details

Address: c/o Glenmede Trust Company, 1650 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone: 215-419-6000

Website: www.bugher.org

Note: The foundation maintains no fully dedicated offices or staff and operates through Glenmede Trust Company.

Overview

The Henrietta B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation was established in 1961 by Frederick McLean Bugher during his lifetime, with the foundation receiving the bulk of his estate upon his death in 1981. Fred Bugher chose cardiovascular research as the foundation's focus because both his parents died of heart disease. With total assets of $39.8 million and more than $63 million donated to date, the Bugher Foundation is the American Heart Association's single largest donor to stroke research and among the most generous research donors in AHA history. Since 1984, the foundation has maintained an exclusive partnership with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association to identify and fund transformative cardiovascular disease and stroke research. The foundation is run by a close group of three trustees representing the Adams family, operating informally and expeditiously with negligible overhead.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Bugher Foundation does not operate traditional grant programs. Instead, it works collaboratively with the American Heart Association to design and fund major research initiatives:

Major Research Initiatives (Historical and Current):

  • Centers for Molecular Biology in the Cardiovascular System (1986-1996): $9.4 million - Six centers training clinically-trained fellows in molecular biology techniques
  • AHA-Bugher Foundation Awards for the Investigation of Stroke (1998-2006): $7.5 million - 35 awards supporting stroke investigation
  • Centers for Stroke Prevention Research (2006-2011): Network of three centers for four years
  • Centers of Excellence in Stroke (2014-2018): Multiple centers receiving ~$2.4 million each
  • Centers of Excellence in Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Network (2021): $11.12 million - Three centers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Yale University, and UC San Francisco
  • Stroke as Systemic and Chronic Disease Investigation (2024): $12.925 million

Priority Areas

  • Cardiovascular research and treatment: Seminal projects judged to be both important and unique that might otherwise have difficulty finding initial funding
  • Stroke research: Particular emphasis on hemorrhagic stroke, the stroke subtype with greatest morbidity and mortality
  • Early-career scientist training: Investing in scientists, not just science - recruiting and training young researchers with medical training to enter research careers
  • Molecular biology applications: Supporting cutting-edge molecular biology techniques in cardiovascular research
  • Collaborative research networks: Multi-center networks promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing

What They Don't Fund

The foundation exclusively funds cardiovascular and stroke research through the American Heart Association. They do not:

  • Accept direct grant applications from individual researchers or institutions
  • Fund research outside cardiovascular/stroke fields
  • Support general operating expenses or non-research activities
  • Make grants to organizations other than the American Heart Association

Governance and Leadership

Current Trustees (three trustees representing three generations):

  • Bryan Adams
  • Bruce Adams
  • Gayliss Ward

The foundation is "run by two families — neither related to the funders nor with any expertise in cardiovascular disease, or any family connection to it."

Key Quotes from Leadership:

Bryan Adams on the AHA partnership: "We've never found a partner who could do a better job, who held more trust and more of our confidence... After 40 years, we're still here and we intend to stay here."

Bryan Adams on hemorrhagic stroke research: "The blueprint for the ASA-Bugher Centers of Excellence in Hemorrhagic Stroke stands on the shoulders of our previous four collaborations with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. We are proud and honored to be part of increasing focus on an area of stroke research that deserves more attention."

Bruce Adams on the partnership model: "We've developed a true partnership where we work together to craft donations that really advance science in a collaborative and more effective way."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Bugher Foundation does not have a public application process. Currently, the foundation is not accepting new grant requests online or through any other channel.

All grants are made exclusively to the American Heart Association. The foundation works collaboratively with AHA leadership to identify strategic research priorities and design major multi-year, multi-million dollar research initiatives. Individual researchers cannot apply directly to the Bugher Foundation.

How Research Gets Funded

  1. Strategic Partnership: The trustees work directly with American Heart Association leadership to identify gaps and opportunities in cardiovascular and stroke research
  2. Collaborative Design: Together, they "craft donations that really advance science in a collaborative and more effective way"
  3. AHA Administration: The American Heart Association administers all Bugher-funded programs, including selecting research institutions, principal investigators, and fellows
  4. Researcher Participation: Individual researchers benefit from Bugher funding by:
    • Being affiliated with institutions selected for AHA-Bugher Centers of Excellence
    • Applying for AHA research positions/fellowships at Bugher-funded centers
    • Participating in Bugher-funded research networks through their institutions

Getting on Their Radar

IMPORTANT: This section contains specific, actionable intelligence about this funder.

For Individual Researchers:

  • Monitor AHA announcements: When the Bugher Foundation funds a new research network or center initiative, the American Heart Association issues calls for applications from institutions. Stay informed through AHA's professional research programs website
  • Join Bugher-funded centers: Once centers are established, they recruit postdoctoral fellows and research staff. Over 150 postdoctoral fellows have been trained through Bugher programs, with 88% remaining in academic medicine
  • Target Bugher-funded institutions: Current Bugher Centers of Excellence include Massachusetts General Hospital, Yale University, and UC San Francisco. Establishing relationships with these institutions increases access to Bugher-funded opportunities

For Research Institutions:

  • Maintain AHA relationships: Institutions are selected through AHA's competitive processes. Strong existing relationships with AHA research programs are essential
  • Demonstrate excellence in targeted areas: Recent focus areas include hemorrhagic stroke, molecular biology in cardiovascular systems, and training early-career scientists
  • Collaborative capacity: The foundation favors multi-center collaborative networks rather than single-institution projects

Direct Contact Not Recommended: The foundation maintains no dedicated staff and operates through trustees who work exclusively with AHA leadership. Unsolicited approaches to the foundation are unlikely to be productive.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications. Major initiatives are developed collaboratively between trustees and AHA leadership on the foundation's timeline, typically resulting in one major multi-million dollar initiative every 3-6 years.

Success Rates

Not applicable for direct applications (no public application process).

For AHA-administered programs funded by Bugher:

  • Institutional success: Only 3 institutions selected per major network initiative
  • Fellow training: Over 150 postdoctoral fellows trained across all programs
  • Career outcomes: 88% of trainees from the 1986-1996 Centers remained in academic medicine; 54% progressed to higher academic ranks; 79% published papers in science; 66% published in molecular biology; 36% obtained extramural funding for their work

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - no public application process exists.

Application Success Factors

Since there is no public application process, these factors reflect what the Bugher Foundation values in the research initiatives it co-designs with the American Heart Association:

Strategic Priorities Emphasized by the Foundation:

  1. "Important and Unique" Projects: The foundation explicitly seeks to fund "seminal projects—those judged to be both important and unique which otherwise might have difficulty finding initial funding." They work at "the leading edge of this research."

  2. Investing in Scientists, Not Just Science: From 1984, "trustees wanted to invest not only in science but also in scientists — primarily early-career scientists, encouraging them to remain in the field by funding their research ideas."

  3. Training Excellence: Programs must demonstrate strong commitment to training the next generation. The foundation's historical programs show high success rates: 88% of fellows remained in academic medicine, with 79% publishing in science and 66% obtaining competitive funding.

  4. High-Quality Investigators and Institutions: The foundation funds "innovative projects under the highest quality investigators and institutions."

  5. Addressing Unmet Needs: Recent focus on hemorrhagic stroke was chosen specifically because it is "the stroke subtype with the greatest morbidity and mortality" - demonstrating the foundation's interest in high-impact areas with significant health burden.

  6. Collaborative Approach: Multi-center networks are strongly favored. Recent initiatives involve 3 major research centers working collaboratively with centralized training hubs.

  7. Long-Term Commitment: The foundation prefers sustained, multi-year commitments ($9.4M - $12.9M over 4-8 years) rather than small, short-term grants.

What Successful Programs Include:

  • Postdoctoral training components with clear career development pathways
  • Collaboration between multiple top-tier institutions
  • Focus on molecular biology techniques or cutting-edge methodologies
  • Potential for transformative impact in cardiovascular/stroke research
  • Strong mentoring networks and publication track records

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. No Direct Access: Individual organizations cannot apply to the Bugher Foundation directly. All funding flows through the exclusive partnership with the American Heart Association. Focus efforts on AHA funding opportunities instead.

  2. Institutional Strategy: If your research institution wants to benefit from Bugher funding, strengthen relationships with AHA research programs and monitor announcements for major new Bugher-AHA initiatives that may issue institutional calls for proposals.

  3. Early-Career Researchers Should Target Bugher Centers: With 150+ fellows trained and strong career outcomes (88% in academic medicine), Bugher-funded centers offer exceptional training opportunities. Current centers are at Mass General, Yale, and UCSF.

  4. Foundation Seeks Transformative Impact: Bugher funding targets "seminal projects" that are "important and unique" and might struggle to find initial funding elsewhere - not incremental research.

  5. Training is Central: Every major Bugher initiative includes robust postdoctoral training components. Programs must demonstrate commitment to developing the next generation of cardiovascular researchers.

  6. Multi-Million Dollar Scale: This foundation thinks big - recent initiatives range from $9.4M to $12.9M. They are not funding small pilot projects.

  7. 40-Year Partnership Loyalty: The trustees have maintained exclusive partnership with AHA since 1984 and have explicitly stated "we intend to stay here." This partnership is not likely to change, so any strategy must work through AHA channels.

References

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