← Back to US Funders Directory

Peter And Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation Inc

Annual Giving
$48.3M
Grant Range
$0K - $3.7M
Decision Time
4mo

Peter And Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $48,328,822 (2024)
  • Total Assets: $1.03 billion (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed (invitation-only funder)
  • Decision Time: 3-4 months from invitation to decision
  • Grant Range: $200 - $3,700,000 (most grants under $500,000)
  • Geographic Focus: Connecticut and Greater New York City area (with select international projects)
  • Number of Awards: 172 grants (2024)

Contact Details

Primary Office: 633 Third Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10017

Phone: (212) 360-6173 Email: inquiry@pclbfoundation.org (for initial inquiries) Website: https://pclbfoundation.org

Overview

The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation (PCLB) was established in 1999 by Dr. Peter Buck, co-founder of Subway Sandwiches and a nuclear physicist, and his wife Carmen Lucia. With assets exceeding $1 billion and annual giving of approximately $48 million, PCLB operates as a significant private family foundation guided by the mission: "Giving motivated people the tools they need to help themselves." The foundation focuses on identifying dynamic leaders and effective organizations addressing community problems, providing them with connections, information, experience, and financial resources. PCLB concentrates its giving primarily in Connecticut and the greater New York City area across five program areas: Education, Outdoors, Medicine, Science, and Family Projects.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Education (Largest Program Area)

  • Charter school development and expansion
  • Teacher preparation and workforce development
  • Education policy advocacy
  • Grant examples: $4.5 million to Achievement First, $1.75 million to Prospect Charter Schools, $1.3 million to Northeast Charter Schools Network

Outdoors

  • Land and Easement Acquisition Program (LEAP)
  • Conservation projects in Hudson River and Lake Champlain watersheds
  • Focus on biodiversity, climate resilience, water quality, and connecting people to nature
  • Grants for land acquisition and permanent conservation easements

Medicine

  • Rural healthcare workforce (emphasis on Maine)
  • Global access to medical care in underserved regions
  • Patient and pharmacy services

Science

  • Early-stage research fellowships
  • Research incubators for early-career scientists
  • Partnerships with Smithsonian Institute and Johns Hopkins University
  • Cross-program research initiatives

Family Projects

  • Danbury, CT community initiatives (food security, elderly services, ELL student support)
  • Fundação Carmem Lucia (Brazil) - health clinic services
  • ABRAS (Brazil) - education and social services
  • Casa Piñero (Puerto Rico) - historic preservation
  • Discretionary grants for board-selected organizations

Priority Areas

K-12 Education Excellence

  • Charter schools as "the single most effective education intervention in low-income, urban communities"
  • Charter growth and excellence in Connecticut and New York City
  • Teacher quality, preparation, and diversity
  • Education policy and school finance reform

Land Conservation

  • Permanent land protection through acquisition or easements
  • Projects that close within one year of award
  • Hudson River Valley and Lake Champlain watersheds

Community Support in Danbury, CT

  • Services for older adults to age with dignity
  • Food security programs
  • English Language Learner support

Healthcare Infrastructure

  • Rural healthcare workforce development
  • Access to care in underserved areas globally

What They Don't Fund

  • Individual grants (only to 501(c)(3) organizations or public agencies)
  • Ticketed events
  • Organizations outside their strategic geographic focus (with rare exceptions)
  • Projects not aligned with their five program areas

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors

  • D. Ben Benoit (also serves as Chief Financial Officer)
  • Christopher Buck (family member)
  • Michael Buck (family member)
  • Samuel Buck (family member)
  • William Buck (family member)
  • Vera Lourenco

Executive Leadership

  • Carrie Schindele, Executive Director (Compensation: $321,563 in FY 2024)
  • D. Ben Benoit, Chief Financial Officer (Compensation: $299,479 in FY 2024)

Program Staff

  • Carrie Bernier, Program Director
  • Bob Canace, Senior Program Officer
  • Rebecca Greenberg Ellis, Senior Program Officer (Compensation: $148,021 in FY 2024)
  • Maura Keenan, Program Officer
  • Dan Park, Program Officer
  • Kathryn Pierce, Program Officer
  • Padma Seemangal, Program Officer
  • Lisa Weekes, Program Officer

The foundation operates with five core values: Excellence, Fairness, Humility, Self-Reliance, and Trustworthiness. PCLB emphasizes long-term partnerships with grantees and commitment to continuous improvement.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

PCLB does not accept unsolicited grant applications. However, the foundation actively encourages organizations that believe they align with PCLB's goals to reach out for exploratory conversations.

Initial Contact Process:

  1. Email inquiry@pclbfoundation.org or call (212) 360-6173 with a brief introduction
  2. PCLB's Program Team will respond within 2-3 weeks
  3. For organizations closely aligned with a grant portfolio's goals, an initial inquiry may lead to meetings and site visits with a Program Officer
  4. Together, the organization and Program Officer determine whether there is a match for partnership and funding
  5. If there's a fit, PCLB formally invites the organization to apply through their online grants portal

Application Submission: Invited applicants receive an email with a secure portal link at https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/auth/signin. Only submissions through this online system are processed.

Grant Cycles

PCLB operates three annual grant cycles:

CycleInvitation SentApplication DeadlineBoard ReviewDecision NotificationFunding Disbursed
FallEarly AugustLast Friday of AugustSept-OctBy end of NovemberDecember
WinterMid-NovemberSecond Friday of DecemberJan-FebBy end of FebruaryMarch
SpringMid-FebruaryFirst Friday of MarchMar-AprBy end of MayJune

Decision Timeline

  • Initial inquiry response: 2-3 weeks
  • From invitation to deadline: 3-4 weeks
  • From deadline to decision: 2-3 months
  • Total process (first contact to funding): Approximately 4-6 months for invited applicants

Application Requirements

No word limits - applicants should write what's necessary to comprehensively explain their proposal. PCLB asks organizations to share "the most critical or key outcomes and outputs" they track, including both quantitative and qualitative data.

Notification

Award decisions are announced via email from the Grants Administration Team, followed by communications about grant agreements and payment processing.

Success Rates

PCLB is a highly selective, invitation-only funder. With 172 grants awarded in 2024, the foundation maintains focused relationships with a relatively small number of high-performing organizations. Success rates are not publicly disclosed, but the invitation-only model means that organizations contacted by PCLB Program Officers have already been pre-screened for strong alignment.

Reapplication Policy

Information about reapplication policies is not publicly specified, but the foundation's emphasis on "long-term, high-impact partnerships" suggests they maintain ongoing relationships with successful grantees. Organizations not invited in a particular cycle can maintain contact with Program Officers.

Application Success Factors

What PCLB Looks For

Mission Alignment is Critical Before reaching out, organizations should thoroughly review PCLB's program areas and strategies. The foundation emphasizes that "prior to making an inquiry, organizations should review the grant portfolios to ensure their work is a strong fit with PCLB's goals and strategies."

Charter Schools: Excellence and Growth For education grants, PCLB prioritizes charter schools that demonstrate:

  • Academic performance exceeding district and state averages
  • Capacity to expand access in underserved communities
  • Strong teacher preparation through residency models
  • Diversity in teaching staff reflecting student demographics
  • Work in Connecticut or New York City

Recent major grants include $4.5 million to Achievement First, demonstrating the foundation's willingness to make substantial investments in proven charter school networks.

Land Conservation: Ready-to-Close Projects LEAP grants are designed to "close funding gaps for active projects that are otherwise ready to close." Successful conservation applications:

  • Have projects ready to close within one year
  • Result in permanent land protection
  • Align with goals around biodiversity, climate resilience, and water quality
  • Are located in Hudson River and Lake Champlain watersheds

Organizational Values Alignment PCLB's stated values provide insight into what they seek in partners:

  • Excellence: "Rigorous, high-quality work with patience and continuous improvement"
  • Fairness: "Respect for diverse perspectives and equitable listening"
  • Humility: "Recognition of fallibility and receptiveness to feedback"
  • Self-Reliance: Building "motivated people" with tools to help themselves
  • Trustworthiness: "Consistency, transparency, and reliability as partners"

Proven Capacity and Big Ideas The foundation seeks "high-quality organizations with big, well-conceived ideas and/or proven capacity and capability to effect real change."

Geographic Focus

Organizations should be working primarily in:

  • Connecticut (especially Danbury for Family Projects)
  • Greater New York City area
  • Hudson River and Lake Champlain watersheds (for conservation)
  • Maine (for rural healthcare)
  • Select international locations aligned with family interests

Application Quality

While there are no word limits, applications should comprehensively explain:

  • The problem being addressed
  • Why your organization is positioned to solve it
  • Critical outcomes and outputs you measure
  • How the grant would be used
  • How success will be measured (both quantitative and qualitative metrics)

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Invitation-only doesn't mean don't reach out: PCLB actively encourages aligned organizations to contact them at inquiry@pclbfoundation.org. The Program Team is "constantly in the field, proactively seeking partners."

  • Geographic focus is real: Unless your work is in Connecticut, greater NYC, or their specific focus areas (Maine healthcare, Hudson Valley conservation, Brazil/Puerto Rico family projects), alignment will be challenging.

  • Charter schools are the education priority: While PCLB supports teacher preparation and advocacy, charter school development and expansion receive the lion's share of education funding. If you're not a charter school or charter support organization in CT/NYC, education funding is unlikely.

  • Long-term partnership model: PCLB values ongoing relationships over one-time grants. Major grantees like Achievement First receive multi-million dollar, multi-year support. Demonstrate capacity for sustained partnership.

  • Ready-to-execute projects: Especially for LEAP conservation grants, PCLB fills funding gaps for projects ready to close. They're not funding exploratory or planning phases - they fund execution.

  • Values matter: The foundation's emphasis on Excellence, Fairness, Humility, Self-Reliance, and Trustworthiness isn't just rhetoric. Demonstrate these values in your work, your proposal, and your initial outreach.

  • Program Officers are accessible: With seven Program Officers plus a Program Director, PCLB maintains significant staff capacity for relationship building. A thoughtful initial email or call can open doors.

References

← Back to US Funders Directory