SOURCE OF WEALTH: WR Berkley
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health & Human Services, Environment & Preservation
OVERVIEW: William Berkley and family conduct their philanthropy through the Berkley Family Foundation, which, according to available tax filings, gave away around $1.4 million in 2017. The Berkley’s primarily support educational and health institutions. Connecticut is an important region of giving.
BACKGROUND: William R. Berkley graduated from New York University and received an MBA from Harvard. He founded W.R. Berkley, an insurance firm, in 1967 while still an MBA student. The company went public in 1973; it insures everything from mobile surgery units to fine art.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Berkley is strongly involved with his alma mater, NYU, where he chairs the board of trustees and once chaired the board of overseers of NYU Stern. He has also supported Greenwich Academy, Brunswick School, Achievement First, and The Keys Children’s Foundation.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Grantees include Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, NYU Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery Research Fund, FDNY Foundation, Food for the Poor, Children’s Aid Society, and Near and Far Aid, which works to eliminate poverty in Fairfield County.
ENVIRONMENT & PRESERVATION: Grantees include American Antiquarian Society, National Parks Action Fund, and National Parks Conservation Association.
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Berkley to stick with his select interest areas for now.
CONTACT:
Berkley Family Foundation
600 Brickwell Avenue, 39th Floor
Miami, FL 33131
