OVERVIEW: The Water Cove Charitable Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health and medical research. It also earmarks funds for education and youth organizations.
IP TAKE: The Water Cove Charitable Foundation is an under the radar funder that specializes in support for disease research organizations. The foundation lacks transparency and restricts public information about its grant priorities and strategies. It does not maintain a website or have much of an internet presence. Additionally, because it contributes only to pre-selected organizations, grantseekers will find securing funding here to be a pretty steep uphill climb. Networking is likely your best bet.
PROFILE: Established in 1999, the Water Cove Charitable Foundation was founded by Bruce and Kim Sachs Bruce I. Sachs graduated with his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Bucknell University in 1980, his Masters in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in 1981, and his M.B.A. from Northeastern University in 1988. Sachs started his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories and then as a director of engineering at Memotec/Infinet. Bruce Sachs is a general partner at the firm Charles River Ventures, and he sits on the Board of Directors at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. According to tax records, the Water Cove Charitable Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health, diseases, and medical research. It also earmarks a small amount of funds for education and youth organizations.
Grants for Diseases and Science Research
While the foundation does not have a website or publicly announce its funding priorities, tax records show that almost all grants support large national research organizations focused on improving diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases.
- Water Cover donated $5 million to Brigham & Women’s Physician Hospital to help fund a research project focused on Progressive MS.
- The foundation has strongly supported the Accelerated Cure Project and has given millions to the multiple sclerosis organization. The forces here are personal as Kim Sachs was diagnosed with the disease.
- Other past grant recipients include American Cancer Society, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, American Diabetes Association, Alzheimer’s Association, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
- The Wilson Lab at the University of California San Francisco is another grantee.
Grants for Education and Human Services
Water Cove only supports a small handful of organizations focused on areas other than disease research.
- In education, the foundation supports Sachs’ alma mater Bucknell University and gives to Year Up United, a nonprofit that provides skills and job training and career placement services for job seekers without a college degree.
- Its human services grants have supported places like Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, Salvation Army- Massachusetts Division, Pine Street Inn Housing, Boston Employment Service, The Boston Home, and The Greater Boston Food Bank.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range from $1,000 to $25,000, but they have occasionally reached into the millions. The foundation awarded over $1.3 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $17 million in assets.
- It has made grants in more than a dozen states, but the vast majority stay in Massachusetts.
- Review the foundation’s recent 990s for more insight into its giving.
- The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
- Contact the Water Cove Charitable Foundation at the address below.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
CONTACT:
20 1st Ave S
Naples, FL 34102-5945
