The Pfeiffer Research Foundation concentrates its giving on biomedical research infrastructure and higher-education support for bio/biomedical engineering, with a strong emphasis on scholarships and program funding for first-generation and low-income students. Grants range from large institutional gifts to name cores and endowed scholarship funds to targeted support for medical scholar programs and visiting professorships, with occasional modest community gifts. They fund universities and research institutes across the U.S., often establishing endowed scholarships in the Pfeiffer name and making repeat investments in select institutions.
The Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation’s most visible pattern is naming support for research infrastructure and academic programs, including a $500,000 grant to Huntington Medical Research Institutes to name the Imaging Core in Room 332 as the "H. Robert Herold II Imaging Core." That kind of gift sits alongside repeated support for biomedical training and scholarships, showing a portfolio built around research capacity and student support rather than broad general philanthropy. The foundation has also made $150,000 grants to Pfeiffer University for the Milton C. Rose Research Scholars program in both 2023 and 2025, and to Stanford University’s Financial Aid Office for the Medical Scholars Research Program (Pfeiffer Fellows) and the Pfeiffer Distinguished Visiting Professor Series. Those awards point to a strong interest in medical and biomedical research pathways, especially where institutions can attach named programs or fellows to the grant. Its smaller grants continue the same theme at other universities, including endowed scholarship funds for first-generation and low-income students in bio-engineering and biomedical engineering. The mix of naming gifts, endowed scholarships, and scholar programs suggests a funder that supports both research facilities and the people moving through them.
Biomedical engineering education is a clear thread in the foundation’s grantmaking. In 2023, it gave $50,000 each to the New Jersey Institute of Technology Foundation, Yale University, Washington University, the University of Connecticut Foundation Incorporated, and the University of Maine Foundation for endowed scholarship funds for first-generation and low-income students in bio-engineering or bio-medical engineering. Medical research training appears in its support for scholar and fellowship programs. Stanford University’s Financial Aid Office received $150,000 in 2023 for the Medical Scholars Research Program (Pfeiffer Fellows) and the Pfeiffer Distinguished Visiting Professor Series, while Pfeiffer University received $150,000 in 2025 for the Milton C. Rose Research Scholars. The foundation also backs research infrastructure. Huntington Medical Research Institutes received $500,000 in 2025 to name the Imaging Core in Room 332 as the "H. Robert Herold II Imaging Core." Smaller support also reaches alumni and campus funds, including Bowdoin College’s Robert H. Pfeiffer '67 "Pfeif" Fund.
$651K
$19.6M
$1.6M
$849K
Most grants fall between $50K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Concentrated giving: a few large multi-hundred-thousand dollar institutional gifts account for most dollars, with repeat grantee relationships and multiple endowed scholarship commitments; occasional very small unrestricted community gifts.
Notable grantees: Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pfeiffer University, Stanford University (Medical Scholars Research Program), Yale University, Bowdoin College
Typical grant size clusters around $50,000, with the p25, median, and p75 all centered at $50,000, $50,000, and $100,000. The recent record also includes a few much larger institutional gifts, including $150,000 and $500,000 awards. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund, and it funds individuals as well as organizations. The available grants show repeated support for the same institution over multiple years: Pfeiffer University appears in both 2023 and 2025, and Yale University appears multiple times in 2023. That pattern fits a grantmaker that revisits select schools and programs rather than making only one-off awards.
The foundation gives nationally, and every recent grant in the dataset went to a U.S. recipient. Grants are spread across several states, with Maine showing the highest recipient concentration by grant count. Recent recipients include Brunswick and Orono in Maine, along with Pasadena, Stanford, Misenheimer, New Haven, Newark, St. Louis, and Storrs. The foundation’s headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware, but none of the recent grants go to Delaware recipients.
It repeatedly supports biomedical research infrastructure, medical research training, and scholarship funds tied to bio-engineering or biomedical engineering. Recent examples include an imaging core naming gift, a medical scholars research program, and multiple endowed scholarship funds for first-generation and low-income students.
The typical grant size is $50,000. In the recent data, the p25 is $50,000, the median is $50,000, and the p75 is $100,000, with a few larger outliers such as $150,000 and $500,000.
Yes. Pfeiffer University received grants in both 2023 and 2025, and Yale University appears multiple times in the 2023 list. That suggests repeat support for selected institutions and programs.
Maine is the top state by grant count in the recent data. Named recipient cities include Brunswick and Orono in Maine, plus Pasadena, Stanford, Misenheimer, New Haven, Newark, St. Louis, and Storrs.
Yes. The foundation is marked as funding individuals, and its recent grant pattern includes scholarships and fellowships, such as endowed scholarship funds for first-generation and low-income students and a Medical Scholars Research Program.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUNTINGTON MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES | PASADENA, CA | $500,000 | 2025 | To name the Imaging Core located in Room 332 as the "H. Robert Herold II Imaging Core" |
| PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY | MISENHEIMER, NC | $150,000 | 2025 | Milton C. Rose Research Scholars |
| OLD MILL FOUNDATION | SAN MARINO, CA | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY - FINANCIAL AID OFFICE | STANFORD, CA | $150,000 | 2023 | The Medical Scholars Research Program (Pfeiffer Fellows) and Pfeiffer Distinguished Visiting Professor Series |
| PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY | MISENHEIMER, NC | $150,000 | 2023 | Milton C. Rose Research Scholars program |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $100,000 | 2023 | George Robert Pfeiffer fellowship fund |
| BOWDOIN COLLEGE | BRUNSWICK, ME | $100,000 | 2023 | Robert H. Pfeiffer '67 "Pfeif" Fund |
| WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | ST LOUIS, MO | $50,000 | 2023 | Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering |
| UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT FOUNDATION INCORPORATED | STORRS, CT | $50,000 | 2023 | Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering |
| UNIVERSITY OF MAINE FOUNDATION | ORONO, ME | $50,000 | 2023 | Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering |
| YALE UNIVERSITY | NEW HAVEN, CT | $50,000 | 2023 | Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering |
| NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION | NEWARK, NJ | $50,000 | 2023 | Pfeiffer Foundation endowed scholarship fund for first gen/low income students in bio-engineering or bio-medical engineering |
| LITTLE KIDS ROCK INC | MONTCLAIR, NJ | $250 | 2023 | general & unrestricted |
To name the Imaging Core located in Room 332 as the "H. Robert Herold II Imaging Core"
OLD MILL FOUNDATION
$1,000General & Unrestricted
STANFORD UNIVERSITY - FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
$150,000The Medical Scholars Research Program (Pfeiffer Fellows) and Pfeiffer Distinguished Visiting Professor Series
YALE UNIVERSITY
$100,000George Robert Pfeiffer fellowship fund
Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering
Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering
Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering
YALE UNIVERSITY
$50,000Pfeiffer Foundation Endowed Scholarship fund for First Gen/Low Income Students in Bio-Engineering or Bio-Medical Engineering
Pfeiffer Foundation endowed scholarship fund for first gen/low income students in bio-engineering or bio-medical engineering