Widger Family Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Widger Family Foundation
The Widger Family Foundation makes a small number of very large grants focused on national philanthropic networks, disability and behavioral-health services in the Philadelphia region, and targeted support for collegiate athletics and student aid. Their giving emphasizes unrestricted or general operating support and programmatic funding, with repeat investments in a few anchor organizations rather than many small gifts. The foundation appears comfortable funding both ideologically-oriented national platforms and local service providers that deliver ongoing client services and scholarships.
Focus Areas
Support for national philanthropic/advocacy networks (Stand Together/related grantmaking)Disability services and residential/behavioral-health provider support in Philadelphia (Elwyn Foundation)Higher education student aid and athletics legacy funds (Virginia Student Aid / Virginia Athletics Foundation, women’s lacrosse)Nonprofit general operating support and capacity-building (large unrestricted grants)Mission-driven media/support organizations (The Phoenix — organizational sustainability and programming)
Who They Fund
clinically high-risk youth (for psychosis)
About Widger Family Foundation
Widger Family Foundation’s largest recent grants point to a clear pattern: very large awards to a small set of organizations, with repeat support for national advocacy infrastructure, Philadelphia-area behavioral health, and student-athlete funding. The foundation gave $1.95 million in 2023 and $1.7 million in 2025 to Stand Together Foundation, and it supported The Phoenix with a $1.1 million general operating grant in 2024. That scale sits alongside major regional gifts, including substantial support for Elwyn and for organizations working in early psychosis care in Philadelphia. The foundation also funds collegiate athletics and scholarship-related work, including Virginia Student Aid Foundation / Virginia Athletics Foundation and women’s lacrosse-related support. Across the recent grants list, the mix suggests a grantmaker that uses large awards to back organizational stability, program growth, and targeted initiatives rather than broad, dispersed small-gift giving. It also appears willing to fund both general operating needs and named projects, especially where the work ties to behavioral and mental health, education, or economic revitalization.
What Widger Family Foundation Funds
Behavioral health appears as one of the foundation’s most specific areas of support. In 2024, it gave $259,000 to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to expand CHOP CSC-FEP capacity and improve access to early psychosis diagnosis. The same year, the University of Pennsylvania received $250,000 to expand PERC CSC-FEP capacity, services, and care duration, also tied to improved access to early psychosis diagnosis. A further behavioral-health example is the $243,750 grant to The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research to replicate the Strong365S online engagement program in Pennsylvania for clinically high-risk youth and new engagement strategies. Education and student support also recur in the recent grants. The foundation awarded $916,500 to Virginia Student Aid Foundation dba Virginia Athletics Foundation for the Virginia Women’s Lacrosse Legacy Fund, leadership coaching, and VAF scholarship, and it also gave $250,000 for women’s lacrosse program support and general operating support.
How Widger Family Foundation Gives
Recent grants cluster around a high-dollar middle range: p25 is $30,625, median grant size is $100,000, and p75 is $256,750. The distribution includes several seven-figure or near-seven-figure awards, so the median understates the scale of the largest commitments. Grantmaking appears to favor recurring relationships rather than one-time contacts; Stand Together Foundation, Elwyn Foundation, Mindful Philanthropy, and Freire Foundation each received more than one grant across the recent record. The foundation also combines general operating support with programmatic funding, including multi-year or named-project awards. It does not accept unsolicited applications in the active programs listed, and the process is described as two formal invite-only grant cycles per year plus discretionary rolling gifts.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.6M
Total Assets
$21.8M
Total Revenue
$8.8M
Total Expenses
$4.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $31K and $257K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$31K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$257K
Geographic Reach
Regional6 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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