The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation (PCLB) was established to manage the philanthropy of Dr. Peter Buck and his wife Carmen Lucia in a strategic manner. Its mission is to provide motivated individuals with the tools necessary to help themselves. This encompasses more than just grants; guidance, connections, convening, information, and other support forms are included to aid grantees. PCLB aims to support high-quality organizations showing initiative, leadership, and innovation in addressing meaningful issues to the family and their communities.
PCLB's grantmaking focuses on Education, Outdoors, Medicine, the Danbury Area, Journalism, Science, and Family Projects, reflecting diverse interests:
Education: Funding strategies that enhance K-12 educational opportunities, including charter schools, advocacy for effective educational policies, programs that recruit and retain high-quality school staff, and scholarships for motivated students.
Outdoors: Grants support land conservation and smart growth in New York’s Hudson Valley and parts of Connecticut, including preserving open space, promoting smart community growth, supporting enduring land trusts through mergers, and providing "camperships" for youth.
Medicine: Investing in global health care capabilities through organizations like MSF-Doctors Without Borders and Callen-Lorde, focusing on rapid response to health crises and specialized care for the LGBTQ community in New York.
Danbury Area: Enhancing the quality of life in Danbury, Connecticut, with a focus on aging with dignity, food insecurity, social isolation, support for English Language Learner students, and education through internships or summer employment opportunities.
Journalism: Supporting quality, local non-profit journalism outlets and organizations to foster a well-informed and engaged society, with plans to sunset this portfolio in 2025 due to strategic shifts.
Science: Providing fellowships for early-stage research to enable scientific discovery, typically supporting early-career scientists or new research ideas.
Family Projects: Funding programs that honor and extend the legacy of family members, including support for Museum Casa Piñero in Puerto Rico, Fundação Carmen Lucia in Brazil, and grants by ABRAS to charities in Brazil.
These areas reflect PCLB's commitment to solving complex issues through innovative and targeted support, seeking to effect meaningful change across a broad spectrum of social, educational, environmental, and scientific fields.
PCLB allocates grants for general operational needs as well as specific project funding, favoring the support of top-performing organizations dedicated to issues of significant concern to PCLB. While other funding requests can be entertained, they require prior conversations with PCLB personnel.