Children's Trust Grantmakers

Children's Trust Grantmakers

Overview: An exclusive group of rising philanthropists that hosts an annual spring meeting where hand-selected pediatric researchers pitch pioneering projects for seed funding to kickstart their research.

Geographic Scope: UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and affiliated researchers

Focus Areas:

Pediatric health research

Startup/early-stage pediatric research projects

Recent examples include:

- Childhood asthma research and personalized medicine ($80,000 first place)
- Ewing sarcoma treatment research ($60,000 second place)
- Adolescent epilepsy and neurology research ($30,000 third place)

Eligibility:

Researchers affiliated with UPMC Children's Hospital

Physicians and physician-scientists

Projects must focus on improving pediatric health outcomes

Award Structure:

First place: $80,000

Second place: $60,000

Third place: $30,000

Total distributed in 2024: $170,000

Member Benefits:

Active engagement with patient champions and families

Quarterly updates from funded researchers showing philanthropic impact in action

Opportunity to see research progress and outcomes

Contact: Children's Trust membership inquiries through givetochildrens.org

Background: The annual Grantmakers meeting brings together hand-selected researchers whose work aims at improving pediatric health. Members of the Trust stay informed with quarterly updates from funded researchers.