The Pew Charitable Trusts

The Pew Charitable Trusts, philanthropic organization created in 1948 by the children of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the trusts help fund nonprofit activities in the areas of culture, education, the environment, health and human services, public policy, and religion.

The four children of Joseph and Mary Pew—J. Howard Pew, J. N. Pew, Jr., Mary Ethel Pew, and Mabel Pew—created the foundation to honor their parents. However, they shied from public attention and in the first few decades of the trust’s existence did their giving anonymously. Originally known as The Pew Memorial Foundation, the philanthropy gave away $12.5 million from 1948 to 1956. In 1956 the four siblings realized that they needed a staff to handle the tasks of making grants. As a result, they created a series of trusts, which allowed them to create individual funds with particular missions reflecting their charitable interests.

During the 1960s and 1970s the trusts grew rapidly and the amount of the grants also increased, especially in education and medical research. By the end of the 1970s, the original founders of the trust had all passed away.

The Pew trusts are among the largest private philanthropies in the United States, with assets of more than $4 billion. They make annual grants totaling about $230 million. In addition to funding organizations with religious affiliations, the trusts have a strong commitment to Philadelphia-area organizations. Because J. Howard Pew believed that nonprofits should demonstrate their value annually, the trusts give one-year grants and avoid supporting endowment campaigns by nonprofit organizations. The trusts remain committed to the values of the founders: encouraging free enterprise, improving the quality of life, and nurturing democratic traditions, while supporting freedom of religion and an educated citizenry.