About The Foundation

Connecting Promise to Progress. Transformative giving. These are not empty catchphrases; these are guiding principles of the Sidney Kimmel Foundation. Since it was established in 1993, the Foundation has focused on making contributions at moments and in places of great impact and possibility:

When the most creative minds need the means to develop innovative ideas.

The Kimmel Scholars Program provides funding to the nation’s brightest young cancer researchers at the outset of their careers, creating the next generation of cancer researchers – now more than 260 strong.

When a city has an opportunity to revitalize itself.

Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is an economic engine at the core of an exciting arts and entertainment scene and, indeed, a catalyst to Philadelphia’s downtown revitalization.

Where real, measurable change can be accomplished.

Thomas Jefferson University is at the forefront of innovations in the teaching of medicine and delivery of healthcare. The Medical College, Cancer Center and Laboratory for Preventive Cardiology, all bearing Sidney Kimmel’s name, are at the heart of Philadelphia and central to realizing ambitious plans.

Where leaders in their professions can be prompted to even greater excellence.

The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University brings together experts and specialists in a collaborative research and patient care environment that is consistently ranked among the nation’s best.

Where religious education means more than weekly Hebrew school.

The Jewish community is strengthened when children live and learn religious teachings on a daily basis. Scholarships made possible by the Sidney Kimmel Foundation’s endowment gift to the Perelman Jewish Day School ensure that Jewish education and traditions continue to thrive.

When action, not bureaucracy, is needed.

In 1998, the March to Conquer Cancer in Washington, underwritten by Sidney Kimmel personally, brought to our daily conversation the need for increased government funding of cancer research. Today, the Foundation is one of the lead sponsors of Stand Up To Cancer, which not only supports the most innovative cross-institutional research but also beats the drum of public demand for more funding.

Today these and other gifts total more than $850 million.

Sidney Kimmel has not only committed to the Buffet and Gates Giving Pledge, he is one of the few to have more than fulfilled it during his lifetime – yet another example of his philanthropic leadership designed to engender change. The Sidney Kimmel Foundation closes the gap between what could be and what is. The Sidney Kimmel Foundation is Connecting Promise to Progress.

The Sidney Kimmel Foundation does not accept applications for funding.