Happy 15th Birthday to BLBB Charitable!
October 2010 - Cedarcrest Charitable Foundation is Created
In October 2010, BLBB Advisors (“BLBB”) founder, Franklin A. Burke and his wife Elizabeth, established the Cedarcrest Charitable Foundation (“Foundation”). As Midwestern, humble people, they did not name the Foundation for themselves or as a “family foundation.” Instead, they chose to name their foundation “Cedarcrest” after their Bucks County farm. Frank used the company he founded in 1964 to take the lead on perpetuating his philanthropic vision rather than have his family run the foundation.
Having grown up in Kansas just after the Great Depression, Frank had a quiet and unassuming way that he approached most things, and he believed that his BLBB colleagues understood his vision in terms of the Foundation's mission and grant recipients. He saw the Foundation as a natural extension of the “servant leadership” ethos he saw within BLBB, and a way to support the volunteer and charitable activities of his colleagues.
2018: Cedarcrest Expands to Become BLBB Charitable
In 2018, following Frank’s death, when a substantial portion of his estate was given to the Foundation, the Directors were able to expand the Foundation’s grants, employee gift matching, and volunteerism programs. The name of the Foundation was also changed to BLBB Charitable, the Giving Arm of BLBB Advisors (BLBB Charitable), to better execute Frank’s vision. The Foundation’s first executive director joined in the spring of 2020, with the five-member board of directors remaining focused on the mission, vision, and, giving strategy launched by Frank and Elizabeth.
Mission
BLBB Charitable supports initiatives that help people discover their full potential through education and leadership opportunities. In keeping with our founder’s legacy, BLBB Charitable does more than make donations—we invest in nonprofit organizations whose creative approach and sound strategies yield meaningful and measurable outcomes for the people they serve.
15-Years of Impact in the Community
Since 2010, BLBB Charitable has invested $14m in grants in the community. Before Frank’s death in 2018, the Foundation had awarded just under $1m in grants. Since then, millions more have been invested in organizations whose work aligns with the education and leadership focus areas the Foundation is deeply committed to. In addition, BLBB Charitable continues to support the charitable passions of the individual employees of BLBB.
More than half of BLBB employees serve in leadership roles at thirty different diverse nonprofits, and all employees volunteer in some capacity. Additionally, for three years in a row, BLBB was named to the Civic 50 Greater Philadelphia. This list recognizes and celebrates the 50 most community-minded companies using their time, talent, and resources to drive social impact within their organizations and communities – setting the standard for civic engagement in the region.
Education & Leadership Grant Spotlight
K-12 Opportunities
During the pandemic, BLBB Charitable partnered with AIM Institute for Learning & Research (AIM) to scale its Learning Management System to allow for the expansive national growth of its online AIM Pathways’ Science of Reading training modules for teachers. As the demand for the training has grown (AIM has successfully trained 40,000 teachers and offers a robust portfolio of 15 established professional development products), BLBB Charitable has partnered with AIM to develop its Knowledge Navigator, an AI-driven educator assessment tool. The core objective of this program is to use assessments as both diagnostic tools and personalized engines to drive engagement with the AIM Pathways courses - ultimately helping educators become proficient in the Science of Reading.
Post-Secondary Opportunities
The BLBB Charitable Internship Program at Bucks County Historical Society-Mercer Museum and the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust allows two strong nonprofits to expand the impact of their missions and train the next generation of leaders in their respective fields together. The interns get hands-on experience, mentoring, and leadership skills throughout their employment. Exposure to career pathways and professional opportunities in their fields of interest is inspiring these students to pursue greater involvement and deeper engagement.
Financial Wellness/Economic Self-Sufficiency
BLBB Charitable has partnered for several years with the Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) to assist them in making an impactful Economic Self-Sufficiency program. BCOC’s Economic Self-Sufficiency program empowers low-income families with the education, skills, and resources necessary to achieve and maintain economic self-sufficiency without any future need for cash welfare subsidies.
In 2024, BLBB Charitable announced a new 3-year grant to BCOC to allow it to grow and expand its Economic Self-Sufficiency program to serve more families in need, especially in targeted areas of neighboring Montgomery County. No other comprehensive program like this currently exists for Montgomery County residents.
Since 1997, over 400 graduate households have achieved economic self-sufficiency through BCOC’s program. The 2024 graduating class, for example, began the program with an average income of $17,223. At the time of graduation, their income had increased on average nearly $30,000 to $46,387.
Burke Legacy Grant Spotlight
For years, Frank Burke dedicated his time, talents and resources to the Williamson College of the Trades (Williamson) in Media, PA. Williamson is a unique three-year, free tuition post-secondary school that prepares young men from lower income families to be leaders in their community and to earn an associate’s degree in various specialized trades and technology.
In Frank’s memory, BLBB Charitable is sponsoring a multi-year commitment to fund Williamson’s Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Since the program's inception in 2019, the Director has worked closely with the College's Advancement team to build a community of graduates who enthusiastically connect with and give back to the school, cultivate alumni leadership skills, build a pipeline of leaders who support and promote the school's mission, and connect current Williamson students to the alumni community to help with job placement and fundraising.
As alumni participation increases, Williamson intends to expand its programs and services to grow all four pillars of alumni engagement: alumni experiences, volunteerism, philanthropy and communication.
Community Engagement Spotlight
For the last two years, BLBB employees joined hundreds of volunteers at ACHIEVEability's Impact Day. ACHIEVEability is working to permanently break the generational cycle of poverty for low-income, single parent and homeless families in Philadelphia through higher education, affordable housing, supportive services, community and economic development and accountability. For many years, BLBB Charitable has financially supported their Family Self-Sufficiency program.
On Impact Day, over 600 volunteers made a powerful impact in West Philadelphia—and the energy was electric. In 2025, the BLBB team cleaned and painted several porches for neighbors on the streets right behind ACHIEVability’s headquarters at 59th and Market Streets. These “Porches That Pop” projects help foster a feeling of pride, cleanliness, and security in the area. Stabilizing and preserving a residence play an important role in stabilizing both a family and a neighborhood, because often the house is the resident’s largest financial asset.
In honor of BLBB Charitable’s 15th birthday this October, and in support of the legacy of Frank and Elizabeth Burke, the BLBB team volunteered with its neighbor, Mitzvah Circle. Mitzvah Circle covers the gaps not provided by government assistance. Essentials like clothing, toothpaste, diapers, and deodorant are examples of items that people need every single day but cannot always afford. As a volunteer-based organization, Mitzvah Circle relies on volunteers like team BLBB to meet the critical needs of 300,000 families a year.
In your own personal way, we invite you to join our efforts, and the Burke’s legacy. We hope you will volunteer, check in on a neighbor or family member, and offer your time or resources to lift others who may need a helping hand.
