Charlotte W. Newcombe, a Philadelphia philanthropist, was a benefactress of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where her father had trained as a physician in the early 1880’s. Together with her brother, Mrs. Newcombe endowed the Matthew J. Wilson Professorship of Radiology. She made later gifts to the University in 1970 and in her will to fund research in radiology. Mrs. Newcombe greatly valued higher education; during her lifetime she sent the children of several friends to college, taking a vigorous interest in their progress. In her will, she bequeathed $16 million, half of her estate, to Princeton Theological Seminary to honor her devotion to the Presbyterian Church. She designated the remainder to continue her lifelong interest in supporting students pursuing degrees in higher education. She named five Trustees and charged them with creating the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, which was established in 1979, as a private, independent foundation. Her legacy continues under the stewardship of the Foundation’s Trustees.

Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the Newcombe Foundation has awarded grants for scholarships and fellowships in higher education since 1981.

In addition to annual-use awards, over one-hundred Newcombe-endowed scholarship funds have been established at more than sixty higher education institutions. Most endowment grants from the Foundation have been augmented by matching fund from other donors. Income from these endowed funds is applied each year toward Newcombe Scholarships awarded to students.