Bardo Foundation

Origin

In Memory of Bernardo

Bernardo, known as "Bardo" to his Norwegian friends, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer, when he had just turned 15. His life was cut short at the age of 16 after two years of battling the disease.

Bardo's vision was to start a charity to help kids with and find better treatments for osteosarcoma. That vision became The Bardo Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Bardo Foundation is the private foundation established to fund and sustain that mission, providing strategic grants and operating support to close the gaps in childhood cancer research and care.

Two entities, one mission. The Bardo Foundation is the public charity that runs programs and funds research. Bardo Foundation is the private foundation that provides it with operating support and deploys strategic grants to other qualified organizations tackling pediatric cancer.

Focus Areas

What We Fund

High-impact projects that close gaps in childhood cancer research and care.

Bridge the Valley of Death

Investing in work that moves promising discoveries from the lab into treatments for children.

Reduce Global Inequalities

Supporting projects that close the survival gap between children in high-income and low- and middle-income countries.

Strengthen Research Enablers

From collaborative infrastructure to manufacturing capacity, funding the resources needed to accelerate cures.

Grant Programs

How We Deploy Capital

Program I

Strategic Impact Grants

Invitation-only grants to qualified charitable organizations tackling urgent and underfunded challenges in pediatric oncology. Directed toward high-impact initiatives where targeted funding can make the greatest difference.

Program II

Operating Support Grants

Restricted grants to The Bardo Foundation (public charity) and OsteosarcomaNow.org to ensure their programs are built on a strong, sustainable operational foundation.

The Challenge

Why This Work Is Urgent

Childhood cancer remains one of the most underfunded areas of medical research relative to the lives it claims. Despite decades of progress in adult oncology, pediatric patients have been left behind.

Only 4% of federal cancer research funding is allocated to childhood cancers, a severe imbalance given the years of life lost.
Treatment protocols for many pediatric cancers, including osteosarcoma, have not been meaningfully improved in over 40 years.
Small patient populations reduce commercial incentive, leaving drug development dependent on philanthropic and public funding.
Children in low- and middle-income countries face dramatically lower survival rates than those in wealthy nations.
Families face enormous emotional, logistical, and financial burdens alongside the medical battle.

The Valley of Death

The gap between laboratory discoveries and real treatments reaching patients. Promising findings stall due to lack of funding, regulatory hurdles, and insufficient infrastructure for clinical translation.

For pediatric cancers this valley is particularly deep. Small patient populations and limited commercial interest mean breakthroughs routinely stall between bench and bedside.

Bardo Foundation exists to bridge this gap.