Berkeley Businessman Honored with Philanthropy Award

A Berkeley businessman and Saint Mary's High School alum was honored last week with a 2011 Community Impact Award from the Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy (BABIP) organization.

Michael Bush, founder of the Berkeley-based MattMarr Group, has raised more than $8 million for families at or below the poverty level to enable them to afford private school education for their children. Bush has helped find funding for more than 5,000 scholarships at his alma mater, in Berkeley. 

"We look at the scale and depth of the social impact that the philanthropy of the individual has had in the community," said Carolyn Doelling, vice-chair of the board at BABIP. "Literally thousands of families have been impacted by [Bush's] work."

BABIP's 2011 Community Impact Awards took place on Oct. 12 at Stanford University, with seven local philanthropists receiving awards for their contributions to the region, including their efforts to fuel employment, entrepreneurship and innovation for African Americans in the Bay Area. 

"The award meant that there's a lot more for me to do," said Bush. "Things aren't getting better, they're getting worse for people. So therefore, there's even more to do."

BABIP is a regional, nonprofit membership organization that works to advance the interests of African Americans in philanthropy, and to address the impact of racial disparity within philanthropic institutions and African American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Want to know why Bush chose to help low-income students attend private schools? Click on "Follow this article" below and look out for an upcoming in-depth profile on Bush and his philanthropic work.