Bronstein Family Foundation Announces $15 Million Philanthropic Gift in Memory of 15-year-old Nate Bronstein, to Protect Youth from Cyberbullying

CHICAGO, Feb. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Bronstein Family Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit that was founded in memory of 15-year-old Nate Bronstein and strives to eliminate cyberbullying of children and teens, has announced a commitment of $15 million to further its work to protect youth from online harm. The significant philanthropic gift builds on the foundation’s advocacy and education efforts, including holding K-12 public and private schools accountable when they fail to properly address bullying and cyberbullying.

Rose and Rob Bronstein founded The Bronstein Family Foundation when their son Nate, a vibrant and passionate 15-year-old with a love for basketball and sports, was lost to suicide in January 2022, after enduring relentless cyberbullying by certain classmates and basketball teammates from the Latin School of Chicago. Nate had reported the cyberbullying, but the school did not take appropriate measures to protect him and failed to notify his parents as required by Illinois law.

Since its inception in 2022, the Foundation has been responsible for extensive advocacy and education, including: contributing to legal efforts and public messaging aimed at bringing awareness to the failures of schools to protect minors in their care; working to improve current laws to protect children; supporting efforts to ban electronic devices during the school day; and underwriting the creation of the Tech-Safe Learning Coalition (TLC), which is made up of 20 partners working to keep children safe from the digital dangers of school-issued technology.

The Bronstein Family Foundation’s total commitment of $15 million, to be fulfilled by the end of 2028, includes the $7.8 million the organization has already donated. Additionally, for the first time since its inception, the Foundation has announced that it will now consider making grants of up to $250,000 to select nonprofit organizations, with funding periods of one to three years. Special consideration will be given to small and nascent nonprofits that have annual budgets under $5 million and are focused on the protection of children, particularly online.

The Foundation’s flagship program is Buckets Over Bullying, which advocates for accountability from students, parents, schools and social media platforms. The sports-centric program is a call to action that was created in partnership with NBA influencer and basketball trick-shot star Tristan Jass “T Jass.” Buckets Over Bullying has provided extensive in-school education programs (in partnership with the Organization for Social Media Safety) in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas and Detroit. Buckets Over Bullying has presented its program in front of more than 50,000 children and teens (in person) and millions more online. Its funding of OFSMS programming has provided in-person social media safety training to over 25,000 children and teens. Other initiatives include pro bono legal support for Illinois families affected by bullying, along with public policy advocacy, including support of recent amendments to Illinois’ bullying law and federal legislation such as Sammy’s Law. In its first three years, Buckets Over Bullying has already established partnerships with premier organizations that include Chicago Public Schools Athletics, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the National Basketball Association, the Detroit Pistons, the HoopBus, NAMI Chicago and DePaul University. 

“Rose and Rob Bronstein have bravely transformed personal tragedy into decisive, sustained leadership to protect so many children, and this new philanthropic commitment will save even more lives,” said Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety. “We are honored and grateful to continue our partnership with Buckets Over Bullying, bringing evidence-based social media safety education into K-12 schools nationwide and advancing public policies that protect families from cyberbullying and other social media-related harms.”

Other significant gifts from the Foundation include ongoing support of the Jesse White Foundation and the SportsFactory Foundation, along with a $2.2 million commitment to Detroit-based MATIO (formerly Kids Kicking Cancer).

Instructions for grant applications will be posted shortly on www.bucketsoverbullying.org. In the interim, organizations that fit the criteria and are seeking funding are encouraged to e-mail rose@bucketsoverbullying.org.

About The Bronstein Family Foundation and Buckets Over Bullying
Buckets Over Bullying is a nonprofit initiative of The Bronstein Family Foundation, whose mission is to eliminate cyberbullying of children and teens, including by advocating for accountability from students, schools and social media platforms. The sports-centric initiative is a call to action following the untimely death of Nate Bronstein, a 15-year-old Chicago student tragically lost to suicide on January 13, 2022, after being relentlessly cyberbullied by certain classmates and basketball teammates at the Latin School of Chicago through a group chat, Snapchat posts and a separate message directing Nate to go kill himself. Nate reported the group chat and the Snapchat posts to the school, but the school did not take appropriate measures to protect Nate and the school did not notify Nate’s parents of the cyberbullying report as required by Illinois law. Through education, lawmaking and legal action, Buckets Over Bullying seeks to prevent what happened to Nate and countless others, encourage upstanding digital citizenship and advocate for the accountability of cyberbullies and irresponsible adults, schools and platforms. Visit www.bucketsoverbullying.org and follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Media Contact: 
Rachel Chick
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bucketsoverbullying.org

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