Philip L. Burke Receives the Inaugural Community Bridge-Builder Award

The Community Bridge-Builder Award celebrates professional advisors who bridge sectors, foster meaningful partnerships, and advocate for the personal and collective value of philanthropy.  

The inaugural recipient is Philip L. Burke, a celebrated local trusts and estates attorney and longtime partner to the Community Foundation. Phil goes above and beyond to help people align their values with meaningful charitable strategies, creating bridges between community needs and those who want to help meet them. 

One fond memory is when a client set up a fund at the Foundation that helps upkeep graveyards in rural communities. In other cases, his introductions have led to transformational commitments, including a multi-generational estate plan that could yield more than $10 million in charitable impact. 

As a partner in Family Wealth and Estate Planning at Woods Oviatt Gilman, Phil guides families through life’s most personal conversations with warmth and ease. With a belief that “every little bit helps,” he introduces charitable giving as one option families may consider when planning their legacy. 

He views the current transfer of wealth from the baby boomer generation as a time of opportunity — where families may choose to extend their impact beyond the next generation. 

Phil remembers going door-to-door with his mother, a nurse, collecting donations for the March of Dimes, and watching his father volunteer with Capabilities, a job-skills workshop for people with disabilities.  

For Phil, giving back is rooted in personal connections and love of family. Inspired by his wife’s story of adoption, he has volunteered with Families Thrive (formerly Children Awaiting Parents). After his father’s cancer diagnosis, Phil played a key role in bringing the national Gilda’s Club model to Rochester. Phil knows the arts’ power to enrich lives — a passion that led him to sing and travel with the Rochester Oratorio Society and to serve on the boards of both the Society and Geva Theatre. 

Phil is passionate about Family Promise, a nonprofit where his wife Sharon serves on the board and that provides shelter for families experiencing homelessness. He recalls the deep satisfaction of refurbishing an apartment and then watching a family move into a safe, comfortable home.

Phil Burke’s Philanthropic Flavor

• Talking about the impact and joy of giving with ease thanks to first-hand experience volunteering with nonprofits
• Allowing personal connections and love of family to guide where he gives time and dollars
• Embedding generosity into professional life to benefit career, personal development, and community

Long-standing support for the Community Foundation has included serving on our Board of Directors for twelve years. Phil has been an outspoken advocate for the Foundation’s annual operating fund and added an invaluable voice to an endowment campaign that bolstered the Foundation’s ability to support our community’s future. 

As a young attorney, Phil was introduced to the Foundation through the Professional Advisors Liaison Committee, where he saw fellow attorneys model a strong commitment to philanthropy. He came to realize that community involvement is not just good for the community and your career, but “helps develop who you are.” 

Extensive professional accolades include recognition by “Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers” and service as chair of the 5,000-member Trusts & Estates division of the New York State Bar Association. 

Supported by his firm, Phil has volunteered with Lawyers of Learning, reading to 2nd and 3rd graders in the Rochester City School District, and Meritas, an association of law firms operating in nearly 100 countries. He welcomes peers to embrace philanthropy as part of their professional and personal expertise. 

Phil sees the potential for philanthropy to bridge divides. “The wealth gap keeps getting wider and causing more issues,” he reflects. “If we can limit and reverse that — so more people ‘have’ and fewer people ‘have not’ — that would be a great transformation.” 

Alongside his wife, Sharon, Phil has called Rochester home for 44 years. Together, they raised three children — Stephen, Caitlin, and Julie. Phil recognizes his blessings, how his background and education have contributed to his family’s success. If Phil won the lottery, he says he’d set up a $600 million fund at the Foundation, and we believe that he would do just that.

“If you earn here, give here.”

— Phil Burke, Philanthropy Award Honoree

Phil consistently champions the power of philanthropy, helping clients turn their aspirations into action. For his integrity, leadership, and tireless commitment to building a more connected region, we are proud to recognize Phil Burke with the first Community Bridge-Builder Award. 

Explore past Philanthropy Award honorees.