BWF makes grants primarily to degree-granting institutions on behalf of individual researchers. To complement these competitive award programs, BWF also makes grants to nonprofit organizations conducting activities intended to improve the general environment for science.

BWF believes that a diverse scientific workforce is essential to the process and advancement of research innovation, academic discovery, and public service.

A Board of Directors comprising distinguished scientists and business leaders governs BWF. BWF was founded in 1955 as the corporate foundation of the pharmaceutical firm Burroughs Wellcome Co. In 1993, a generous gift from the Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom, enabled BWF to become fully independent from the company, which was acquired by Glaxo in 1995. BWF has no affiliation with any corporation.

The app used for BWF events communicates the meeting agenda, attendee lists, transportation logistics, speaker information, and other various topics to assist meeting attendees during their attendance at a BWF meeting.