The BPMF was founded as a collaborative effort between the judges of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and members of the bankruptcy bar to accomplish various educational, charitable and memorial projects to further the administration of justice, the bankruptcy legal profession and the practice of law in the field of bankruptcy.

Using funds raised from the bankruptcy bar, this fund has underwritten a number of projects to enhance the quality of bankruptcy practice in the Eastern District of Missouri. Portraits of the members of the Bankruptcy Court were procured by the Fund. In October, 2005, the Fund planned and conducted an all-day seminar on the recently enacted bankruptcy reform legislation. The Fund has also sponsored the Gerald Dunne Writing Contest and the Robert Brauer Innovations of Bankruptcy Practice award. The fund has also implemented a Chapter 13 repayment plan which allows Chapter 13 debtors to complete their Chapter 13 plan when they are unable to do so due to extraordinary circumstances such as extreme hardship or due to illness or other circumstances beyond their control.