FundersMassachusetts

Lee Bank Foundation Inc

Lee, MA · EIN 86-1211806. Reported 169 grants totalling $853,400 to 99 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$853,400granted, 2021-2024
99organizations funded
40%of grantees funded again the next year
$5,331,892assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Lee Bank Foundation Inc did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $7,500; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $20,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
76 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
65 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
28 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Elizabeth Freeman Center IncPittsfield, MA$42,500442024
Berkshire Community Action CouncilPittsfield, MA$36,800332023
18 Degrees IncPittsfield, MA$31,500442024
Berkshire Innovation Center IncPittsfield, MA$30,000442024
Community Access to the ArtsGreat Barrington, MA$28,200332024
Berkshire BountyGreat Barrington, MA$25,000442024
Flying Cloud InstituteGreat Barrington, MA$25,000442024
Construct IncGreat Barrington, MA$22,500332024
Berkshire MuseumPittsfield, MA$21,000222022
Berkshire South Regional Community CenterGreat Barrington, MA$20,000332024
Mahaiwe Performing ArtsGreat Barrington, MA$20,000222023
GreenagersS Egremont, MA$17,500332024
Vim BerkshiresGreat Barrington, MA$17,500222022
Pittsfield Public SchoolsPittsfield, MA$16,000112021
Berkshire GrownGreat Barrington, MA$15,000332024
Berkshire Nursing FamiliesAdams, MA$15,000332024
Downtown Pittsfield Cultural AssociationPittsfield, MA$15,000222024
Roots Rising IncPittsfield, MA$15,000222023
Second Street Second Chances IncPittsfield, MA$15,000222024
Railroad Street Youth ProjectGreat Barrington, MA$14,600332024
Berkshire Immigrant CenterPittsfield, MA$13,500332023
CdcsbGreat Barrington, MA$13,100222022
Berkshire Agricultural VenturesGreat Barrington, MA$12,500222024
Berkshire Film & Media CollaborativePittsfield, MA$12,500222024
Central Berkshire Habitat for HumanityPittsfield, MA$12,500112021
Focus Is Our ChildrenPittsfield, MA$12,500222024
Mahaiwe Performing Arts CenterGreat Barrington, MA$12,500222024
LATINAS413Great Barrington, MA$12,300222023
Literacy Network of South BerkshireLee, MA$11,250442024
Barrington Stage CompanyPittsfield, MA$10,000222023
Berkshire South Regional CommunityGreat Barrington, MA$10,000112021
ChpPittsfield, MA$10,000112022
Community Development Corp of South BerkshireGreat Barrington, MA$10,000112023
The Berkshire Family YMCAPittsfield, MA$10,000112021
The Brien CenterPittsfield, MA$10,000222024
Volunteers in Medicine- Vim BerkshiresGreat Barrington, MA$10,000112024
SonrisasCheshire, MA$9,100222024
Extra Special TeasGreat Barrington, MA$8,000222022
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western MaWest Springfield, MA$7,500112024
NAACP Berkshire County BranchPittsfield, MA$7,500112021
Root RisingPittsfield, MA$7,500112024
Volunteers in MedicineGreat Barrington, MA$7,500112023
Becket AthenaeumBecket, MA$6,500222024
Berkshire Center for Justice IncGreat Barrington, MA$6,500222023
Berkshire Black Economic CouncilPittsfield, MA$6,000112022
Berkshire Community Diaper ProjectW Stockbridge, MA$6,000332024
Pediatric Development CenterPittsfield, MA$6,000112024
Community Recreation Association IncDalton, MA$5,500332024
Berkshire Children's ChorusSheffield, MA$5,000222024
Berkshire Coalition for Suicide PreventionPittsfield, MA$5,000112024
Berkshire County Head StartPittsfield, MA$5,000112022
Berkshire Natural Resources CouncilLenox, MA$5,000112024
Blackshires Community Empowerment FoundationPittsfield, MA$5,000112024
Entrepreneurship for AllPittsfield, MA$5,000222023
GoodwillPittsfield, MA$5,000222023
Junior Acheivement of Western MaSpringfield, MA$5,000112024
Music in Common IncSheffield, MA$5,000112021
NAMI Berkshire CountyPittsfield, MA$5,000112022
New Stage Performing Arts Center IncGreat Barrington, MA$5,000112021
South Congregational ChurchPittsfield, MA$5,000112022
Youth Education and Sports Initiative IncPittsfield, MA$5,000112021
Goodwill Industries of the BerkshiresPittsield, MA$4,750222024
BfairNorth Adams, MA$4,500112022
Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires IncGreat Barrington, MA$4,500222024
Berkshire County Historical SocietyPittsfield, MA$4,000222023
Berkshire PulseHousatonic, MA$3,500332024
Mass MocaNorth Adams, MA$3,300112021
Berkshire County ArcPittsfield, MA$3,250222023
Wam TheatreLexnox, MA$3,000332023
Berkshire Music SchoolPittsfield, MA$2,500112024
Berkshire Regional Planning CommissionPittsfield, MA$2,500112022
Business Professionals of America Massachusetts Association IncLittleton, MA$2,500112022
Childcare of the BerkshiresNorth Adams, MA$2,500112024
Good Work Institute IncKingston, MA$2,500112021
Hilltown VillageHuntington, MA$2,500112024
Kripalu Center for Yoga & HealthStockbridge, MA$2,500112024
Literacy Volunteers of Berkshire CountyPittsfield, MA$2,500112023
Massachusetts Audubon SocietyLincoln, MA$2,500112023
Berkshire Area Health Education Center IncDalton, MA$2,000112021
Riverbrook ResidenceStockbridge, MA$2,000112024
The People's Pantry IncGreat Barrington, MA$2,000222024
Link to Libraries IncHampden, MA$1,700112022
Lee Historical SocietyLee, MA$1,500112022
Walking Our TalkGreat Barrington, MA$1,500112023
Roots Teen CenterNorth Adams, MA$1,050112023
Alliance for a Viable FutureKingston, NY$1,000112022
Berkshire Botanical GardensStockbridge, MA$1,000112023
Berkshire Concert Choir IncPittsfield, MA$1,000112021
Berkshire Theater GroupPittsfield, MA$1,000112022
BodysonnetNew York, NY$1,000112022
Center for Peace Through CultureGreat Barrington, MA$1,000112022
Chabad of the BerkshiresPittsfield, MA$1,000112022
Greatbarrington Public TheaterGreat Barrington, MA$1,000112021
Housatonic Heritage - the MastheadsSalisbury, CT$1,000112022
IS183 Art SchoolStockbridge, MA$1,000112021
Life Needs Coop - Stanton HomeGreat Barrington, MA$1,000112022
Norman Rockwell MuseumStockbridge, MA$1,000112022
Shakespeare & Company IncLenox, MA$1,000112021
The Christian CenterPittsfield, MA$1,000112022

45 of 99 (45%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 40%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 111 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Arts & Culture
22 grants
Human Services
17 grants
Education
14 grants
Food & Nutrition
14 grants
Health Care
7 grants
Environment
6 grants
Employment
5 grants
Recreation & Sports
4 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202141$258,060$5,000
202245$204,470$4,500
202341$182,370$5,000
202442$208,500$5,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Already committed for future years

Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Lee Bank Foundation Inc has 1 of them, worth $4,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.

OrganizationLocationApproved
Becket AthenaeumBecket, MA$4,000

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 100% of this one's giving went to organizations in Massachusetts. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Massachusetts
$850K
New York
$2K
Connecticut
$1K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Berkshire Taconic Community55 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund34 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc22 shared recipientsBerkshire Bank Foundation Inc21 shared recipientsJane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust19 shared recipientsBerkshire United Way Inc16 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Massachusetts.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding arts & culture in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding human services in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Lee Bank Foundation Inc's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 75 Park Street, Lee, MA, 01238. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 86-1211806 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.