Ploughshares Foundation
Highland Park, IL · EIN 36-3739577. Reported 1,838 grants totalling $17.2M to 473 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$5,000median grant
$17.2Mgranted, 2021-2025
473recipients, as named on its returns
92%of grantees funded again the next year
$80.6Massets, 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. Ploughshares Foundation 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 $3,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
473 recipient names appear in its filings; the 250 largest are listed here. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors Without Borders | Hagerstown, MD | $440,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Lenny Zakim Fund | Boston, MA | $375,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Earlham College | Richmond, IN | $300,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Unitarian Universalist Service Committee | Cambridge, MA | $300,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Direct Relief International | Santa Barbara, CA | $280,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Partners in Health | Frederick, MD | $275,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Save the Children | Fairfield, CT | $265,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends Service Committee | Philadelphia, PA | $255,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| First Parish in Cambridge | Cambridge, MA | $250,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| United Mid Coast Charities Inc | Camden, ME | $250,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boston Foundation | Boston, MA | $219,900 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| International Rescue Committee | Albert Lea, MN | $210,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Jewish World Service | New York, NY | $202,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Americares Foundation Inc | Stamford, CT | $200,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Partners in Health | Boston, MA | $195,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, MA | $178,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mercy Corps | Portland, OR | $170,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Museum of Fine Arts | Boston, MA | $170,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc | Washington, DC | $162,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Oxfam America | Boston, MA | $155,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Care | Atlanta, GA | $150,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Community Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $142,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| 350ORG | Boston, MA | $140,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Global Giving | Washington, DC | $133,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Wbur Radio Station Fund | Boston, MA | $129,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| US Fund for Unicef | New York, NY | $128,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Project Bread | East Boston, MA | $127,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Natural Resource Defense Council | New York, NY | $113,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Cure Violence Global | Chicago, IL | $110,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Amnesty International | New York, NY | $106,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Greater Boston Legal Services | Boston, MA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| International Rescue Committee | New York, NY | $105,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Nature Conservancy of Maine | Brunswick, ME | $102,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Catholic Relief Services | Baltimore, MD | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| City of Cambridge Scholarship Fund | Cambridge, MA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Maine Coast Heritage Trust | Topsham, ME | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mercy Corps | Boone, IA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| New England Conservatory of Music | Boston, MA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry | Roxbury, MA | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| World Monuments Fund | New York, NY | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| CASA Myrna | Boston, MA | $92,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hope for Haiti | Naples, FL | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mills College | Oakland, CA | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Natural Resources Council of Maine | Augusta, ME | $90,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $89,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Brookline Community Foundation | Brookline, MA | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Greenpeace Fund | Washington, DC | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Equal Justice Initiative | Montgomery, AL | $82,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Amnesty International USA | New York, NY | $76,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Brookline Center for Community Mental Health | Brookline, MA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Carter Center | Atlanta, GA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Habitat for Humanity International Inc | Americus, GA | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Human Rights Watch | New York, NY | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Knox Clinic | Rockland, ME | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Hias | Washington, DC | $73,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Rosie's Place | Boston, MA | $73,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Public Library Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $69,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| De Novo | Cambridge, MA | $65,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Justice Resource Institute | Needham, MA | $65,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Andrew Goodman Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | $64,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Area Interfaith Outreach Food Pantry | Rockland, ME | $61,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Client Reality Project | Washington, DC | $61,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Committee to Protect Journalists | New York, NY | $61,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Brookline Library Foundation | Brookline, MA | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Homeboy Industries | Los Angeles, CA | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Horizons for Homeless Children | Roxbury, MA | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Island Institute | Rockland, ME | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mills College Legacy Scholarship Fund | Oakland, CA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Francis House | Boston, MA | $60,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Stone House | Roxbury, MA | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Hand in Hand | Portland, OR | $59,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Homestart Inc | Boston, MA | $57,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Community Chorus | Cambridge, MA | $56,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Seeds of Peace | New York, NY | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Stop Handgun Violence | Beverly, MA | $55,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Georges River Land Trust | Rockland, ME | $54,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Montgomery, AL | $53,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Innocence Project | New York, NY | $52,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| A Far Cry | Jamaica Plain, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Accion International | Cambridge, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boston Health Care Program for the Homeless | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Dudley St Neighborhood Initiative | Roxbury, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Environmental Defense Fund | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Global Links | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Global Water Challenge | Arlington, VA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Healthright International | New York, NY | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jewish Council on Urban Affairs | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Margaret Fuller House | Cambridge, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| New Commonwealth Fund | Roxbury, MA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Physicians for Human Rights | New York, NY | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| USA for Iom | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| USA for Unhcr | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Waterorg | Kansas City, MO | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| World Food Program USA | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Abraham Initiatives | New York, NY | $49,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Brookline Emergency Food Pantry St Pauls Episcopal Church | Brookline, MA | $48,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| No More Deathsuu Church of Tuscon | Tuscon, AZ | $47,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Roca Inc | Chelsea, MA | $47,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Syrian American Medical Society Foundation | Washington, DC | $47,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| All Hands and Hearts Smart Response | Mattapoiett, MA | $46,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Barakat Inc | Cambridge, MA | $46,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mpbn (maine Public Broadcasting Network) | Lewiston, ME | $46,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Action Against Hunger | New York, NY | $44,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Concern Worldwide US | New York, NY | $44,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Women for Afghan Women | Fresh Meadows, NY | $44,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Gun Violence Solutionsjohns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | $43,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| American Civil Liberties Union Foundation | New York, NY | $42,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Penquis | Bangor, ME | $42,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press | Washington, DC | $42,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Trust for Public Land | Portland, ME | $42,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Parents Circle-Family Forum | New York, NY | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Centro Presente | East Boston, MA | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Childrens Defense Fund | Washington, DC | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Families Against Mandatory Minimums | Washington, DC | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Food for Free | Cambridge, MA | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Global Fund for Women | Washington, DC | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Global Greengrants Fund | Boulder, CO | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc | New York, NY | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tkf (tariq Khamisa Foundation) | San Diego, CA | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Unrwa USA National Committee | Washington, DC | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Araha | Minneapolis, MN | $39,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Green America | Washington, DC | $38,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Immigrants Rising | San Francisco, CA | $38,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Maine Community Foundation | Ellsworth, ME | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast | Belfast, ME | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Interfaith Welcome Coalition | San Antonio, TX | $36,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Somerville Homeless Coalition | Somerville, MA | $36,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Bottom Line | Boston, MA | $35,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Louis D Brown Peace Institute | Dorchester, MA | $35,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pine Street Inn | Boston, MA | $35,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Borderlinks | Tuscon, AZ | $34,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boston Medical Center | Boston, MA | $34,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ev Kids | Dorchester, MA | $34,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence | San Francisco, CA | $34,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| States United to Prevent Gun Violence | East Arlington, MA | $34,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism | St Paul, MN | $32,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Brookline Emergency Food Pantry | Brookline, MA | $32,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| International Refugee Assistance Project (irap) | New York, NY | $32,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pair Project | Boston, MA | $32,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Violence Policy Center | Washington, DC | $32,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Breakthrough Greater Boston | Cambridge, MA | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Conservation Law Foundation | Boston, MA | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Earthjustice | San Francisco, CA | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston | Boston, MA | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ploughshares Fund | San Francisco, CA | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty | Austin, TX | $31,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Acadia Center | Rockport, ME | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Charitywater Inc | Franklin, TN | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Charitywater Inc | New York, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Friends of Matenwa | Cambridge, MA | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Raices | San Antonio, TX | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Trustees | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Tides Center | San Francisco, CA | $30,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Bma Ten Point | Roxbury, MA | $29,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Bridge Over Troubled Waters | Boston, MA | $29,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Conservatory Lab Charter School Foundation | Dorchester, MA | $29,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Dr Susan Love Research Foundation | West Hollywood, CA | $29,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Florence Project | Tuscon, AZ | $29,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boston Singers' Resource Fund | Boston, MA | $28,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti | Marshfield, MA | $28,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Paine Senior Services | Cambridge, MA | $28,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| USA for Unfpa | New York, NY | $28,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Children of the Night | Los Angeles, CA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Climatexchange Educations and Research Inc | Boston, MA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Death Penalty Focus | Sacramento, CA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Greater Boston Interfaith Organization | Roxbury, MA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mass Coalition for the Homeless | Lynn, MA | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| AIDS Action Committee | Roxbury, MA | $26,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ashoka | Arlington, VA | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Better Future Project | Cambridge, MA | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Immigrant Family Services Institute Incifsi-USA | Mattapan, MA | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Partakers Inc | Auburndale, MA | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Young Center | Chicago, IL | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boston Barque | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Catholic Relief Services | Tipton, IA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Communities for Restorative Justice | Concord, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Eva Center | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Farnsworth Art Museum | Rockland, ME | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| First Nations Development Institute | Longmont, CO | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Franklin Park Coalition | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of Boston Homeless | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of the Children - Boston | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Grassroots International | Jamaica Plain, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Haley House | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Handel and Haydn Society | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Homeworthy | Rockland, ME | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Inquilinos Boricuas En Accion | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| International Medical Corp | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Natural Resource Defense Counsil | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| On the Rise | Cambridge, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of South Texas | San Antonio, TX | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Polaris Project | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Project Step | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Respond | Somerville, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Somali Development Center | Roxbury, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Transition House | Cambridge, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| WGBH Tv Channel 2 Public Broadcasting | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Zumix Inc | East Boston, MA | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Antiracist Researchboston University | Boston, MA | $24,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Housing Assistance Fund | Boston, MA | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Global Response Management | Yulee, FL | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Home Humanitarian Outreach for Migrant Emotional Health | Richardson, TX | $24,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Knox County Homeless Coalition | Rockland, ME | $24,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Refuge Point | Cambridge, MA | $24,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Angry Tias & Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley | Harlingen, TX | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Beyond Conflict | Boston, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Community Center | Cambridge, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cradles to Crayons | Newton, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Facing History and Ourselves | Brookline, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Groundswell Fund | San Francisco, CA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Haymarket Peoples Fund | Boston, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| More Than Words | Waltham, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Peace First | Boston, MA | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Sunrise Movement Education Fund | Washington, DC | $23,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc | New York, NY | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Alliance for Middle East Peace | Washington, DC | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Friends of Combatants for Peace | Pasadena, CA | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Futures Without Violence | Boston, MA | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Maine Gun Safety Education Coalition | Portland, ME | $21,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Win Without War | Washington, DC | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boston Racial Equity Fund | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bread of Life | Malden, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| California Community Foundation -Wildfire Recovery Fund | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| California Youth Outreach | Fresno, CA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Teen Empowerment | Roxbury, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Food Project | Lincoln, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Freedom for Immigrants | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Friends of the Earth | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Gems Girls Educational and Mentoring Service | New York, NY | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Global Response Medicine | Marco Island, FL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Hawaii Community Foundation | Kahului, HI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hunger Project | New York, NY | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Lionheart Foundation | Dedham, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Maine Public | Lewiston, ME | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mass Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mentoring Center | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Midcoast Habitat for Humanity | Rockport, ME | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Pasadena Community Foundation-Eaton Fire Relief and Recovery Fund | Pasadena, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Sphinx Organization | Detroit, MI | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Unidos Disaster Relief Fundhispanic Federation | New York, NY | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wellesley Centers for Women Wellesly College | Wellesley, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Wrrap | Santa Monica, CA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Young Peoples Project | Cambridge, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Youth Build Boston | Roxbury, MA | $20,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Haiti Development Institute | Boston, MA | $19,900 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Anti-Defamation League | New York, NY | $19,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund | New York, NY | $19,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Family Aid Boston | Boston, MA | $19,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
423 of 473 (89%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 92%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Doctors Without Borders
$25,000 FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN TURKEY AND SYRIA; $75,000 FOR AID TO GAZA, THE WEST BANK, AND ISRAEL AND FOR WORK ALONG THE US/MEXICO BORDER - Partners in Health
$50,000 FOR WORK IN HAITI, MEXICO AND PERU - Boston Foundation
$50,000 FOR SUCESS BOSTON, SKILL WORKS AND BOSTON OPPORTUNITY AGENDA; $10,000 FOR LATINO EQUITY FUND - Lenny Zakim Fund
YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION, SOCIAL JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY AND ILLNESS - Direct Relief International
$25,000 FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN TURKEY AND SYRIA; WORK IN YEMEN, LEBANON, HAITI, THE MIDDLE EAST AND WHERE MOST NEEDED - Save the Children
PROGRAMS IN SYRIA, YEMEN, SOUTH SUDAN, HAITI, AND ALONG US BORDER WITH MEXICO
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 1,125 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 360 | $3,235,000 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 374 | $3,370,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 369 | $3,452,000 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 367 | $3,508,899 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 368 | $3,619,399 | $6,000 |
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.
Where its money goes
40% of its giving went to organizations in Massachusetts. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund246 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc218 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc198 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program192 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust154 shared recipientsBoston Foundation Inc131 shared recipients
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Massachusetts.
- 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.
- 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 human services in MassachusettsEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding arts & culture in MassachusettsEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding international affairs in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in New YorkEvery funder in this group
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Ploughshares Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 2070 Green Bay Road 199, Highland Park, IL, 60035. 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 36-3739577 · 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.
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.