The Louis Foundation
Cambridge, MA · EIN 42-6660492. Reported 173 grants totalling $1,637,640 to 84 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. The Louis 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $5 and the largest $200,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Rescue Committee | Albert Lea, MN | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Epiphany School | Boston, MA | $175,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cummings 4TH Year Scholarship | Baltimore, MD | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cummings Veterinary Fund | N Grafton, MA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Aloha Foundation | Fairlee, VT | $76,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Beth Israel | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bidmc | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Shady Hill School | Cambridge, MA | $61,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cambridge Community Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Colorado College | Colorado Spring, CO | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Education Burma Thailand Myanmar | Nicasio, CA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| United Theater Music Program | Westerly, MA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Arlington Common | Arlington, VT | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Louies HUWE1 | Stafford, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mfa Boston | Boston, MA | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wbur | Boston, MA | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| WGBH | Boston, MA | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $20,285 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Arlington Arts Enrichment Program | Arlington, VT | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brooks School | North Andover, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Everscholar Inc | Princeton Junction, NJ | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Groton School | Groton, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs, NY | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Vermont Public Radio | Colchester, VT | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Johnnycake Center of Westerly | Westerly, RI | $16,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| More Than Words Inc | Waltham, MA | $14,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Revels Inc | Watertown, MA | $13,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Vermont Foodbank | Barre, VT | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Cambridge Camping Association | Cambridge, MA | $11,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wmht | Troy, NY | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jonnycake Center of Westerly | Westerly, RI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| United Theater Music Program | Westerly, RI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wmht Educational Telecommunications | Troy, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| American Promise | Concord, MA | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Weekapaug Foundation for Conservation | Westerly, RI | $8,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pine Cay Project | Lima, OH | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tutoring Plus of Cambridge Inc | Cambridge, MA | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Weekapaug Chapel | Westerly, MA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Vermont Land Trust | Montpelier, VT | $6,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Cambridge Homes | Braintree, MA | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Vna Care Network and Hospice | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Weekapaug Chapel | Westerly, RI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mfa Patron | Boston, MA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ocean Community YMCA | Wyoming, RI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| United Counseling Service | Bennington, VT | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Westerly Land Trust | Westerly, RI | $4,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Literacy Volunteers of Rhode Island | Providence, RI | $3,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bridges Homeward | Cambridge, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Cambridge Camping | Cambridge, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cambridge Center for Adult Ed | Cambridge, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood | New York, NY | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Riverside Community Care Inc | Dedham, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Harvard Graduate School of Education | Cambridge, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alzheimer's Association Fund | Newton, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Breakthrough Greater Boston | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Breakthrought Greater Boston | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Cambridge Family & Children's Service | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Westerly College Club | Westerly, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Westerly College Club | Westerly, RI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Westerly Hospital | Westerly, RI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brattle Film Festival | Cambridge, MA | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Pmc Jimmy Fund | Brookline, MA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Westerly Library | Westerly, RI | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Arlington Rescue Squad Inc | Arlington, VT | $1,300 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bennington County Choral Society Inc | Bennington, VT | $1,050 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| ACLU Foundation of Mass Inc | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cambridge Center for Adult Education | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cambridge Public Library Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ebtm | Nicasio, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Focus on Tanzanian Communities | Watertown, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of Tanzanian Communities | Arlington, VA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Salt Ponds Coalition Inc | Charlestown, RI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vt Food Bank | Brattleboro, VT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Vt Public | Colchester, VT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wekapaug Chapel | Westerly, RI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Yale New Haven Hospital | New Haven, CT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Brattle Film Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hale Foundation | Plymouth, MA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pan Mass Challenge | Needham, MA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bennington Rescue Squad | Bennington, VT | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Yale Class of 69 Dues | New Haven, CT | $150 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hbs Fund | Boston, MA | $5 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
45 of 84 (54%) 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 62%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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 86 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | $372,190 | $2,500 |
| 2022 | 41 | $289,450 | $2,000 |
| 2023 | 54 | $812,445 | $4,000 |
| 2024 | 31 | $163,555 | $1,000 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 53% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,500. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- 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
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Louis Foundation'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: 48 Lake View Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138. 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 42-6660492 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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