The Menemsha Family Fund
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-4267729. Reported 138 grants totalling $1,750,500 to 75 organizations across tax years 2023-2024. 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 Menemsha Family Fund 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $15,000; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $104,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Childrens Museum | Boston, MA | $107,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center on Budget | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimack Valley | Boston, MA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wellesley College Scholarship Fund | Welleseley, MA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Boston Legal Services | Boston, MA | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, MA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Abortion Federation | Washington, DC | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American Jewish World Service | New York, NY | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| West End House Boys & Girls Club | Allston, MA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Economic Policy Institute | New York, NY | $42,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Employment Law Project | New York, NY | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Planned Parenthood of Mass | Boston, MA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Way of Central Maryland | Baltimore, MD | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| NAACP Legal Defense Fund | New York, NY | $32,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Bridge on Troubled Waters | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Reproductive Rights | New York, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Eastern Mass Abortion Fund | Cambridge, MA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Friends of the Children - Boston | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Guttmacher Institute | New York, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Law Reform Institute | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Women's Law Center | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Conservation Law Foundation | Boston, MA | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Handel & Haydn Society | Boston, MA | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Budget and Policy Ctr | Boston, MA | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| New Israel Fund | Philadelphia, PA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Planned Parenthood of America | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Smart From the Start | Roxbury, MA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| ACLU Foundation of Maryland | Baltimore, MD | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Citizens Housing and Planning Assn | Boston, MA | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Leadership Conference Education Fund | Boston, MA | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Law and Social Policy | Washington, DC | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Lake Tanganyika Floating Hospital | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mass Advocates for Children | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Provide | Round Rock, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Roosevelt Institute | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Silver Lining Mentoring | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wellesley College | Welleseley, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Rosies Place | Boston, MA | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Maryland Center for Economic Policy | Baltimore, MD | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Utec Inc | Lowell, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Pine Street Inn | Boston, MA | $13,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Breaktime | Boston, MA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society | Silver Spring, MD | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Brennan Center for Justice | New York, NY | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Constitutional Rights | New York, NY | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nurtury | Roxbury, MA | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Protect Our Care Education Fund | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Raising a Reader | Milpitas, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Maryland Food Bank | Baltimore, MD | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Medical Students for Choice | Philadelphia, PA | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Boston Public Library Fund | Boston, MA | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine | New York, NY | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Global Fund for Women | San Francisco, CA | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Martha's Vineyard Community Svs | Oak Bluffs, MA | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Nursing Students for Sex & Repr Health | St Paul, MN | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Mass Immigrants & Refugee Action Coal | Boston, MA | $6,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Community Catalyst | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center | Vineyard Haven, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Reproductive Equity Now-Foundation | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Equality Now | Washington, DC | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Parks & People Foundation | Baltimore, MD | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wbur | Boston, MA | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Popular Democracy | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Public Enterprise | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Employ America | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jews United for Justice | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| John and Anna Porter Foundation | Alton Bay, NH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| WGBH Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Environmental League of Mass | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Citizens Schools | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Family Nurturing Center | Medford, OR | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Project Bread | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
63 of 75 (84%) received money in more than one year over the 2 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 93%, across 1 year-to-year transition. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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 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.
- Boston Childrens Museum
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS WERE MADE FOR THE GENERAL, CHARITABLE, EDUCATIONAL OR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE OF EACH ORGANIZATION.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 70 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 68 | $828,000 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 70 | $922,500 | $10,000 |
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. 56% 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.
Find more foundations like The Menemsha Family Fund
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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 $10,000. 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 Menemsha Family Fund'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: 227 W Monroe St Ste 3750, Chicago, IL, 60606. 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 36-4267729 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.