GrantmakersMassachusetts

Boston Foundation Inc

Boston, MA · EIN 04-2104021. Reported 8,763 grants totalling $678.0M to 3,169 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.

3,169organizations funded
$24,000median reported grant
$678.0Mgranted, 2020-2023
69%of grantees funded again the next year
2%of dollars to its largest recipient

Does this grantmaker accept applications?

Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.

Three things in the filing do bear on it:

  1. What kind of organization it is. For Boston Foundation Inc, the IRS classifies it as a community foundation (NTEE T310).
  2. How spread out its giving is. 3,169 distinct organizations, with 2% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
  3. How much its list changes. 69% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 57% median for grantmaking charities -- noticeably lower than the 67% private foundations manage. Organizations like this one rotate more of their list each year, which is where an opening for a newcomer tends to be.
3,169 recipients is a very large number, and it usually means a particular kind of funder. Grantmakers at this scale are normally donor-advised fund sponsors or workplace-giving platforms: the money is directed by thousands of individual account holders, not awarded by a committee. There may still be a grants programme here, but most of the list below is the sum of many separate donors' choices, and writing to the organization is unlikely to reach whoever chose them.

How big are its grants?

The median reported grant is $24,000. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $50 and the largest $15.0M. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.

Schedule I only reports grants over $5,000. Form 990 requires a charity to list recipients it paid more than that and lets it omit the rest, so every grant-size figure on this page describes the grants it reported, not all of them. Its real median is lower and its real recipient count is higher. This is also why these numbers cannot be compared with the private-foundation figures elsewhere on this site -- Form 990-PF has no reporting floor, so the two are different populations rather than two samples of one.
Under $5,000
324 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
1,107 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
2,971 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
1,725 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
1,227 grants
$100,000 - $250,000
948 grants
$250,000 Or More
461 grants

Every organization it funded

All 3,169 recipients appear in its filings; the 250 largest are listed here. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- the clearest signal of who this grantmaker actually has a relationship with.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
The Miami Foundation IncMiami, FL$15.2M222021
United Way of Massachusetts Bay IncBoston, MA$12.0M1342023
President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeCambridge, MA$11.7M1842023
New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund IncRoxbury, MA$11.3M222023
Boston Ballet IncBoston, MA$9,814,2021042023
Mass General Brigham IncorporatedSomerville, MA$9,459,9141842023
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundBoston, MA$7,781,699642023
Trustees of Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA$7,595,212642023
Justice Catalyst IncNew York, NY$7,460,000442023
Justice Catalyst Law IncNew York, NY$6,835,000442023
Year Up IncBoston, MA$6,524,0001142023
New Profit IncBoston, MA$6,080,000542023
Embrace Boston IncBoston, MA$5,961,655112023
Greenlight Fund IncBoston, MA$5,943,125442023
Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteBoston, MA$5,463,3961242023
New England Conservatory of MusicBoston, MA$5,436,0681042023
Emerson Umbrella IncConcord, MA$5,364,625842023
Social Finance IncBoston, MA$5,290,000442023
Institute of Contemporary ArtBoston, MA$4,561,400942023
New Venture FundWashington, DC$4,420,500432023
The Greater Boston Food Bank IncBoston, MA$4,231,257842023
Childrens Hospital CorporationBoston, MA$4,035,814842023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN$3,920,500642023
National Philanthropic TrJenkintown, PA$3,906,305332023
Associates of the Boston Public Library IncBoston, MA$3,841,500442023
Entrepreneurship for All IncLowell, MA$3,730,000942023
Bpe IncRoxbury, MA$3,586,972942023
Jumpstart for Young Children IncBoston, MA$3,570,357442023
Share Winter FoundationProvidence, RI$3,563,800442023
Broad Institute IncCambridge, MA$3,552,000842023
Boston Symphony Orchestra IncBoston, MA$3,504,788742023
Trustees of Boston UniversityBoston, MA$3,466,7931642023
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ$3,223,005942023
Rockport Music IncRockport, MA$3,177,714942023
True Costs Initiative IncBrookline, MA$3,155,000442023
Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA$3,146,750842023
Intend Health StrategiesDedham, MA$3,054,500332022
City of Boston Trust FundsBoston, MA$3,029,694222022
Uaspire IncBoston, MA$2,899,488942023
Weema International IncActon, MA$2,897,500332023
Boston Harbor Now IncBoston, MA$2,854,750442023
City Year IncBoston, MA$2,780,500442023
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston IncBoston, MA$2,693,123842023
Wilderness SocietyWashington, DC$2,580,000442023
FairvoteSilver Spring, MD$2,571,172332023
American Endowment FoundationHudson, OH$2,551,691112022
Rian Immigrant Center IncBoston, MA$2,386,7911042023
Museum of Fine ArtsBoston, MA$2,297,706642023
Third Sector New England IncBoston, MA$2,270,5781842023
Trio New College Network IncBoston, MA$2,150,000442023
University of Wisconsin FoundationMadison, WI$2,150,000432023
Trustees of ReservationsBoston, MA$2,098,661842023
Pan-Massachusetts Challenge IncNeedham, MA$2,091,825442023
Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston IncBoston, MA$2,032,3521042023
Just Detention International IncLos Angeles, CA$2,000,000112021
University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT$2,000,000222023
Squashbusters IncRoxbury Crossing, MA$1,983,400542023
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston a Corporation SoleBraintree, MA$1,943,543742023
Salt Lick Incubator IncorporatedBelmont, MA$1,902,983332023
Mass General Brigham IncorporatedSomerville, MA$1,875,641942023
Democracy Matters FoundationWashington, DC$1,875,000212021
Horizons for Homeless Children IncRoxbury, MA$1,831,250842023
Pine Street Inn IncBoston, MA$1,825,808942023
Illinois Science and Technology InstituteChicago, IL$1,816,000112021
Museum of ScienceBoston, MA$1,784,988942023
Neighborhood Villages IncJamaica Plain, MA$1,783,800642023
Community Foundation of Western MassachusettsSpringfield, MA$1,764,400432022
Boston Medical Center CorporationBoston, MA$1,746,5931242023
Camp Harbor View Foundation IncBoston, MA$1,745,125842023
Southcoast Community Foundation IncNew Bedford, MA$1,670,500742023
Justice Catalyst Partnerships IncCharlottesvle, VA$1,600,000332023
Noble and Greenough SchoolDedham, MA$1,588,400742023
Edvestors IncBoston, MA$1,566,000742023
826 Boston IncRoxbury, MA$1,538,300842023
La Colaborativa IncChelsea, MA$1,526,900942023
Simmons UniversityBoston, MA$1,517,039842023
Essex County Community Fdn IncBeverly, MA$1,498,000542023
Mass General Brigham IncorporatedSomerville, MA$1,449,5001032023
Trustees of Hamilton CollegeClinton, NY$1,447,511542023
Upstream USA IncBoston, MA$1,430,000442023
Economic Mobility Pathways IncBoston, MA$1,406,646642023
Environmental Working GroupWashington, DC$1,401,000442023
Friends of Arrow Street Arts IncBurlington, VT$1,400,000112023
New England Aquarium CorporationBoston, MA$1,369,219642023
University of Virginia Law School FoundationCharlottesvle, VA$1,360,000642023
Center for Reproductive Rights IncNew York, NY$1,307,358442023
Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryCold Spg Hbr, NY$1,300,000542023
Open Source Election Technology InstitutePortland, OR$1,276,000332022
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors IncNew York, NY$1,268,000442023
United States Fund for UnicefNew York, NY$1,266,436942023
Partners in Health a Nonprofit CorporationBoston, MA$1,237,000842023
The Baseball IncRoxbury, MA$1,235,4381042023
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA$1,222,957642023
Urban InstituteWashington, DC$1,217,140442023
Greater Worcester Community Foundation IncWorcester, MA$1,214,000112020
Rosies Place IncBoston, MA$1,210,565542023
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program IncBoston, MA$1,178,590442023
Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME$1,166,500942023
Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston IncSouth Boston, MA$1,166,140542023
Pro Publica IncNew York, NY$1,162,416442023
The Capital Good FundProvidence, RI$1,158,334112022
Strategies for Children IncBoston, MA$1,154,700642023
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum IncBoston, MA$1,151,3001042023
Hackdiversity IncBoston, MA$1,142,738322023
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts IncBoston, MA$1,134,000542023
East Boston Social Centers IncEast Boston, MA$1,133,509842023
Impactassets IncBethesda, MD$1,125,250332022
WGBH Educational FoundationBrighton, MA$1,121,553542023
Massachusetts Housing Partnership Fund BoardBoston, MA$1,099,999112023
Trustees of Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH$1,079,379942023
Justice Resource Institute IncNeedham, MA$1,070,693742023
Local Enterprise Assistance Fund IncBoston, MA$1,070,209532023
World Central Kitchen IncorporatedWashington, DC$1,062,6521042023
Wake Forest UniversityWinstonsalem, NC$1,055,000442023
Island Housing Trust CorporationWest Tisbury, MA$1,023,500332023
Uwm Foundation IncMilwaukee, WI$1,020,000322021
The Sportmens Tennis & Enrichment Center IncDorchester, MA$1,019,475842023
Institute for Nonprofit Practice IncDedham, MA$1,015,114742023
Nectar Community Investments IncLowell, MA$1,014,375442023
Trustees of the Lawrence Academy at GrotonGroton, MA$1,014,000222023
Ascendus IncNew York, NY$1,013,125222023
Social Innovation Forum IncBoston, MA$1,013,000442023
Bridge Over Troubled Waters IncBoston, MA$1,012,750742023
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA IncNew York, NY$1,012,6871042023
Unite America Institute IncDenver, CO$1,011,000332023
Fenn School IncConcord, MA$1,010,000222023
Bancroft Global DevelopmentWashington, DC$1,000,000112021
Greenwave Organization CorpNew Haven, CT$1,000,000222023
World Trade Center Performing Arts Center IncNew York, NY$1,000,000112020
America Scores New EnglandEast Boston, MA$985,500542023
Chorus America AssociationWashington, DC$982,916442023
The Bottom Line IncJamaica Plain, MA$977,500642023
Boston Debate LeagueRoxbury Xing, MA$964,861642023
Planned Parenthood Federation ofNew York, NY$956,468442023
University of Massachusetts Foundation IncNewton, MA$955,4611442023
Teach for America IncNew York, NY$931,000442023
Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers IncBoston, MA$925,250842023
Massachusetts Alliance for Early College IncWeston, MA$922,263332023
Buckingham Browne and Nichols SchoolCambridge, MA$905,2501342023
Massachusetts Housing Investment CorpBoston, MA$905,208222023
Zero to Three - National Center for Infants Toddlers and FamiliesWashington, DC$901,260642023
Ride for Kids IncGoldens Brg, NY$900,000542023
Lawrence Community Works IncLawrence, MA$898,000842023
Jewish Family Service of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$897,500442023
Groundtruth Project IncBoston, MA$893,500442023
Indian River Land Tr IncVero Beach, FL$891,500642023
The Salvation ArmyWest Nyack, NY$888,200442023
Nature ConservancyArlington, VA$887,800742023
Jewish Vocational Service IncBoston, MA$887,300842023
Boston College TrusteesChestnut Hill, MA$878,037642023
Friends of the Public Garden IncBoston, MA$876,904742023
St Johns College in Santa FeSanta Fe, NM$875,0001042023
Trinity Boston ConnectsBoston, MA$874,500942023
Cardinal Cushing Centers IncHanover, MA$868,781442023
International Institute of New England IncBoston, MA$867,4001042023
Berklee College of Music IncBoston, MA$863,000942023
Up Education Network IncDorchester, MA$861,250442023
Resist IncJamaica Plain, MA$859,5581242023
College UnboundProvidence, RI$850,000442023
Prime Coalition IncCambridge, MA$850,000112023
Boston Private Industry Council Inc theBoston, MA$845,500842023
Womens Foundation of Massachusetts IncBoston, MA$842,500332023
Emmanuel Music IncBoston, MA$826,000442023
Asian Community Development CorpBoston, MA$817,8251242023
Rocky Mountain InstituteBoulder, CO$807,650222023
OnegoalChicago, IL$804,500542023
Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA$802,5001342023
Bunker Hill Community College Foundation IncBoston, MA$801,0601142023
Lifebox Foundation IncIthaca, NY$800,000332023
English for New Bostonians IncBoston, MA$798,932842023
Huntington Theatre Company IncBoston, MA$797,150942023
Trustees of Tufts CollegeMedford, MA$796,6971142023
Philanthropy Massachusetts IncBoston, MA$785,7541242023
Ellis Early Learning IncBoston, MA$768,552642023
Record Company IncBoston, MA$765,500532022
Cultural Alliance of MedfieldMedfield, MA$765,000742023
Grid AlternativesOakland, CA$765,000442023
Silent Spring Institute IncNewton, MA$758,500542023
Saint Anthony ShrineBoston, MA$756,000432023
Innocence Project IncNew York, NY$755,250332023
City of BostonBoston, MA$753,500432023
St Boniface Haiti Foundation IncNewton, MA$751,000542023
Technoserve IncArlington, VA$751,000442023
Breakthrough Greater Boston IncCambridge, MA$738,750742023
Tenacity IncAllston, MA$725,750642023
Boston Lyric Opera Company IncBoston, MA$724,894542023
Boston Childrens Chorus IncBoston, MA$722,900542023
Womens Lunch Place IncBoston, MA$720,950742023
Oxfam-America IncBoston, MA$719,314642023
Homestart IncBoston, MA$712,250542023
Towards Justice of ColoradoDenver, CO$710,000332022
InversantBoston, MA$699,417532022
Cystic Fibrosis FoundationBethesda, MD$698,080742023
Vilna Shul Boston Center for Jewish Culture IncBoston, MA$686,000742023
Empower Schools IncBoston, MA$682,500442023
Black Economic Council of Massachusetts IncRoxbury Crossing, MA$678,209742023
Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA$669,926742023
National Cyber Intelligence CenterColorado Springs, CO$666,569112020
Foundation for Metrowest IncNatick, MA$661,000632022
La Vida IncLynn, MA$656,408742023
Steppingstone Foundation IncBoston, MA$654,267542023
Natural Resources Trust of EastonNorth Easton, MA$653,171442023
Urban Revival IncJamaica Plain, MA$650,750942023
African American Quilt Guild of Gaston CountyKings Mtn, NC$650,000112023
Institute on Taxation and Economic PolicyWashington, DC$650,000442023
Uncornered IncDorchester, MA$646,500442023
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation IncNew York, NY$643,110742023
More Than Words IncWaltham, MA$641,750542023
Regents of the University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI$638,000442023
Jobs for the Future IncBoston, MA$628,750112022
Mass General Brigham IncorporatedSomerville, MA$627,540412020
Community Labor United IncorporatedBoston, MA$627,500832022
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsBoston, MA$626,1601042023
Hildreth Institute IncBoston, MA$625,000332023
Smart From the Start IncMattapan, MA$623,500442023
Healthy Community Alliance IncGowanda, NY$621,316442023
Youth Villages Foundation IncBartlett, TN$620,500542023
Boston After School & Beyond IncBoston, MA$620,250532023
Town & Village Conservative Synagogue IncNew York, NY$620,000432022
First Parish in LexingtonLexington, MA$617,500642023
Saint Francis House IncBoston, MA$615,678442023
Esplanade Association IncBoston, MA$613,8701042023
Massachusetts Audubon Society IncLincoln, MA$613,439642023
Food Project IncLincoln, MA$611,850442023
Preparatory Foundation IncHyde Park, MA$609,250642023
Heading Home IncBoston, MA$609,087642023
Interseminarian-Project Place IncBoston, MA$607,946442023
City of SomervilleSomerville, MA$606,780322021
Educators for ExcellenceNew York, NY$602,500442023
Esperanza Academy IncLawrence, MA$601,500542023
Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate IncBoston, MA$600,000222021
Tufts Medical Center Parent IncBoston, MA$599,573542023
Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts IncFitchburg, MA$593,753212020
Margarita Muniz Academy Foundation IncJamaica Plain, MA$592,000332023
Habitat for Humanity International IncAmericus, GA$588,662542023
Resilient Coders IncJamaica Plain, MA$587,700842023
Greater Lowell Community Foundation IncLowell, MA$587,130322022
Epiphany School IncDorchester, MA$580,250842023
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay IncBoston, MA$579,400642023
Boston Arts Academy Foundation IncBoston, MA$577,7501042023
Cradles to Crayons IncNewton, MA$572,120742023
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens IncBoothbay, ME$570,000432023
Utec IncLowell, MA$569,740542023
The Boston Education Development Foundation IncRoxbury, MA$568,367942023
Massachusetts Nonprofit Network IncBoston, MA$568,100442023
Ja Worldwide IncBoston, MA$560,000222022
Asian American Civic Association IncBoston, MA$558,000742023
Emerald Necklace Conservancy IncJamaica Plain, MA$554,427642023
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center IncBoston, MA$552,400942023
New England Venture Capital AssociationBoston, MA$550,000222021

1,864 of 3,169 (59%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.

It also reported 13 groups of grants to individuals -- scholarships, emergency assistance and similar. Schedule I reports these by category with a headcount and never by name, so there is nothing here we could publish about the recipients even if we wanted to.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 2,610 of 3,169 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.

Education
457 orgs
Human Services
345 orgs
Arts & Culture
340 orgs
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
174 orgs
Environment
160 orgs
International Affairs
138 orgs
Health Care
131 orgs
Youth Development
99 orgs

Giving by year

Tax yearGrants reportedTotalMedian grant
20202,259$158.3M$20,250
20212,413$185.8M$20,750
20222,045$164.0M$25,000
20232,046$169.9M$25,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.

Where its money goes

69% of its giving went to organizations in Massachusetts. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.

Massachusetts
$465.7M
New York
$61.6M
District of Columbia
$25.7M
Florida
$18.8M
California
$16.4M
Rhode Island
$8.9M
Virginia
$6.9M
Colorado
$6.1M

Down to the city

Boston, MA
$237.2M
New York, NY
$44.4M
Roxbury, MA
$28.6M
Cambridge, MA
$27.9M
Washington, DC
$25.5M
Somerville, MA
$16.2M

Find more funders like Boston Foundation Inc

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Funders that support the same organizations

These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available 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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund317 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc257 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc237 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program233 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust214 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc180 shared recipients

How to approach this grantmaker

  1. Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
  2. Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $24,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
  3. Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Massachusetts.
  4. Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.

Related guides

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

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Boston Foundation Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.

On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 1,855 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 1 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.

Address of record on the latest return: 75 Arlington Street Fl 3, Boston, MA, 02116.

EIN 04-2104021 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Form 990 is published about a year after the tax year it covers. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this organization has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next.

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