Massachusetts Bar Foundation Inc
Boston, MA · EIN 04-6130261. Reported 272 grants totalling $15.0M to 88 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
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:
- What kind of organization it is. For Massachusetts Bar Foundation Inc, the IRS classifies it under crime & legal rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE I030) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
- How spread out its giving is. 88 distinct organizations, with 8% 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.
- How much its list changes. 96% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $30,000. Half of what it reported fell between $16,500 and $65,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $578,900. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Legal Aid Inc | Worcester, MA | $1,272,750 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Greater Boston Legal Services Inc | Boston, MA | $1,074,784 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Franklin N Flaschner Judicial Institute Inc | Boston, MA | $1,063,900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| South Coastal Counties Legal Services Inc | Fall River, MA | $830,768 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Northeast Legal Aid Inc | Lawrence, MA | $631,966 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| De Novo Center for Justice and Healing Inc | Cambridge, MA | $575,170 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Metrowest Legal Services Inc | Framingham, MA | $524,170 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project Inc | Boston, MA | $521,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fall River Massachusetts Inc | Fall River, MA | $466,764 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services | Boston, MA | $338,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ascentria Care Alliance Inc | Worcester, MA | $325,396 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hampden County Bar Association | Springfield, MA | $320,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Inc | Boston, MA | $296,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pension Action Center University of Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $280,000 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Childrens Law Center of Mass Inc North Shore Childrens Law Project | Lynn, MA | $275,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Essex County Bar Association | Swampscott, MA | $267,648 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Veterans Legal Services Inc | Boston, MA | $245,354 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Advocates for Children Inc | Boston, MA | $228,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| CASA Myrna Vasquez Inc | Boston, MA | $225,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| CASA Project Inc | Worcester, MA | $215,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rian Immigrant Center Inc | Boston, MA | $188,380 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Health Law Advocates Inc | Boston, MA | $180,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Housing Families Inc | Malden, MA | $170,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority | Pittsfield, MA | $158,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| New Bedford Womens Center Inc | New Bedford, MA | $155,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center Inc | Newburyport, MA | $146,008 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Third Sector New England Inc | Boston, MA | $139,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Safe Passage Inc | Northampton, MA | $134,182 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dove Inc | Quincy, MA | $125,204 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Justice at Work | Boston, MA | $123,880 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| YWCA Central Massachusetts Inc | Worcester, MA | $120,658 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Immigrant Family Services Institute Inc | Mattapan, MA | $115,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Lawyers Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness Inc | Boston, MA | $112,978 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Berkshire Immigrant Center Inc | Pittsfield, MA | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Womens Bar Foundation of Massachusetts Inc | Boston, MA | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dismas House of Massachusetts Inc | Worcester, MA | $108,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Barnstable County Bar Association | Barnstable, MA | $101,532 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Western New England University | Springfield, MA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Kind Inc | Washington, DC | $93,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Franklin County Bar Association Advocates Inc | Greenfield, MA | $89,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Center for New Americans | Northampton, MA | $88,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Second Step Inc | Newtonville, MA | $88,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Collaborative Resolutions Group Inc | Greenfield, MA | $87,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Finex House Incorporated | Dorchester, MA | $86,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Justice Resource Institute Inc | Needham, MA | $85,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Bar Association | Boston, MA | $84,404 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| We Can Corporation | Harwich Port, MA | $84,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Dispute Settlement Center Inc | Cambridge, MA | $83,580 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition Inc | Boston, MA | $83,216 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Metrowest Mediation Services Inc | Natick, MA | $81,990 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice Corp | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association Inc | Boston, MA | $74,374 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cape Cod Dispute Resolution Center Inc | Orleans, MA | $71,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lawyers for Civil Rights Inc | Boston, MA | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Independence House Inc | Hyannis, MA | $64,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hampshire County Bar Association Inc | Northampton, MA | $60,845 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Pine Street Inn Inc | Boston, MA | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Middlesex County Bar Association | Woburn, MA | $59,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Saheli Inc | Burlington, MA | $56,900 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boston CASA Inc | Boston, MA | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Franklin County Bar Association | Greenfield, MA | $55,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pilgrim Advocates Inc | Marshfield, MA | $53,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Resolution Center Inc | Beverly, MA | $51,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Alternatives for Community and Enviroment Inc | Roxbury, MA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Family Services of the Merrimack Valley Inc | Lawrence, MA | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Harborcov Inc | Chelsea, MA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Quabbin Mediation Inc | Northampton, MA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence Inc | Boston, MA | $44,990 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Franklin County Bar Association Inc | Greenfield, MA | $44,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mediation Works Inc | Boston, MA | $44,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rosies Place Inc | Boston, MA | $42,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Bristol County Bar Association Inc | New Bedford, MA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Southcoast Fair Housing Inc | New Bedford, MA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jewish Family and Childrens Service | Waltham, MA | $37,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Project Citizenship Inc | Boston, MA | $37,092 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alianza Dv Services Inc | Holyoke, MA | $36,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Can Help Inc | Waban, MA | $35,736 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New England Justice for Our Neighbors | Belmont, MA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Advocacy Bridge Inc | New Bedford, MA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Catholic Charities Diocese of Worcester Inc | West Boylston, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Roca Inc | Chelsea, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Right to Immigration Institute Inc | Waltham, MA | $27,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Youth Advocacy Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | $27,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Plymouth County Bar Association Inc | Brockton, MA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Harvard Legal Aid Bureau | Cambridge, MA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Victim Rights Law Center Inc | Boston, MA | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Greater Lawrence Community Action Council Inc | Lawrence, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
70 of 88 (80%) 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.
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.
- Flaschner Judicial Institute
EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PUBLICATIONS FOR JUDGES - Community Legal Aid Inc
General Support Grant - Central & Western MA - South Coastal Counties Legal Services
SCCLS General Support Grant - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Justice Bridge Legal Center - Northeast Legal Aid
NLA General Support Grant - Metrowest Legal Services
MWLS General Support Grant
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 61 of 88 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.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | $2,607,782 | $22,166 |
| 2022 | 64 | $2,615,000 | $19,960 |
| 2023 | 68 | $3,452,012 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 82 | $6,341,825 | $45,000 |
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
99% 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.
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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.
How to approach this grantmaker
- 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.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $30,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Massachusetts.
- 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
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Massachusetts Bar Foundation Inc's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 78 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 6 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: 20 West Street, Boston, MA, 02111.
EIN 04-6130261 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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