Foundations that fund organizations in Boston, Massachusetts
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Boston nonprofits
6,906 private foundations gave $2.2B to Boston organizations in their latest filings; 29 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
20,415 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Boston around $500K. 32 of these funders are based in Massachusetts; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 6,906
- Accept applications
- 29
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Boston
- $2.2B
- latest filings
- Grants
- 20,415
- Typical median grant
- $500K
- Based in MA
- 32%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Boston organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 190 | $193M | $750K | Yes | Malaria; K-12 education; Discovery and translational sciences |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 2 | $79M | $40M | Preselected only | To support arts internship program; To support capital projects |
| Initiative for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences | Falmouth, ME | 1 | $49M | $49M | Preselected only | To contribute project development costs, land, and other as… |
| Barr Foundation | Boston, MA | 264 | $41M | $100K | Preselected only | To provide general operating support; For unrestricted support; To support general operations |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 69 | $33M | $154K | Yes | Matching gifts; 82031 supporting the health coverage fellowship program in…; 79831 supporting the health coverage fellowship in providin… |
| The Spring Foundation Inc | Atlanta, GA | 1 | $33M | $33M | Preselected only | Grant to start donor advised fund |
| Mathworks Foundation Inc | Natick, MA | 2 | $30M | $15M | Preselected only | Exempt purpose |
| The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 18 | $29M | $1.3M | Preselected only | Equitable health and psychosocial outcomes for individuals…; Supplemental funding for an effectiveness trial to support…; General operating support |
| Foundation to Promote Open Society | New York, NY | 9 | $23M | $400K | Preselected only | To provide general support; To support the health alliance for violence intervention, a…; To support the fokal designated fund |
| Fidelity Foundation | Boston, MA | 185 | $22M | $2,000 | Yes | Fidelity matching gifts to education; Crosby matching gifts to education; Campaign / fundraising plan |
| The Edgerley Family Foundation | Overland Park, KS | 30 | $21M | $25K | Preselected only | Support-general fund; Support-the quin impact fund |
| Freedom Together Foundation | New York, NY | 19 | $20M | $700K | Preselected only | General operating support; Accelerating the just transition to renewable energy in the…; To support the latino media content studio |
| The Stanton Foundation C/O Hemenway & Barnes Llp | Boston, MA | 3 | $20M | $219K | Preselected only | To achieve charitable purpose |
| Corabelle Lumps Foundation C/O Kb Financial Advisory Partners LLC | Princeton, NJ | 1 | $20M | $20M | Preselected only | Philanthropic |
| Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 260 | $17M | $43K | Yes | Operating support; Site visit honorarium; Bps tickets for auschwitz. not long ago. not far away. |
| Dart-L Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $17M | $17M | Preselected only | Public support of organization mission |
| Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation | St Louis, MO | 3 | $17M | $3.1M | Preselected only | Advance treatment, cure and prevention of cancer and relate… |
| The Klarman Family Foundation | Boston, MA | 68 | $16M | $113K | Yes | Unrestricted operating support; Capital project support; Employee matching gift |
| Walton Family Foundation Inc | Bentonville, AR | 16 | $16M | $500K | Preselected only | To provide support in memory and honor of Linda Brown.; To support projects and provide advisory support to increas…; To support general operations. |
| The Andrew W Mellon Foundation | New York, NY | 16 | $15M | $438K | Yes | To support capacity building for experiments in solidarity…; To continue support for howlround programming and administr…; To continue support for the latinx theatre commons |
| The Herbert V Kohler Jrnatalie Black Kohler Foundation for Giving Back | Kohler, WI | 10 | $15M | $1.5M | Preselected only | General fund |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 54 | $14M | $150K | Yes | Matching gift; General support; General support and core support for 350 africa to foster a… |
| The Sunshine Charitable Foundation | Campton, NH | 1 | $14M | $14M | Preselected only | Funding support for the xdp center and other program suppor… |
| Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 6 | $13M | $300K | Yes | General purpose; Center for law, brain & behavior; General purposeclean industrial technology campaign state c… |
| The Herb Chambers Charitable Foundation | Glastonbury, CT | 14 | $13M | $15K | Preselected only | General operations; General donations |
| Lannan Foundation | Santa Fe, NM | 1 | $12M | $12M | Preselected only | Daf |
| Harold Alfond Foundation | Portland, ME | 3 | $12M | $5,000 | Yes | Unrestricted; The harold alfond scholars initiative at the roux institute |
| Linde Family Foundation C/O Eric Riak - Cibc Private Wealth Mgmt | Boston, MA | 53 | $12M | $30K | Yes | Operating support; General operations; Equitable workforce development opportunities in building o… |
| Laygend Foundation | Rancho Santa Fe, CA | 1 | $11M | $11M | Preselected only | General |
| Lunder Foundation C/O Kenilworth Inc | Portland, ME | 15 | $11M | $10K | Yes | Annual fund; Project support; School of education |
| Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (fka Oneworld Boston Inc) | Woburn, MA | 136 | $11M | $45K | Yes | Human Services; Education; Social Justice |
| Pobble Stone Foundation | Concord, MA | 1 | $11M | $11M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Arthur N Rupe Foundation | West Chester, PA | 1 | $11M | $11M | Preselected only | Donor advised fund |
| Tansy Charitable Foundation C/O Eric Wepsic | New York, NY | 1 | $10M | $10M | Preselected only | General use |
| The Clayton Family Foundation | Knoxville, TN | 1 | $10M | $10M | Yes | Donor advised fund |
| Yawkey Foundation II | Westwood, MA | 57 | $9.7M | $50K | Yes | Enhanced access/outreach for arts & culture programs; Education & enrichment opportunities for underserved youth; Health care access for underserved individuals & communities |
| The Jaket Foundation | Boston, MA | 16 | $9.6M | $250K | Preselected only | General operating support; Big brothers big sisters donated seats at the may 30th game; First installment of five year commitment |
| One8 Foundation | Boston, MA | 35 | $9.5M | $50K | Preselected only | Community; Education; Health & human services |
| Lilly Endowment Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 8 | $9.5M | $356K | Yes | Religion & cultural inst initiative; Christian faith&life storytellg init; Pathways for tomorrow initiative |
| Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation | Newton, MA | 55 | $9.3M | $49K | Yes | Health; Education; Medical research |
| Jerome Lyle Rappaport Charitable Foundation | Burlington, MA | 9 | $9.1M | $5,000 | Preselected only | Medical support; Education support; Religious support |
| Many Voices Foundation C/O Kb Financial Advisory Partners LLC | Princeton, NJ | 1 | $8.6M | $8.6M | Preselected only | General |
| Richard K Lubin Family Foundation C/O Castle Rock Advisors | Boston, MA | 64 | $8.5M | $28K | Preselected only | To provide support for the needs of the organization. |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 26 | $8.3M | $200K | Yes | For general operating support; Matching gift of staff and board members; For organizational growth |
| The Casey & Family Foundation C/O the Philanthropic Initiative | Boston, MA | 1 | $8.0M | $8.0M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Town Fair Tire Foundation Inc C/O Paul McCoy Family Office Svcs | Boston, MA | 1 | $7.8M | $7.8M | Preselected only | Unrestricted |
| Valhalla Foundation | Woodside, CA | 4 | $7.4M | $1.6M | Preselected only | Maternal and early childhood healthcare initiatives; Digital, data, and design institute; Early childhood literacy programs |
| The Perrin Family Foundation C/O Andersen Tax LLC | Old Greenwich, CT | 1 | $7.3M | $7.3M | Preselected only | General purpose |
| Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund Trust | Boston, MA | 9 | $7.3M | $100K | Yes | Capital; 50th anniversary grant/ capital; 50th anniversary grant/capital |
| Eastern Bank Foundation | Wakefield, MA | 341 | $7.2M | $5,000 | Yes | Exempt purpose |
| Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation | Redmond, WA | 3 | $7.2M | $3.0M | Preselected only | 2024 employee matching gift contribution; To increase access to computing education; To increase access to womens health and public awareness of… |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 33 | $7.2M | $175K | Yes | Early Care and Education; Promise of an Equitable Future; Jobs and Family Economic Security |
| Mellen Charitable Fdn (fka Tf Fdn) C/O Paul McCoy Family Office Svcs | Boston, MA | 6 | $7.2M | $770K | Preselected only | Dana-farber cancer institute projects and initiatives; Support the hiring of conservation field staff within the a…; Support upstream usa's mission to expand opportunity by red… |
| The Patrick J McGovern Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 16 | $7.1M | $300K | Preselected only | To support the charitable purpose and activities of public…; To support the charitable purpose of the organization; To support the opennotes lab in using ai to enhance trust a… |
| Perfect Seas Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 1 | $7.0M | $7.0M | Preselected only | To continue charitable purpose of the foundation |
| Telemachus and Irene Demoulas Family Foundation | Chelmsford, MA | 3 | $6.7M | $300K | Yes | Health & Hospitals; Schools |
| Manton Foundation | New York, NY | 12 | $6.5M | $250K | Preselected only | For general support; For campaign support; For general operating support |
| The Starbucks Foundation | Seattle, WA | 3 | $6.3M | $1.1M | Preselected only | Thriving communities & disaster response |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 20 | $6.2M | $123K | Preselected only | To support the program on regulation, therapeutics, and law…; To assess current approaches for limiting medical debt and…; To (i) provide nonpartisan education to policymakers on opt… |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc | New York, NY | 15 | $6.2M | $250K | Preselected only | Expanding economic opportunity; General operating support; Advancing racial justice |
| Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund Inc | Wilmington, DE | 5 | $6.1M | $50K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted; Endowed Fund and Current-use Fund; Sola-X & General Education Funds |
| Wagner Foundation | Cambridge, MA | 48 | $6.1M | $50K | Preselected only | General operating support; African visionary fund's health portfolio; General operating support for art stays here coalition |
| The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation | Omaha, NE | 3 | $6.1M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Program support |
| Peter and Ann Lambertus Family Foundatio C/O Bartlett Pc | Norwood, MA | 4 | $6.1M | $35K | Preselected only | General support |
| Regent Philanthropic Foundation Inc C/O Acadia Family Office | Hunt Valley, MD | 3 | $6.0M | $295K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Patrick F Cadigan Family Foundation | Newport Beach, CA | 1 | $5.8M | $5.8M | Yes | General support |
| John S and James L Knight Foundation | Miami, FL | 9 | $5.8M | $250K | Yes | To support annual conferences and virtual convenings for li…; To recruit, hire, train and place reporters from a variety…; To increase audience and major donors for mlk50, a memphis-… |
| The John & Mary Corcoran Family Foundation | Braintree, MA | 8 | $5.8M | $25K | Preselected only | General purpose; General support scholars program, community grants, olph mi…; Youth development |
| The G Harold & Leila y Mathers Charitable Foundation | Rye Brook, NY | 30 | $5.5M | $225K | Yes | Research project |
| Hess Foundation Inc | Parsippany, NJ | 3 | $5.5M | $100K | Preselected only | An unrestricted grant to further the donee's exempt purpose.; Endowment for staff salaries and unrestricted purposes |
| P M Allen Family Foundation | Hanover, NH | 1 | $5.4M | $5.4M | Preselected only | General operations |
| Jpmorgan Chase Foundation | New York, NY | 82 | $5.3M | $1,000 | Preselected only | Matching contribution (general operating support); In support of creating economic mobility and career pathways; In support of financial health |
| Eagle Foundation | Omaha, NE | 2 | $5.3M | $2.6M | Preselected only | Program and Project Support |
| The Simons Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 30 | $5.2M | $119K | Preselected only | Real-time tracking and control of brain neuropeptide levels…; Restoration of kcc2 expression as a potential therapeutic a…; Boston children's hospital clinical site for the national a… |
| The Schooner Foundation C/O Schooner Capital LLC | Boston, MA | 20 | $5.1M | $205K | Preselected only | General Support; Focused Support; Trinity College Dublin |
| Hallowell Fdn Agency-Main | Gainesville, FL | 1 | $5.1M | $5.1M | Preselected only | General operating |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 9 | $5.0M | $300K | Preselected only | To support outreach and education for conserving ocean habi…; To promote collaboration between the society to improve dia…; In support of the healing healthcare initiative summit may… |
| The Miller-Wehrle Family Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $5.0M | $5.0M | Preselected only | Charity |
| Gordon Foundation Bernard M Gordon Et Al Trustees | Danvers, MA | 2 | $5.0M | $2.5M | Yes | Unrestricted grant |
| Margaret a Cargill Foundation | Eden Prairie, MN | 4 | $4.9M | $1.1M | Preselected only | Ensuring long-term resilience & sustainability in native co…; Community preparedness for disaster response and recovery i…; Strengthening community preparedness, rapid response and re… |
| Meg and Tim Callahan Family Foundation | Chicago, IL | 1 | $4.9M | $4.9M | Preselected only | General support |
| Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $4.9M | $4.9M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| New Balance Foundation | Boston, MA | 25 | $4.7M | $50K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Flatley Foundation | Braintree, MA | 25 | $4.6M | $110K | Preselected only | Unrestricted; Scholarship support; Bridges to moms program |
| Michael S Shapiro Foundation | Henderson, NV | 2 | $4.5M | $2.3M | Preselected only | Transfer to donor advised fund. future contributions and/or… |
| The John a Hartford Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 10 | $4.5M | $45K | Yes | Age-friendly health systems movement - stage 3: embedding,…; General support; $5,000 for sponsorship and $2,500 annual fund |
| Good Ventures Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 6 | $4.5M | $753K | Preselected only | Government-led reform agendas of ministries of health in va…; Usaid development innovation ventures program; Research on the interpretability of large language models |
| Crankstart Foundation | San Jose, CA | 4 | $4.5M | $625K | Preselected only | To leverage social media platforms to increase voter partic…; To increase completion of the college financial aid process; To support administration of the san francisco crankstart s… |
| Abbvie Foundation | North Chicago, IL | 2 | $4.4M | $2.2M | Preselected only | Strategic programmatic grant |
| Wellcome Leap Inc | San Diego, CA | 8 | $4.4M | $595K | Preselected only | Global health research |
| Kenrose Kitchen Table Foundation | Seattle, WA | 2 | $4.3M | $2.2M | Preselected only | Developing cnp's prenatal and transition programs; To provide more autonomy for giving |
| The Richard Tam Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | $4.3M | $4.3M | Preselected only | Cancer research/education |
| Champions of Love Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 37 | $4.2M | $30K | Preselected only | General |
| Egl Charitable Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $4.2M | $2.1M | Yes | General support |
| The Grace and Cliff Hare Foundation | Dadeville, AL | 1 | $4.1M | $4.1M | Preselected only | Unrestricted |
| Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 14 | $4.1M | $138K | Yes | To provide general operating support; Adverse cardiometabolic impact of antiretroviral treatment…; To support the federal reserve bank of bostons working comm… |
| Beal Family Foundation C/O Related Companies Lp | New York, NY | 10 | $4.0M | $2,000 | Preselected only | Annual contribution |
| Spector Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $4.0M | $4.0M | Preselected only | The funds held by the boston foundation are intended to be… |
| Aleinu Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $4.0M | $4.0M | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Semnani Family Foundation | Salt Lake City, UT | 1 | $4.0M | $4.0M | Yes | General cont |
Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV, latest electronic return per foundation (2026-10-28). "Accepts applications" reflects the foundation's own checkbox on Part XV line 2. Grants to individuals excluded.
Common questions
Which foundations give to nonprofits in Boston, Massachusetts?
Gates Foundation, The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc, Initiative for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences, Barr Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and 95 others reported grants to Boston organizations on their latest Form 990-PF.
How do I approach a foundation that doesn't accept applications?
A foundation that checks "contributes only to preselected organizations" on its 990-PF won't review a cold proposal. Look at who it funds, find a shared board member, grantee or advisor, and ask for an introduction. Foundations that accept applications usually list a contact and deadlines in Part XV; we show that text on each foundation's page.
Is this list complete?
No. It covers private foundations (Form 990-PF filers) whose latest electronic return lists at least one grant to an organization in Boston. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.