Foundations that fund organizations in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Cambridge nonprofits
2,468 private foundations gave $1.1B to Cambridge organizations in their latest filings; 27 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
4,490 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Cambridge around $733K. 21 of these funders are based in Massachusetts; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 2,468
- Accept applications
- 27
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Cambridge
- $1.1B
- latest filings
- Grants
- 4,490
- Typical median grant
- $733K
- Based in MA
- 21%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Cambridge organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 59 | $351M | $733K | Yes | Discovery and translational sciences; Create novel technology platform capabilities; Empower women and girls |
| Stanley Family Foundation | Briarcliff Manor, NY | 1 | $60M | $60M | Preselected only | To support psychiatric medical research |
| The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $50M | $50M | Preselected only | Sci & med research - to support biomedical and genomic rese… |
| The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation | Palo Alto, CA | 19 | $41M | $1.2M | Preselected only | To provide support for scientific focused research; General operating support; To provide support for focused research organization |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 29 | $34M | $225K | Preselected only | Employee or trustee recommended gift for general operationa…; To support a convening on mental health and artificial inte…; In support of a unique technology platform and associated r… |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 3 | $32M | $1.7M | Preselected only | For general operating support; Science: cell science; The kempner institute for the study of natural and artifici… |
| Stephen a Schwarzman Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $26M | $26M | Preselected only | Support a building focused on promoting the application of… |
| The Simons Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 96 | $24M | $192K | Preselected only | Simons investigator in physics; Simons investigator in mathematics; Simons investigator in computer science |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 3 | $24M | $3.4M | Preselected only | To improve outcomes for k-12 students in the u.s.; To support city data alliance; To support the bloomberg center for cities |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $18M | $18M | Preselected only | Support for cns research |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 34 | $15M | $174K | Preselected only | To engage in an exploratory phase of work in an effort to u…; To support the abdul latif jameel poverty action lab north…; To assess and estimate the amount of home health care fraud… |
| Treehouse Family Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $15M | $15M | Preselected only | General support |
| Aphorism Foundation C/O Realize Cpa Llp | San Francisco, CA | 4 | $15M | $2.0M | Preselected only | General support |
| Freedom Together Foundation | New York, NY | 10 | $14M | $750K | Preselected only | Mitochondrial dysfunction and disease: connecting the rare…; Dr. tonegawa's research program; Li-huei tsai's research program |
| Probalistic Computing Foundation Inc | Cambridge, MA | 3 | $10M | $650K | Preselected only | Data and computer sciences; research |
| Lilly Endowment Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 4 | $10M | $2.5M | Yes | Christian faith&life storytellg init |
| Good Ventures Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 13 | $9.5M | $287K | Preselected only | Lab research and activities; Research related to ai and computing trends and impacts; Ai safety communications work |
| The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation | Omaha, NE | 6 | $7.9M | $917K | Preselected only | Program support; General operating support |
| Alfred P Sloan Foundation | New York, NY | 39 | $7.8M | $125K | Yes | To convene leaders and experts to discuss the pressing issu…; To develop multicolor, long-term nanoprobes for single part…; To make mathematics more reliable, searchable, understandab… |
| The Edgerley Family Foundation | Overland Park, KS | 1 | $7.3M | $7.3M | Preselected only | Support-general fund |
| Walton Family Foundation Inc | Bentonville, AR | 6 | $7.2M | $763K | Preselected only | To support a new charter school research collaborative whic…; To support a suite of studies on long-term drivers of stude…; To support two projects focused on understanding what it me… |
| Timothy and Michele Barakett Foundation C/O Trb Advisors Lp | New York, NY | 10 | $6.5M | $500K | Preselected only | Barakett family athletic director's discretionary fund; Michele and timothy barakett start-up grant program fund; Michele and timothy barakett fas dean's discretionary fund |
| The Morningside Foundation | Newton Centre, MA | 3 | $6.4M | $420K | Preselected only | General use - education; General use - religious |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 30 | $6.3M | $140K | Yes | Matching gifts; 82378 general operating support for the center for effectiv…; 80763 examining endowment-funding practices and the role en… |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 26 | $6.1M | $200K | Yes | For general operating support; Matching gift of staff and board members; For sponsorship of an ai and education convening |
| Carnegie Corporation of New York | New York, NY | 18 | $5.4M | $188K | Yes | In support of the Opportunities After High School Initiative; In support of Scholarships for Women; For core support for the CivXNow Coalition |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc | New York, NY | 9 | $5.4M | $442K | Preselected only | General operating support; General operating support and social norms research with re…; Jobs and opportunity initiative - soft skills consolidation… |
| Hess Foundation Inc | Parsippany, NJ | 3 | $5.3M | $100K | Preselected only | An unrestricted grant to further the donee's exempt purpose.; John b. hess fund for innovation and leadership, the hbs de… |
| Manton Foundation | New York, NY | 4 | $5.3M | $1.2M | Preselected only | For scad-related research and investments; For the center for gynepathology research; For curriculum innovation, building the front-line mental h… |
| John Templeton Foundation | West Conshohocken, PA | 13 | $5.2M | $441K | Yes | Microbiome-mediated oxytocin release in human health; The construct and assessment of interpersonal love; Building character through equity-oriented social learning… |
| The Edward and Caroline Hyman Family Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $5.0M | $5.0M | Yes | Charitable donation |
| The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 5 | $4.9M | $349K | Preselected only | 2024 human cell atlas general meeting; Computational modeling to improve glucose-responsive glucag…; Uncovering crohn's genetic risk in african-american and his… |
| Barr Foundation | Boston, MA | 26 | $4.3M | $113K | Preselected only | To invest risk capital in organizational and artistic leade…; To provide general operating support; To provide technical assistance on microgrids and resilienc… |
| The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation C/O Andersen | New York, NY | 1 | $4.1M | $4.1M | Preselected only | Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and res… |
| The Klarman Family Foundation | Boston, MA | 3 | $4.1M | $200K | Yes | Unrestricted operating support; Support for scientific research |
| Tull Family Foundation | Chicago, IL | 2 | $4.0M | $2.0M | Preselected only | Music building; Mit generative ai fund |
| Centurion Foundation | West Fargo, ND | 3 | $3.9M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Medical research; Scientific research |
| Wellcome Leap Inc | San Diego, CA | 5 | $3.8M | $501K | Preselected only | Global health research |
| The David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 16 | $3.7M | $175K | Yes | Fellowships for Science and Engineering; Environment and Science; Special Initiatives |
| Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (fka Oneworld Boston Inc) | Woburn, MA | 34 | $3.5M | $34K | Yes | Education; Human Services; Healthcare |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 18 | $3.4M | $134K | Yes | Matching gift; Core support for faith in democracy to further develop its…; Core support for the presidential priorities fund to ensure… |
| Gray Foundation C/O Goldman Sachs Wealth Services Lp | Albany, NY | 2 | $3.2M | $1.6M | Preselected only | Hms project, chen atlas informatics, santagata project, sor…; Project support |
| The Linda Hammett Ory & Andrew Ory Charitable Trust | Lincoln, MA | 5 | $3.2M | $350K | Preselected only | General |
| Neil & Anna Rasmussen Foundation | Concord, MA | 2 | $3.0M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Unrestricted contribution |
| Dunleavy Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $3.0M | $3.0M | Preselected only | General contribution |
| Denise A& Eugene Chinery Foundation C/O Jayne Kurzman Esq | New York, NY | 3 | $2.8M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Denise A. and Eugene W. Chinery Fund for Neurodevelopment R…; Faculty of Arts & Sciences for the Denise A. and Eugene W.…; Faculty of Arts & Sciences for the Research Support Fund u-… |
| Indian Paintbrush Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $2.8M | $2.8M | Preselected only | Educational support |
| Biogen Foundation Incorporated | Dallas, TX | 3 | $2.8M | $890K | Yes | Corporate foundation direct; Matching gift disbursements; Donations for employee |
| The J Baker Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $2.8M | $2.8M | Preselected only | To Promote the work of President & Fellows of Harvard Colle… |
| Dr Miriam & Sheldon G Adelson Medical Research Foundation | Needham, MA | 1 | $2.7M | $2.7M | Preselected only | Medical research |
| Blavatnik Family Foundation | New York, NY | 2 | $2.6M | $1.3M | Preselected only | support for jewish community; Support for Education and Research |
| Roberts Family Foundation C/O Paul McCoy | Boston, MA | 4 | $2.5M | $489K | Preselected only | Hbs roberts family undergraduate technology innovation fell… |
| John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation | Chicago, IL | 10 | $2.4M | $163K | Preselected only | In support of general operations; Will support cultural survival to support professional deve…; In support of mit open documentary lab and co-creation stud… |
| The Commonwealth Fund | New York, NY | 24 | $2.3M | $45K | Yes | The Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy…; Geographic Variation in Healthcare Spending & Quality Among…; Supporting Efforts by Health Care Delivery Organizations to… |
| Founders Pledge Inc | New York, NY | 5 | $2.3M | $500K | Preselected only | General support; General support and tegmark lab fund; Giving multiplier' with prof joshua greene, department of p… |
| The Vallee Foundation Inc | Cambridge, MA | 1 | $2.2M | $2.2M | Preselected only | Exempt purpose |
| The Heising-Simons Foundation | Los Altos, CA | 11 | $2.2M | $133K | Preselected only | For the 51 pegasi b fellowship; To support the fund for diverse voices at the mit press; For the research and related work of juliana garcia-mejia i… |
| Rutland Corner Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 1 | $2.1M | $2.1M | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Beal Family Foundation C/O Related Companies Lp | New York, NY | 1 | $2.0M | $2.0M | Preselected only | Annual contribution |
| Hutchins Family Foundation Inc C/O Glenn H Hutchins | New York, NY | 1 | $2.0M | $2.0M | Preselected only | To support the charity's mission. |
| Constellation Charitable Foundation | Cambridge, MA | 1 | $1.9M | $1.9M | Preselected only | Development assistance for an arts center |
| Richard & Susan Smith Family Foundation | Newton, MA | 15 | $1.9M | $135K | Yes | Medical research; Education; Human services |
| Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 5 | $1.8M | $25K | Yes | To support bridging the gap between science and the public; Philanthropic sector support 2024; To support the dei practitioners group benchmarking report |
| The Andrew W Mellon Foundation | New York, NY | 3 | $1.8M | $400K | Yes | To support the further development of the black teacher arc…; To support the digitization of audiovisual recordings; To support an annual academic fellowship |
| Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 29 | $1.7M | $50K | Yes | Operating support; Operating support for btgbs ten-year student pathway; Using permanency to improve housing outcomes for homeless a… |
| Vranos Foundation | Pennington, NJ | 1 | $1.7M | $1.7M | Preselected only | Stem cell institute |
| Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment | Boston, MA | 3 | $1.6M | $528K | Preselected only | Marine sciene & policy research; Climate science & policy research; Food and agriculture research |
| Astera Institute | Berkeley, CA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | General support |
| The Kresge Foundation | Troy, MI | 8 | $1.5M | $150K | Yes | Project support grant will support leadership for a network…; General operating support; Annual member support |
| Endeavor Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Yes | Liang-zhou nieman |
| Musk Foundation | Austin, TX | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Support research programs |
| Eagle Foundation | Omaha, NE | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | Program and Project Support |
| Fidelity Foundation | Boston, MA | 74 | $1.5M | $1,250 | Yes | Fidelity matching gifts to education; Executive match program; Programming |
| The William & Lia G Poorvu Family Foundation | Cambridge, MA | 18 | $1.4M | $18K | Preselected only | Operating support; Program support; Endowment - program and operating support |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 7 | $1.4M | $200K | Yes | Matching Grant; Food, Strong and Equitable Food Systems; Early Care and Education |
| Sequoia Climate Foundation | Irvine, CA | 2 | $1.4M | $675K | Preselected only | To support research and analysis in furtherance of the clea…; To support expanding a clean energy and transport investmen… |
| Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Irvine, CA | 16 | $1.3M | $114K | Yes | Research, general support & education |
| Leon Levy Foundation | New York, NY | 3 | $1.3M | $163K | Preselected only | Project support.; Endowment support |
| Chu Family Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $1.3M | $1.3M | Preselected only | To educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society. |
| Waverley Street Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 2 | $1.3M | $625K | Preselected only | General Operating Support |
| The Pershing Square Foundation | New York, NY | 3 | $1.3M | $250K | Preselected only | The mind (maximizing innovation in neuroscience discovery)…; Research project: "programmable therapeutics: building the… |
| The Edward W & Betty Knight Scripps Foundation | Sunapee, NH | 6 | $1.2M | $38K | Yes | General Support |
| The Kavli Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | 8 | $1.2M | $98K | Preselected only | International research federation on the origins of life an…; Kavli institute for astrophysics and space research phase i…; Inclusive and sustainable model for fostering public engage… |
| The Tommy Fuss Fund | Wellesley, MA | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | Faculty of arts & sciences for the tommy fuss research fund |
| Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 2 | $1.2M | $600K | Yes | Educational and charitable |
| The California Endowment | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | Executive alliance for boys and men of color - improving he… |
| Novo Foundation | Hurley, NY | 2 | $1.2M | $600K | Preselected only | General support |
| Donley Foundation-Ud Dtd 12-8-86 | York, PA | 1 | $1.2M | $1.2M | Preselected only | The impact fund |
| Smith Richardson Foundation Inc | Greensboro, NC | 13 | $1.2M | $60K | Yes | General operating support |
| The Lemelson Foundation | Portland, OR | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Preselected only | To (1) support the lemelson-mits invention education work i… |
| Milky Way Research Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Preselected only | Investigator award research grant |
| The Esther a & Joseph Klingenstein Fund Inc | New York, NY | 4 | $1.1M | $250K | Preselected only | Neuroscience; Early childhood programs; Early childhood policy/advocacy |
| Bt Charitable Foundation | New York, NY | 8 | $1.1M | $150K | Preselected only | To support professor james collins; harnessing artificial i…; To support professor dennis whyte's and jeffrey freidberg's…; To support the furst lab specifically for the engineering m… |
| The Simsmaes Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 7 | $1.1M | $1,000 | Preselected only | General purposes |
| Matthew a & Susan B Weatherbie Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Preselected only | General Purpose |
| Susan Crown Exchange Inc | Chicago, IL | 2 | $1.0M | $505K | Preselected only | Public charity |
| James Duncan Phillips Fund for Harvard | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | See attached |
| Lunder Foundation C/O Kenilworth Inc | Portland, ME | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Yes | Annual fund |
| Buffett Early Childhood Fund | Omaha, NE | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Center for the developing child operating support |
| Pritzker Family Foundation C/O Pritzker Group | Chicago, IL | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Research and education on early childhood development |
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 Cambridge, Massachusetts?
Gates Foundation, Stanley Family Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation and 95 others reported grants to Cambridge 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 Cambridge. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.