Foundations that fund organizations in Somerville, Massachusetts
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Somerville nonprofits
356 private foundations gave $25M to Somerville organizations in their latest filings; 36 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
502 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Somerville around $65K. 34 of these funders are based in Massachusetts; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 356
- Accept applications
- 36
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to Somerville
- $25M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 502
- Typical median grant
- $65K
- Based in MA
- 34%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Somerville organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 3 | $2.8M | $1.0M | Yes | Discovery and translational sciences; Create novel technology platform capabilities |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $2.7M | $2.7M | Preselected only | To support career and technical education |
| Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment | Boston, MA | 2 | $2.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Climate science & policy research |
| Barr Foundation | Boston, MA | 14 | $1.3M | $55K | Preselected only | To provide program support to build grassroots leadership t…; To participate in the community heat resilience pilot progr…; To expand clean energy in new england by informing policy a… |
| The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $1.1M | $1.1M | Preselected only | Building the climate biotech community through common targe… |
| Waverley Street Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | LIFE (Liberating Investment in the Food and Farm system) Fu… |
| The Free for All Concert Fund Inc C/O Cambridge Trust | Boston, MA | 1 | $750K | $750K | Preselected only | Program support |
| The Adjuvant Foundation | Chicago, IL | 2 | $715K | $358K | Preselected only | Program support |
| Edwin Ginn Tr-Art Xv (11) | Boston, MA | 1 | $698K | $698K | Preselected only | General purposes |
| Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (fka Oneworld Boston Inc) | Woburn, MA | 12 | $522K | $34K | Yes | Human Services; Education |
| The Patrick J McGovern Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | To launch a data sharing system for open-system cdr data an… |
| Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust | New York, NY | 1 | $500K | $500K | Yes | General purpose |
| Sontag Foundation | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | 1 | $363K | $363K | Yes | For the exempt purposes of this organization |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 3 | $350K | $50K | Yes | For development and production of "nine," a documentary fil…; For a convening of feminist organizers, reproductive justic…; General support |
| Co-Ttee UW of James W Dunphy | Dallas, TX | 1 | $327K | $327K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| Tiny Blue Dot Inc | West Hollywood, CA | 1 | $300K | $300K | Preselected only | Grant supports a Science of Perception Box study at Massach… |
| Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 8 | $270K | $35K | Yes | Breaking down barriers accessibility initiative; Food rescue in greater boston; Replacing warehouse fluorescent lights with leds |
| Giving Grousbeck Fazzalari Dated April 20 2011 | Seattle, WA | 1 | $250K | $250K | Yes | General |
| Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | Dc expansion |
| Woka Foundation | Newbury Park, CA | 1 | $200K | $200K | Preselected only | Cleantech startups |
| Eastern Bank Foundation | Wakefield, MA | 14 | $191K | $2,250 | Yes | Exempt purpose |
| Ochylski Family Foundation | Des Moines, IA | 1 | $185K | $185K | Yes | Exempt purpose |
| Inavale Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 1 | $160K | $160K | Preselected only | General purpose |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $153K | $153K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Galena-Yorktown Foundation | Washington, DC | 1 | $151K | $151K | Preselected only | Unrestricted funds |
| Johnson Family Foundation | Milwaukee, WI | 2 | $150K | $75K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Mayberg Foundation Inc | Chevy Chase, MD | 1 | $150K | $150K | Yes | Support programming |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 1 | $150K | $150K | Yes | For general operating support |
| Novo Foundation | Hurley, NY | 1 | $150K | $150K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Charles a Dana Foundation Incorporated | New York, NY | 1 | $150K | $150K | Yes | Neuroscience & society |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 1 | $150K | $150K | Yes | Promise of an Equitable Future |
| John Templeton Foundation | West Conshohocken, PA | 1 | $138K | $138K | Yes | Adaptive suppression of endogenous retroviruses in transgen… |
| Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation Inc | Cambridge, MA | 11 | $137K | $4,000 | Preselected only | Exempt purpose |
| The Nathan Cummings Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 2 | $130K | $65K | Yes | General support |
| The Alcon Foundation Inc | Fort Worth, TX | 1 | $125K | $125K | Yes | Eye care |
| Reva and David Logan Foundation | Chicago, IL | 1 | $125K | $125K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Andreas Foundation | Otsego, MI | 4 | $110K | $28K | Preselected only | Grant is for recipeints general fund |
| Herman and Frieda L Miller Foundation C/O Gma Foundations | Boston, MA | 3 | $110K | $35K | Preselected only | General operating support; Building tenant leadership and power |
| The Astra Foundation Inc | Acton, MA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Yes | Support for general operations. |
| Pritzker Military Foundation | Chicago, IL | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General support |
| Democracy Fund Inc | Washington, DC | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General support |
| Jonathan Logan Family Foundation | Berkeley, CA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | Investigative reporting |
| The Flatley Foundation | Braintree, MA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | Scholarship support |
| The Henry Luce Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $100K | $100K | Yes | Support for editorial work |
| The Morningstar Philanthropic Foundation D/B/A the Morningstar Foundation | Bethesda, MD | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General charitable purposes |
| Colatosti Family Foundation | Lexington, MA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Hill Family Charitable Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | Vaccine and Immunology Center |
| Samuel Bailey Family Fdtn | Cincinnati, OH | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Bulens Family Foundation | Needham, MA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General |
| The Echo Charitable Foundation | Ipswich, MA | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | Environmental |
| Edward Fein Foundation | Reno, NV | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | Jewish identity and israel engagement |
| The Joyce L Wolf Foundation | Lincoln, MA | 1 | $90K | $90K | Preselected only | Charitable operations |
| The Klarman Family Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $75K | $75K | Yes | Unrestricted operating support |
| Timken Matthews Family Foundation | Canton, OH | 1 | $75K | $75K | Yes | 2024-2025 Unrestricted Grant |
| Priscilla Alden Uwo | Dallas, TX | 1 | $75K | $75K | Yes | Unrestricted general |
| Merck Family Fund | Boston, MA | 2 | $70K | $35K | Yes | Green guerillas youth empowerment pipeline; Black urban farmers conference |
| Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $69K | $69K | Yes | Drug discovery for type 2 diabetes using genetic pathways |
| Hunt Street Fund Inc | Needham, MA | 1 | $68K | $68K | Preselected only | Charitable contribution unrestricted |
| The Marisla Foundation | Laguna Beach, CA | 1 | $65K | $65K | Yes | General support |
| The Hershey Family Foundation Choate Hall & Stewart Llp C Casey | Boston, MA | 1 | $60K | $60K | Preselected only | The leading publisher of contemporary and classic books and… |
| Franklin Square House Foundation Inc | Belmont, MA | 1 | $55K | $55K | Yes | Housing and shelter grant |
| Tsadra Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $53K | $53K | Preselected only | Institutional Development |
| The James B Boskey Memorial Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 2 | $52K | $26K | Preselected only | General purpose |
| Lewis Brunswick & Rebecca Matoff Foundat | San Clemente, CA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Charity |
| The Sidney and Deanna Wolk Family Foundation | Medford, MA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | General |
| The William & Lia G Poorvu Family Foundation | Cambridge, MA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Operating support |
| Gaia Fund | Berkeley, CA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Yes | General Support |
| The Sky Foundation Inc | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted |
| Laidir Foundation C/O Brian Lonergan | Seattle, WA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Support efforts to improve mental health |
| The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Yes | Fostering jewish life and learning through a joyful and acc… |
| Amelia Peabody Foundation C/O Joseph Kelly | Topsfield, MA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Yes | CodeSquad Software Coding Bootcamp |
| The Beker Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Educational programming |
| Forsythia Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Support for investor environmental health network's work em… |
| Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | General operating support |
| Hodge and Schuyler Family Foundation | Laguna Beach, CA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | General fund donation |
| Blanchard Arthur F Tr Uagree | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Jean C Tempel Foundation | Brookline, MA | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | To support charitable purposes |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Carbon 2 Value Initiative - Support High Quality Startup Pa… |
| Yeshe Khorlo Foundation (in Care of Aragon Trust Company) | George Town | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | The grant is to support the launch and promotion of the rep… |
| The Stringer Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Operations |
| Elisha V Ashton Trust UW | Boston, MA | 1 | $47K | $47K | Preselected only | General |
| Samuel & Nancy Jo Altschuler Family Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 2 | $45K | $23K | Preselected only | unrestricted support, the Samuel and Nancy Jo Altschuler La…; General & Unrestricted |
| Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $40K | $40K | Yes | Safer and reusable food service ware |
| Hillman Family Foundations | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $40K | $40K | Yes | Operating support |
| Freedom Together Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $40K | $40K | Preselected only | Time to act: an assembly of progressive leaders to secure a… |
| The Argosy Foundation | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | $40K | $40K | Preselected only | General support |
| George H & Jane a Mifflin Memorial Fund | Boston, MA | 3 | $40K | $15K | Yes | Software bootcamp; Core meal program- general operating; General operating support |
| The Fine Fund C/O Ffc Capital Corporation | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $40K | $40K | Yes | General operating support |
| Alfred and Harriet Feinman Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | 1 | $39K | $39K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Libra Global Philanthropies Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $35K | $35K | Yes | To support the fletcher's 2024 greece trek and educational… |
| F W & C S Adams Memorial Fund | Dallas, TX | 2 | $35K | $18K | Yes | Unrestricted general |
| The Croll Foundation | Needham Heights, MA | 2 | $35K | $18K | Preselected only | Annual fund - solomon scholars; Support for connors womens health |
| Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc | Rockland, MA | 7 | $35K | $5,000 | Yes | Exempt purpose |
| Virginia McGuire Foundation | Pennington, NJ | 1 | $33K | $33K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| August Foundation Inc | Somerville, MA | 8 | $32K | $2,750 | Preselected only | Food insecurity; Community building; Educational services and food pantry |
| Yawkey Foundation II | Westwood, MA | 1 | $30K | $30K | Yes | Enhanced access/outreach for arts & culture programs |
| Alice Busch Gronewaldt Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $30K | $30K | Preselected only | For family support services, including counseling, educatio… |
| Speyer Family Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $30K | $30K | Preselected only | To further the exempt activities of the charity. |
| Co Tua Robert Mullen Charitable | Dallas, TX | 1 | $30K | $30K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| Curiosity Foundation Inc | Newton, MA | 1 | $30K | $30K | Preselected only | Environmental |
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 Somerville, Massachusetts?
Gates Foundation, The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Barr Foundation, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation and 95 others reported grants to Somerville 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 Somerville. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.