OVERVIEW: The Boston Foundation is a community foundation that supports the Greater Boston area in the fields of arts and culture, education, health and wellness, neighborhoods, jobs and economic development, grassroots, and nonprofit effectiveness.
FOCUS AREAS: Arts and culture, education, health and wellness, neighborhoods, jobs and economic development, grassroots, nonprofit effectiveness
IP TAKE: The Boston Foundation should be on the radar of every nonprofit in the city. The focus areas are broad, the dollar amounts are high, and the competition is almost exclusively between neighbors. Recent funding includes COVID-19 relief. TBF funds grantees up to two years in a row provided new proposals are sent in.
PROFILE: Established in 1915, The Boston Foundation (TBF) is the community foundation for the Boston region of Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S. and often gives over $200 million in grants annually. Grantmaking areas of interest address arts and culture, education, health and wellness, neighborhoods, jobs and economic development, grassroots, and nonprofit effectiveness.
TBF funds a variety of impact areas that include education, health and wellness, jobs and economic development, neighborhoods and housing, and arts and culture. Its crosscutting strategies are nonprofit effectiveness and grassroots funding. Starting in 2016, the foundation began awarding Open Door grants which fund efforts for organizational capacity building and testing new innovative ideas. A portion of TBF’s funding also supports broad Grantmaking-Initiatives. Partnerships and collaboration also play a key role in the foundation's grantmaking, particularly in its special initiative areas. These grants often are made along with funding partners, and they're often dynamic collaborations around a common issue area. For instance, Success Boston was a key collaboration that sought to help Boston Public School graduates plan, prepare for, and complete post-secondary education. Civic Leadership funding works with several partners and donors to have an impact on the “economic competitiveness and civic health of Greater Boston.” As well, TBF funds COVID-19 relief work through its COVID-19 Response Fund focused on Boston and is evolving “as community members and nonprofits in our region share their needs.” It’s not currently accepting grant proposals.
TBF grants tend to range from $10,000 to $50,000, or more. The Boston Foundation distributes over $16 million in grants each year. Learn more about past support by viewing the foundation’s Meet Our Grantees page. Grantmaking focuses on Boston and its surrounding region.
TBF accepts unsolicited grant applications for some of its programs and lists current opportunities on its website. The grant application process is conducted online, and each program has its own deadlines. Direct general questions to the foundation staff at 617-338-1700 or grantsinfo@tbf.org.
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