OVERVIEW: Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation is committed to the Greater Boston area and primarily funds fellowships and scholarships for medical research and public policy. The foundation also funds art prizes for emerging and promising contemporary artists and music composers.
FUNDING AREAS: Public policy, neurological and mental illness, medical research, art
IP TAKE: The Rappaport Foundation does not publicize an open request for proposals or accept unsolicited grant requests from nonprofits. However, it is committed pretty exclusively to the Boston metropolitan area and looking to strengthen local leadership.
PROFILE: Established in 1997, the Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation is the foundation of Jerome “Jerry” Rappaport and his wife, Phyllis. Although Jerry was a native New Yorker, he spent his adult life in Boston and remained committed to the goal of shaping a better future for the people of Boston. This political activist, real-estate developer, and philanthropist served in the John Hynes Mayoral administration and created the New Boston Committee in 1950. He worked in policy-level public service and as an attorney before creating the New Boston Fund in 1993, which owns, develops, and operates over 15 million square feet of office, research and development, warehouse, and residential real estate. The foundation, which works to “envision a Greater Boston community exemplifying innovation and collaborative problem solving in public policy, medicine, and the arts,” funds public policy, medical research, and art.
The Rappaport Foundation public policy program believes that “effective public policy solutions have the best opportunity to rise to the surface if our political leaders are provided with […] cutting edge and non-partisan academic research into areas of public concern including housing, transportation, education, crime prevention; and the opportunity to interact with leading experts and the best and brightest our colleges and universities have to offer.” As a result, this program partners with Harvard University, Suffolk Law School, and Boston College Law School, and also offers a Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship, which permits fellows to spend 10 weeks working in state and local government offices in the Greater Boston area. The Fellows come from graduate and professional programs at local universities such as Harvard, Boston College, Brandeis, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern and Boston University.
The foundation’s medical research program commits a significant portion of its assets to research for neurologic and mental health diseases. Rappaport funds a fellowship at McLean Hospital, a research scholarship at Massachusetts General Hospital, a scholars’ fund at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and contributes to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Because no gene has “ever been linked to mental illness,” the foundation works to fund “quality medical research” addressing those devoted to neurologic and mental health diseases, which often carry much stigma.
Lastly, the Rappaport Foundation’s art program centers on Boston with a focus on contemporary art and music composition. The foundation seeks inspiration and appreciation for artists in the region today. It funds the Rappaport Prize, a $25,000 annual art award presented by the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. It also offers the Rappaport Prize for Music Composition, which is dedicated to funding America’s most promising and emergent composers.
Total foundation giving has been approximately $500,000 to $700,000 in recent years. Learn more about this funder’s past support by visiting its website. This foundation prioritizes the Greater Boston area. The foundation does not publicize its grantmaking guidelines.
Also, this foundation does not typically accept unsolicited funding requests. Direct general questions to the foundation staff at 617-858-7755 or via online form.
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