Skip to content
Berger Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Berger Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$25k
Granted FY2025still arriving
12
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$110kCivil Rights$45kEnvironment$24kHuman Services$23kHealth$18kHousing & Shelter$15kFood & Nutrition$11kCrime & Legal$8kOther$0
02FY2025 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$240k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL$5,000
OTHER UNDER 1000$3,950
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS$3,000
CHILMARK TOWN AFFAIRS COUNCIL$2,500
HARBOR HOMES MARTHA'S VINEYARD$2,000
YMCA OF MARTHAS VINEYARD$1,500
PEREGRINE FUND$1,500
MARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDAT$1,101
HOSPICE OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD$1,000
PLAN A HEALTH$1,000
FRIENDS OF CHILMARK PRESCHOOL$1,000
BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL$1,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $13k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 88% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%BLINK NOW FOUNDATION: $2k → 4%COMMUNITY SERVINGS: $10k → 16%HOSPICE OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD: $1k → 8%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
ID
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MD
DC
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$259k · 16 repeat orgs$47k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +115% since the first grant, against +36% for those funded once.

16 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

16
22

Total granted

$259k
$39k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+115%
+36%

Still filing today

63%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureHousing & ShelterRecreation & SportsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • BB
    BOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $65k · revenue +108%
  • MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
    7× · 2017–2025 · $24k · revenue +29%
  • YO
    YMCA of Martha's Vineyard Inc
    9× · 2017–2025 · $14k · revenue +418%

Funded once

  • COMMUNITY SERVINGS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +127%
  • AF
    AMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC
    one grant, 2019 · $3k · revenue +23%
  • RE
    REPRODUCTIVE EQUITY NOW FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $3k · revenue +123%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Brighton Marine Inc

Brighton marine, inc. provides military and veteran families with comprehensive campus-based quality health care, as well as affordable and supportive housing for at-risk veterans and their families.

Health
2
Boston Harbor Now Inc

Our mission is to ensure that the people of greater boston benefit from a vibrant, resilient, and inclusive waterfront, harbor, and islands; these spaces are equitable, accessible, and adapted to climate change; and to ensure our public,…

Environment
3
Berkshire Health Systems Inc

The mission of berkshire health systems is to advance health & wellness for everyone in our community in a welcoming,inclusive & personalized environment.

Health
4
The Boston Foundation for Sight Inc

Our mission is to improve quality of life by transforming the understanding, treatment, and care of the ocular surface.

Human Services
5
Mass General Brigham Health Plan Inc

Mass general brigham health plan's mission is to promote the health and wellness of our members, and to help ensure equitable, affordbale health care for the diverse communities we serve.

Health
6
Commonwealth Care Alliance Inc

Commonwealth care alliance, inc.'s mission is to improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs by innovating, coordinating and providing the highest quality, individualized care.

Health
7
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

—
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
10
Bridgton Hospital

To provide exceptional healthcare services in a safe and trustfulenvironment through the expertise, commitment, and compassion ofour family of caregivers.

Health
11
Neighborhealth Corporation

Neighborhealth's mission is to promote and sustain healthy communities, families, and individuals by providing accessible, person-centered, and compassionate, high-quality health care services to all who live and work in our service area,…

Health
12
Boston Public Market Association Inc

Our mission is to continue to develop and operate a permanent year-round market in boston and to support the farmers, fishers, and entrepreneurs who grow, catch, and produce local food, and to nourish our community with food and…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Sheriff's Meadow Foundation; the most unlike its peers is The Peregrine Fund Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

27 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 27 of the 44 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
20/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OTHER UNDER 1000: $32,335 · OtherOTHER UNDER 1000NARAL PRO CHOICE OF MA FDN: $30,450 · OtherNARAL PRO CHOICE OF MA FDNPRO CHOICE FOUNDATION: $15,000 · OtherPRO CHOICE FOUNDATIONFRIENDS OF PUBLIC GARDEN: $8,500 · OtherFRIENDS OF PUBLIC GARDENBIG BROTHER ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON: $6,100 · OtherMARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY FOUNDAT: $4,601 · OtherBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION: $5,500 · OtherPROTECT OUR DEFENDERS FOUNDATION % RUSSELL H MILLER: $8,000 · OtherPROTECT OUR DEFENDERS FOUNDATION % RUSSELL H MILLE…+20 more: $26,600 · Other+20 moreBOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL INC: $65,000 · EducationBOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL INCAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $2,500 · Education+2 more: $2,200 · EducationMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS: $24,120 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF FINE …HUNTINGTON THEATRE CO INC: $16,500 · Arts & CultureHUNTINGTON THEA…+1 more: $1,000 · Arts & CultureCOMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $2,500 · Human ServicesBLINKNOW FOUNDATION A NJ NONPROFIT: $1,500 · Human ServicesHOSPICE OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD INC DBA HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE OF MARTHA'S: $1,000 · Human ServicesHARBOR HOMES OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD INC: $8,000 · Housing & ShelterISLAND HOUSING TRUST CORPORATION: $5,500 · Housing & ShelterBOSTON RESCUE MISSION INC: $1,000 · Housing & ShelterYMCA of Martha's Vineyard Inc: $14,425 · Recreation & SportsSHERIFF'S MEADOW FOUNDATION: $13,750 · Environment
Other$137,086Education$69,700Arts & Culture$41,620Human Services$15,000Housing & Shelter$14,500Recreation & Sports$14,425Environment$13,750

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBOSTON BOOK FESTIVAL INC: $65,000 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS: $24,120 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHUNTINGTON THEATRE CO INC: $16,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetYMCA of Martha's Vineyard Inc: $14,425 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetSHERIFF'S MEADOW FOUNDATION: $13,750 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHARBOR HOMES OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD INC: $8,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetPROTECT OUR DEFENDERS FOUNDATION % RUSSELL H MILLER: $8,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION: $5,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetISLAND HOUSING TRUST CORPORATION: $5,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICANS FOR OXFORD INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE EQUITY NOW FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD PLAYHOUSE INC: $1,600 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBLINKNOW FOUNDATION A NJ NONPROFIT: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON JEWISH FILM INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSHINING HOPE FOR COMMUNITIES INC: $1,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON RESCUE MISSION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCIRCUIT ARTS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHEADSTRONG FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Boston Foundation IncMartha's Vineyard Ban…The Peter and Elizabe…Martha's Vineyard Com…If Hummingbird Founda…Tower Family Fund IncMutual Bancorp Founda…Gs Donor Advised Phil…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…
Boston Foundation IncMA16.2× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Martha's Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation Inc · The Peter and Elizabeth C Tower Foundation · Martha's Vineyard Community Foundation Inc · If Hummingbird Foundation Inc · Tower Family Fund Inc · Mutual Bancorp Foundation Inc Fka Cape Cod 5 Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Berger Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Berger Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Boston Medical Center Corporation: 23% of income from government
  • Community Servings Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Hospice of Martha's Vineyard Inc Dba Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha's: 5% of income from government
  • Huntington Theatre Co Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Sheriff's Meadow Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • Boston Book Festival Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Martha's Vineyard Playhouse Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Harbor Homes of Martha's Vineyard Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Island Housing Trust Corporation: 1% of income from government
  • Circuit Arts Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Museum of Fine Arts: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 44 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Berger Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home