Massachusetts · Public charity
Boston Bar Foundation
The mission of the BOSTON BAR FOUNDATION (bbf) is to promote justice by funding and promoting innovation in legal services, enhancing access to justice for the underserved, and supporting the public interest activities of the bar. As the independent, charitable arm of the boston bar association, the bbf's mission is inspired by the…
- $2.6M
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 56
- Itemized grants FY2025
- 32
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 13%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Itemized, FY2025
- $2.4M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2025
- $20,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $500,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 20 to 32
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $18M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 13% of the organizations Boston Bar Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 4% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $70k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 46 | $2.4M | 28% |
| FY2024 | 32 | $1.7M | 13% |
| FY2023 | 27 | $1.4M | 15% |
| FY2022 | 24 | $1.5M | 13% |
| FY2021 | 20 | $1.3M | 0% |
| FY2020 | 27 | $1.3M | 19% |
| FY2019 | 20 | $1.2M | 0% |
| FY2018 | 24 | $1.2M | 17% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Boston Legal Services Inc | $4,020,000 | 9 | 3% |
| Boston Bar Association | $1,649,700 | 9 | 6% |
| Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association Inc | $1,615,547 | 9 | 6% |
| Political Asylumimmigration Representation Project Inc | $752,500 | 9 | 8% |
| Metrowest Legal Services Inc | $736,500 | 9 | 3% |
| De Novo Center for Justice and Healing | $579,000 | 9 | 3% |
| Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services Inc Dba Prisoners' Legal Svcs | $517,000 | 9 | 2% |
| Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Inc | $417,000 | 9 | 1% |
| Rian Immigrant Center Inc | $317,500 | 9 | 1% |
| Veterans Legal Services Inc | $295,000 | 9 | 3% |
Show all 56 grantees
Where it is load-bearing
Boston Bar Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 50 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Massachusetts Bar Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corp · United Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · The Fish Family Foundation · Barr Foundation · The Clowes Fund Incorporated · The Hyams Foundation Inc · The Cabot Family Charitable Trust
How this is measured
About Boston Bar Foundation
- How much does Boston Bar Foundation give?
- Boston Bar Foundation reported 56 itemized grants totaling $2,439,084, out of $2,640,081 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 20 and 32 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does Boston Bar Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Crime & Legal (100%), Civil Rights (0%), Arts & Culture (0%).
- Who are Boston Bar Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Greater Boston Legal Services Inc ($4.0M), Boston Bar Association ($1.6M), Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association Inc ($1.6M).
- Does Boston Bar Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 13% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Boston Bar Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Massachusetts Bar Foundation Inc, Eastern Bank Foundation, Boston Foundation Inc.
- Where is Boston Bar Foundation based?
- Boston Bar Foundation is based in MA.
Play a game based on Boston Bar’s filings →