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Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser 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.

$9k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$9k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

0
’20
0
’21
15
’22
3
’23
0
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0191% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Philanthropy$280kEducation$146kArts & Culture$111kSocial Science$30kHousing & Shelter$25kScience & Tech$270Human Services$229Animals$1Other$0
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$8,514
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIDELITY CHARITABLE$8,514
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 99% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%AMERICAN MODERN OPERA CO: $10k → 8%MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $25k → 12%MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - BOSTON: $33k → 16%FRACTURED ATLAS: $250 → 17%HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $25k → 17%PUTNEY SCHOOL: $25k → 11%FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $212k → 11%BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL: $10k → 8%MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $25k → 12%BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $27k → 16%NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY - SECURITIES AT COST: $1 → 17%FIDELITY CHARITABLE - SECURITIES AT COST: $34k → 11%AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER: $2k → 8%BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $5k → 16%DETAILS ARE VOLUMINOUS & AVAILABLE AT B STRAUSS ASSOC LTD: $992k → 17%FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $16k → 11%AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER - SECURITIES COST: $378 → 8%EDVESTORS: $30k → 16%DETAILS ARE VOLUMINOUS & AVAILABLE AT B STRAUSS ASSOC LTD: $871k → 17%FIDELITY CHARITABLE: $9k → 11%HARVARD UNIVERSITY - SECURITIES AT COST: $270 → 8%BRAZELTON TOUCHPOINTS PROJECT: $30k → 16%FIDELITY CHARITABLE - SECURITIES AT COST: $3 → 11%BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $20k → 16%TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $16k → 16%BOSTON LYRIC OPERS: $25k → 16%BOSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $3k → 16%INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART: $1k → 16%INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART - SECURITIES AT COST: $378 → 16%INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART - SECURITIES AT COST: $4 → 16%FAMILY AID BOSTON: $25k → 16%FAMILY AID BOSTON - SECURITIES AT COST: $229 → 16%COMBINED JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES OF GREATER BOSTON: $10k → 16%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.
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.0M · 5 repeat orgs$255k to everyone else

5 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2023, 1 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
17

Total granted

$2.0M
$222k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+12%
+39%

Still filing today

60%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 72% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $33k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationSocial ScienceOther
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

  • THE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE
    2× · 2022–2023 · $50k · revenue +12%
  • BS
    BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $31k · revenue +1%
  • THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC
    2× · 2022–2023 · $1k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • EI
    EDVESTORS INC
    one grant, 2022 · $30k · revenue -50%
  • BT
    BRAZELTON TOUCHPOINTS PROJECT INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $30k · revenue +129%
  • PS
    PUTNEY SCHOOL INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +26%
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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Trustees of Boston College

Mission strengthened by more than a century and a half of dedication to academic excellence, boston college commits itself to the highest standards of teaching and research in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and to the…

Education
3
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Inc

Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…

Arts & Culture
4
Bentley University

Organization's mission bentley university believes good business can impact more than the bottom line - it can change the world. bentley is a community of future business leaders who will deliver value in the marketplace and lasting…

Education
5
Boston Arts Summer Institute Inc
Recreation & Sports
6
Bard College

Bard college seeks to provide a challenging academic program and a supportive environment that fosters a collaborative interchange of ideas in the classroom as well as ambition to achieve excellence.

Education
7
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
8
Boston Modern Orchestra Project Inc

To build a structurally sound and musically vital ensemble which seeks to explore and present music of the 20th century. all schools, movements and styles from the turn of the century to the present day will be offered. it is the practical…

Arts & Culture
9
The Broad Institute Inc

The mission of the broad institute is to propel progress in biomedicine, through research aimed at the understanding and treatment of disease and the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the scientific community to benefit the public.…

Health
10
Boston Children's Chorus Inc

Boston children's chorus harnesses the power of music to connect our city's diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry.

Arts & Culture
11
Bloomingdale School of Music

To provide access to high-quality music education for anyone who seeks it, regardless of economic status, ability level, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation.

Arts & Culture
12
Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan school of music is deeply committed to excellence in education, performance, and creative activity; to the humanity of the school's environment; and to the cultural enrichment of the larger community. a premiere international…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Childrens Museum; the most unlike its peers is Hathaway Brown School. 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

17 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. 17 of the 25 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
14/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DETAILS ARE VOLUMINOUS & AVAILABLE AT B STRAUSS ASSOC LTD: $1,862,389 · OtherDETAILS ARE VOLUMINOUS & AVAILABLE AT B STRAUSS ASSOC LTD+10 more: $158,531 · Other+10 moreFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $236,345 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY I…THE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $50,000 · EducationEDVESTORS INC: $30,000 · EducationHATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $25,000 · EducationBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $31,312 · Arts & CultureBOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN MODERN OPERA COMPANY: $10,000 · Arts & CultureBOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $6,373 · Arts & CultureBRAZELTON TOUCHPOINTS PROJECT INC: $30,000 · Social ScienceCombined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc: $10,000 · Philanthropy
Other$2,020,920Community Improvement$236,345Education$105,000Arts & Culture$77,685Social Science$30,000Philanthropy$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $236,345 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $31,312 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEDVESTORS INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBRAZELTON TOUCHPOINTS PROJECT INC: $30,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetPUTNEY SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILYAID BOSTON INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $16,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCombined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN MODERN OPERA COMPANY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetBOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE CO INC: $2,141 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC: $1,482 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $250 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.

Combined Jewish Phila…Boston Foundation IncGs Donor Advised Phil…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston IncMA13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Familyaid Boston Inc: 4% of income from government
  • The Childrens Museum: 1% of income from government
  • The Institute of Contemporary Art Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College: 1% of income from government
  • Edvestors Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
  • American Repertory Theatre Co Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
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 25 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 Catherine & Paul Buttenwieser’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