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Massachusetts · Private foundation

Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable 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.

$2.4M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
30
Grants FY2025
29
Organizations funded FY2024
21%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$50,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$500,000
Organizations funded a year
14 to 29
FY2020 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
4
Total assets, FY2025
$58M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 21% of the organizations Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 9% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $200k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
HealthFood & NutritionInternationalHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentEducationOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving30$2.4M17%
FY202429$2.2M21%
FY202329$2.5M55%
FY202224$351k54%
FY202114$312k7%
FY202017$283kn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$2.0MArts & Culture$1.6MHuman Services$1.3MHousing & Shelter$1.1MFood & Nutrition$825kEducation$684kEnvironment$260kInternational$155kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
NY
MA
OH
CT
CA
VA
MD
TN
NC
DC

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc$1,570,00051%
Cradles to Crayons Inc$678,00061%
Women's Lunch Place Inc$675,00043%
Literations Corp$325,000312%
Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston Inc$300,00062%
Vital Cxns Inc$300,000316%
Fisher House of Boston Inc$300,00035%
Gary Sinise Foundation$300,00031%
Spoonfuls$225,00041%
Food Link Inc$200,00033%
Show all 50 grantees
All grantees of Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc$1,570,00051%
Cradles to Crayons Inc$678,00061%
Women's Lunch Place Inc$675,00043%
Literations Corp$325,000312%
Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston Inc$300,00062%
Vital Cxns Inc$300,000316%
Fisher House of Boston Inc$300,00035%
Gary Sinise Foundation$300,00031%
Spoonfuls$225,00041%
Food Link Inc$200,00033%
Community Harvest Project Inc$175,00034%
Padi Aware Foundation$150,00034%
Project New Hope Inc$150,00037%
Read to a Child Inc$125,00025%
The Book Truck Inc$120,00068%
Gaining Ground Inc$100,00018%
Project Bread-The Walk for Hunger Inc$100,00020%
Direct Relief$50,00010%
One Can Help Inc$50,00024%
Breaktime United Inc$50,00020%
Project Place Gatehouse Inc$50,000128%
Charles River Watershed Association Inc$50,00011%
The Childrens Room Center for Grieving Children$50,00013%
Elizabeth Peabody House Association$50,00012%
Mv Center for Education and Training (Mv$36,00053%
South Shore Young Men's Christian Association$30,00060%
Rosie's Place Inc$30,00020%
The Walden Woods Project$30,00060%
Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere Inc$25,00010%
Rehearsal for Life Inc$25,00012%
National Public Radio Inc$25,00010%
Merrimack Valley Food Bank Inc$25,00010%
Appalachian Mountain Club$25,00030%
Syrian American Medical Society$25,00014%
Americares Foundation Inc$25,00010%
International Rescue Committee INC$25,00010%
St Patrick Parish$25,0001n/a
Kettering Children's Choir$20,000121%
The Autism Reserach Foundation Inc$20,000132%
Rebuilding Together Boston Inc$16,00025%
Trustees of Thayer Academy Inc$12,00060%
Sunflower of Peace Foundation Inc$10,00010%
Youthbuild Boston Inc$10,00010%
Haley House Inc & Affiliates$10,00010%
Project Learn Inc$10,0001n/a
Operation California Inc$10,00010%
New England Wildlife Center Inc$5,00010%
The Megan House Foundation Inc$5,00010%
Nature's Classroom Inc$5,00010%
Jason Kendall Ray Foundation$1,00013%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 8 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.5M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 48 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBoston Symphony Orchestra Inc: $1,570,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetCradles to Crayons Inc: $678,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetWomen's Lunch Place Inc: $675,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetLiterations Corp: $325,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetHabitat for Humanity Greater Boston Inc: $300,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetVital Cxns Inc: $300,000 over 3y, 16% of budgetFisher House of Boston Inc: $300,000 over 3y, 4.7% of budgetGary Sinise Foundation: $300,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSpoonfuls: $225,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetFood Link Inc: $200,000 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetCommunity Harvest Project Inc: $175,000 over 3y, 4.4% of budgetPadi Aware Foundation: $150,000 over 3y, 3.6% of budgetProject New Hope Inc: $150,000 over 3y, 7.5% of budgetRead to a Child Inc: $125,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetThe Book Truck Inc: $120,000 over 6y, 7.8% of budgetGaining Ground Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetProject Bread-The Walk for Hunger Inc: $100,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDirect Relief: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOne Can Help Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetBreaktime United Inc: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetProject Place Gatehouse Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetCharles River Watershed Association Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetThe Childrens Room Center for Grieving Children: $50,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetElizabeth Peabody House Association: $50,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetMv Center for Education and Training (Mv: $36,000 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetSouth Shore Young Men's Christian Association: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetRosie's Place Inc: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe Walden Woods Project: $30,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRehearsal for Life Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetNational Public Radio Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMerrimack Valley Food Bank Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSyrian American Medical Society: $25,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetAmericares Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKettering Children's Choir: $20,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetThe Autism Reserach Foundation Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetRebuilding Together Boston Inc: $16,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetTrustees of Thayer Academy Inc: $12,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSunflower of Peace Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYouthbuild Boston Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHaley House Inc & Affiliates: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOperation California Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNew England Wildlife Center Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Megan House Foundation Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNature's Classroom Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetJason Kendall Ray Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 48.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Eastern Bank FoundationMA42.4× affinity21 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Eastern Bank Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Rockland Trust - Blue Hills Charitable Foundation · American Tower Corporation Foundation Inc · Analog Devices Foundation · Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc · Eversource Energy Foundation Inc · The Cabot Family Charitable Trust · Bushrod H Campbell & Adah F Hall Charity Fund · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · The Frederick E Weber Charities Corp

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.

Compare Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

About Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation

How much does Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation give?
Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation reported 30 grants totaling $2,412,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 14 and 29 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2024.
What does Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2025, its largest causes are Health (24%), Arts & Culture (20%), Human Services (16%).
Who are Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2025: Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc ($1.6M), Cradles to Crayons Inc ($678k), Women's Lunch Place Inc ($675k).
Does Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 21% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Eastern Bank Foundation, Boston Foundation Inc, Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc).
Where is Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation based?
Cecile Higginson Murphy Charitable Foundation is based in MA.

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 59 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

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