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Dolphin Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Dolphin Charitable Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$13M
Granted FY2020
28
Grants FY2020
5
States reached
$13M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2020.

Philanthropy$13MEnvironment$325kAnimals$216kHuman Services$95kEducation$79kYouth Development$50kCrime & Legal$37kHousing & Shelter$30kOther$0
02FY2020 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k6 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $313k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $219k
  • $250k+1 grant · $13M
$18,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIDUCIARY TRUST CHARITABLE$12,924,336
ONE HEALTH ORGANIZATION$118,856
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$50,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
WESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY$25,000
THE SECOND STEP$25,000
LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY$25,000
TENACITY$25,000
CONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUST$22,000
BUZZARDS BAY COALITION$20,000
PINE STREET INN$20,000
BOURNE CONSERVATION FUND$20,000
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICE NETWORK$20,000
ASSOCIATION TO PRESERVE CAPE COD$18,000
CONCORD-CARLISLE COMMUNITY CHEST$15,000
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 (FY19–20, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PINE STREET INN: $20k → 16%PINE STREET INN: $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.

6%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$867k · 19 repeat orgs$13M to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2020, 0 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
2

Total granted

$867k
$35k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+77%
+265%

Still filing today

89%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 4% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20
EnvironmentEducationHealthAnimalsRecreation & SportsCrime & LegalOther
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

  • OH
    ONE HEALTH ORGANIZATION
    2× · 2019–2020 · $216k · revenue +77% · 36% of their budget
  • ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED
    2× · 2019–2020 · $70k · revenue +139%
  • TS
    THE SECOND STEP INC
    2× · 2019–2020 · $50k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • BC
    BOURNE CONSERVATION TRUSTgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $20k · revenue +265%
  • CF
    CONCORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY CORPORATION
    one grant, 2019 · $15k · revenue -54%
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
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
2
Massachusetts Land Conservation Trust

Conservation and preservation of land.

Environment
3
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
4
The Trustees of Reservations

Overview - founded in boston by pioneering landscape architect and open space visionary charles eliot in 1891, the trustees is the nation's first and the commonwealth's largest conservation and preservation nonprofit.

Environment
5
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
6
Franklin Land Trust Inc

The franklin land trust works to conserve farms, forests, wildlands, and other natural resources significant to the quality of the environment, economy, and rural character of western massachusetts.

Environment
7
The Vermont River Conservancy Inc

Protect land along rivers, lakes and wetlands of vt; protect public access, wildlife habitat, scenic natural beauty, and ecological integrity.

Human Services
8
Brewster Conservation Trust

Land conservation

Environment
9
Midcoast Conservancy

The mission of Midcoast Conservancy is to protect vital lands and waters on a scale that matters and to inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the Earth.

Environment
10
Orleans Conservation Trust

The orleans conservation trust protects and restores natural lands- for people and wildlife, the health of our waters, and the character of our community. a private nonprofit organization, the trust acquires and manages land to enhance…

Environment
11
Barnstable Land Trust Inc

Preservation of undeveloped land in the town of barnstable and nearby areas

Environment
12
New Marlborough Land Trust Inc

Land preservation

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc; the most unlike its peers is A Place to Turn 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

22 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. 22 of the 30 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
21/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDUCIARY TRUST CHARITABLE: $12,924,336 · OtherFIDUCIARY TRUST CHARITABLE+12 more: $286,712 · OtherENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $70,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $50,000 · EnvironmentCONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUST: $42,000 · EnvironmentBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $40,000 · EnvironmentASSOCIATION TO PRESERVE CAPE COD INC: $30,000 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain Club: $21,000 · EnvironmentBOURNE CONSERVATION TRUST: $20,000 · EnvironmentSUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $12,000 · EnvironmentONE HEALTH ORGANIZATION: $215,856 · AnimalsOUR SISTERS SCHOOL: $30,000 · EducationNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $20,000 · EducationCONCORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY CORPORATION: $15,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 · EducationTENACITY INC: $50,000 · Recreation & SportsDomestic Violence Services Network Inc: $37,000 · Crime & LegalCONCORD CARLISLE FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · Philanthropy
Other$13,211,048Environment$305,000Animals$215,856Education$68,000Recreation & Sports$50,000Crime & Legal$37,000Philanthropy$30,000

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 budgetONE HEALTH ORGANIZATION: $215,856 over 2y, 36% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $70,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SECOND STEP INC: $50,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetTENACITY INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetWESTERN RESERVE LAND CONSERVANCY: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUST: $42,000 over 2y, 7.7% of budgetBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDomestic Violence Services Network Inc: $37,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetOUR SISTERS SCHOOL: $30,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCONCORD CARLISLE FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetASSOCIATION TO PRESERVE CAPE COD INC: $30,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetPINE STREET INN INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $21,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOURNE CONSERVATION TRUST: $20,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetSUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetCONCORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY CORPORATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetA Place To Turn Inc: $14,856 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Food Project Inc: $11,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PARMENTER FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $3,000 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.

Fiduciary Charitable …Boston Foundation IncMiddlesex Savings Cha…Cummings Foundation G…Combined Jewish Phila…Bny Mellon Charitable…Eastern Bank Foundati…Ge Aerospace Foundati…National Philanthropi…The Pfizer Foundation…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…
Fiduciary Charitable Foundation Dba Fiduciary Trust CharitableMA24.1× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fiduciary Charitable Foundation Dba Fiduciary Trust Charitable · Boston Foundation Inc · Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation Inc · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Bny Mellon Charitable Gift Fund · Eastern Bank Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Dolphin Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Dolphin Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Association to Preserve Cape Cod Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Buzzards Bay Coalition: 37% of income from government
  • The Second Step Inc: 26% of income from government
  • Pine Street Inn Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • New England Conservatory of Music: 1% of income from government
  • Our Sisters School: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
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 30 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Dolphin’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