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Edward C Johnson Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Edward C Johnson Fund

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$16M
Granted FY2024still arriving
42
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Environment$36MReligion$13MArts & Culture$13MRecreation & Sports$8.0MPhilanthropy$7.0MHealth$4.2MEducation$2.8MCommunity Improvement$2.5MOther$0
02FY2024 · 42 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k17 grants · $2.5M
  • $250k+25 grants · $14M
$278,200
Median grant
9
States reached
$564M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
REVOLUTIONARY SPACES INC$1,500,000
MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC$1,500,000
ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC$1,000,000
NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION$1,000,000
TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION$827,500
BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL INC$650,000
MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST$575,000
AMERICAN RIVERS INC$570,000
MAINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC$500,000
BUZZARDS BAY COALITION INC$500,000
TROUT UNLIMITED INC$500,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY INC$500,000
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB$500,000
ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC$460,000
NATURE CONSERVANCY INC$400,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $2.5M → 8%BUZZARDS BAY COALITION INC: $500k → 11%MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $2.5M → 16%SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER: $5.0M → 10%ST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: $2.5M → 18%NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 14%TROUT UNLIMITED INC: $500k → 7%NORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST: $1.3M → 9%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $1.0M → 7%GREAT WORKS REGIONAL LAND TRUST: $400k → 9%HANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATIONS: $1.5M → 11%BREWSTER CONSERVATION TRUST: $450k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $1.5M → 8%BUZZARDS BAY COALITION INC: $495k → 11%MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $2.5M → 16%LAND TRUST ALLIANCE INCORPORATED: $750k → 14%ATLANTIC SALMON FEDERATION INC: $460k → 7%COASTAL RIVERS CONSERVATION TRUST: $400k → 9%MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST: $6.9M → 9%HANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATIONS: $1.0M → 11%MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $600k → 8%MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $2.4M → 16%AMERICAN RIVERS INC: $570k → 14%NATURE CONSERVANCY INC: $500k → 7%MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST: $575k → 9%MAINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $500k → 11%ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $1.0M → 16%NATURE CONSERVANCY INC: $400k → 7%MOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $3.0M → 11%AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: $2.5M → 8%HISTORIC NEW ENGLAND: $2.7M → 16%FRIENDS OF ACADIA: $1.5M → 11%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $500k → 16%BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL INC: $650k → 16%CAMP BEECH CLIFF: $5.0M → 11%CAMP BEECH CLIFF: $1.5M → 11%EMERALD NECKLACE CONSERVANCY INC: $500k → 16%THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $4.0M → 16%TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $1.3M → 16%TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION: $2.2M → 16%TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 16%HARBOR HOUSE COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER: $2.5M → 11%TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION: $828k → 16%MOUNT DESERT LAND AND GARDEN PRESERVE: $500k → 11%LOUISBURG FOUNDATION: $475k → 16%REVOLUTIONARY SPACES INC: $1.5M → 16%APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB: $2.5M → 16%APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB: $500k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
NY
MA
CA
VA
TN
NC
DC
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$54M · 20 repeat orgs$35M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +15% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
30

Total granted

$54M
$26M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+15%
+1%

Still filing today

85%
87%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 39% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $9.0M went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentArts & CulturePhilanthropyEducationRecreation & SportsAnimalsOther
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

  • Maine Coast Heritage Trust
    3× · 2021–2024 · $7.6M · revenue +5% · 33% of their budget
  • MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $4.6M · revenue +15%
  • TI
    TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION
    3× · 2022–2024 · $4.3M · revenue +820% · 97% of their budget

Funded once

  • SF
    SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $5.0M
  • MD
    MOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2023 · $3.0M · revenue +18%
  • ST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2021 · $2.5M · revenue +3%
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
Massachusetts Land Conservation Trust

Conservation and preservation of land.

Environment
2
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
3
Aspetuck Land Trust

Founded in 1966, Aspetuck Land Trust is a non-profit membership ogranization whose mission is to protect land forever and connect people to the natural world.

Environment
4
Islesboro Islands Trust

The mission of Islesboro Islands Trust is to enhance the quality of residents' lives through the preservation of open space, educate all residents as to the value of the island's natural ecosystems, and act as an environmental advocate on…

Philanthropy
5
Kennebunk Land Trust

Kennebunk Land Trust's mission is to permanently conserve and steward land to benefit natural and human communities.

Environment
6
Wetlands Foundation
Environment
7
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
8
Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation Inc Attn Susan Sacco
—
9
Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust

Our mission is to permanently conserve and steward natural resources across our island and mainland communities for the benefit of current and future generations.

—
10
Presumpscot Regional Land Trust

We engage with communities to conserve, steward, and provide access to local lands and clean water for current and future generations to enjoy.

—
11
Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc

Sudbury valley trustees, inc. ("the organization") works to protect natural areas and farmland for wildlife and people in the 36 communities that surround the sudbury, assabet, and concord rivers. the organization cares for some of the…

Environment
12
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust

The mission of the SRLT is to recognize and conserve the rich wild and workinglandscape of Central Maine's Sebasticook River watershed through conservation,stewardship and education. Our focal programs are land conservation for…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northeast Wilderness Trust Corporation; the most unlike its peers is Louisburg Foundation. 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

63 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. 63 of the 72 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.

8
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
63/63
Grantees still filing
36/63
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Maine Coast Heritage Trust: $7,552,509 · EnvironmentMaine Coast Heritage TrustTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $5,300,000 · EnvironmentTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONSMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $4,600,000 · EnvironmentMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INCAppalachian Mountain Club: $3,000,000 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain ClubNORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION: $1,550,000 · EnvironmentFriends of Acadia: $1,500,000 · EnvironmentBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $1,295,000 · Environment+25 more: $7,513,000 · Environment+25 moreMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $7,747,979 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATEDSAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER: $5,000,000 · OtherSAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTERNATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY: $3,921,900 · OtherNATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,300,000 · OtherST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: $2,500,000 · OtherST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITYAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $2,500,000 · OtherAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCESAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $1,460,000 · Other+16 more: $5,798,000 · Other+16 moreSOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGL: $2,702,775 · Arts & CultureSOCIETY FO…HANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATION: $2,500,000 · Arts & CultureHANCOCK CO…REVOLUTIONARY SPACES INC: $1,500,000 · Arts & CultureREVOLUTION…ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $1,000,000 · Arts & CultureISABELLA S…SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $300,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $440,000 · Arts & CultureCAMP BEECH CLIFF: $7,450,000 · Recreation & SportsCAMP BEEC…EMERALD NECKLACE CONSERVANCY INC: $500,000 · Recreation & SportsEMERALD N…TINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION: $4,277,500 · PhilanthropyLOUISBURG FOUNDATION: $762,500 · PhilanthropyMaine Community Foundation Inc: $500,000 · PhilanthropyOLD NORTH ILLUMINATED INC: $200,000 · PhilanthropyHarbor House Community Service Center: $2,500,000 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,499,005 · Community ImprovementMOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $3,000,000 · Health
Environment$32,310,509Other$30,227,879Arts & Culture$8,442,775Recreation & Sports$7,950,000Philanthropy$5,740,000Community Improvement$3,999,005Health$3,000,000

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 budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $7,552,509 over 3y, 33% of budgetCAMP BEECH CLIFF: $7,450,000 over 4y, 81% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $5,300,000 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $4,600,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetTINKER ISLAND FOUNDATION: $4,277,500 over 3y, 97% of budgetMOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $3,000,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $3,000,000 over 2y, 6.4% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGL: $2,702,775 over 2y, 12% of budgetST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY: $2,500,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetAMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES: $2,500,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetHANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATION: $2,500,000 over 1y, 63% of budgetHarbor House Community Service Center: $2,500,000 over 1y, 69% of budgetNORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST CORPORATION: $1,550,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetFriends of Acadia: $1,500,000 over 1y, 9.8% of budgetREVOLUTIONARY SPACES INC: $1,500,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $1,499,005 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAtlantic Salmon Federation (US) Inc: $1,460,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,300,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $1,295,000 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 5.2% of budgetNATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCoastal Rivers Conservation Trust: $800,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetLOUISBURG FOUNDATION: $762,500 over 2y, 35% of budgetLAND TRUST ALLIANCE INC: $750,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $695,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSTOWE LAND TRUST: $610,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $600,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMount Desert Land and Garden Preserve: $500,000 over 1y, 7.4% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $500,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetMaine Community Foundation Inc: $500,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetEMERALD NECKLACE CONSERVANCY INC: $500,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetBREWSTER CONSERVATION TRUST: $450,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetISLAND HOUSING TRUST: $400,000 over 2y, 34% of budgetGREAT WORKS REGIONAL LAND TRUST: $400,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetISLAND HERITAGE TRUST INC: $350,000 over 1y, 30% of budgetCONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL INC: $300,000 over 1y, 8.2% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $300,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER SACO VALLEY LAND TRUST: $300,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetNANTUCKET ATHENEUM INC: $300,000 over 1y, 7.0% of budgetWorld Ocean School Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetNeponset River Watershed Association: $250,000 over 1y, 21% of budgetBARNSTABLE LAND TRUST INC: $250,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetMANOMET INC: $225,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetROYAL RIVER CONSERVATION TRUST: $200,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetMidcoast Conservancy: $200,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetOLD STURBRIDGE INC: $200,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetOLD NORTH ILLUMINATED INC: $200,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetNASHUA RIVER WATERSHED ASSOC INC: $200,000 over 1y, 15% 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.

Fidelity FoundationMaine Community Found…Fields Pond Foundatio…Davis Conservation Fo…Onion FoundationThe Nature ConservancyBoston Foundation IncMaine Coast Heritage …Quimby Family Foundat…Ibm International Fou…Momentum ConservationMorton-Kelly Charitab…
Fidelity FoundationMA45.7× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fidelity Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Fields Pond Foundation Inc · Davis Conservation Foundation · Onion Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Boston Foundation Inc · Maine Coast Heritage Trust · Quimby Family Foundation · Ibm International Foundation · Momentum Conservation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust

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 Edward C Johnson Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Edward C Johnson Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 8%
  • Old North Illuminated Inc: 94% of income from government
  • Nashua River Watershed Assoc Inc: 54% of income from government
  • Connecticut River Watershed Council Inc: 40% of income from government
  • Buzzards Bay Coalition: 37% of income from government
  • Revolutionary Spaces Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Manomet Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Stowe Land Trust: 10% of income from government
  • Neponset River Watershed Association: 8% of income from government
  • Essex County Greenbelt Association: 8% of income from government
  • Brewster Conservation Trust: 8% of income from government
  • Barnstable Land Trust Inc: 4% of income from government
  • World Ocean School Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Old Sturbridge Inc: 4% of income from government
  • American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 3% of income from government
  • Northeast Wilderness Trust Corporation: 2% of income from government
  • Society for the Preservation of New Engl: 2% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Emerald Necklace Conservancy Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
2rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Edward C Johnson Fund?

Find your warmest path to Edward C Johnson Fund 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.

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 72 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Edward C Johnson’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