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Elfers Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Elfers Foundation Inc

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.

$640k
Granted FY2025still arriving
19
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.3MYouth Development$1.2MHealth$637kArts & Culture$616kEnvironment$61kReligion$45kRecreation & Sports$24kHuman Services$18k
02FY2025 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $115k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $190k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$10,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$16M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Hotchkiss School$300,000
The Fessenden School$190,000
Brooks School$25,000
Woodwell Climate Research Center$20,000
LISTEN Community Services$10,000
Prostate Cancer Foundation$10,000
Maine Island Trail Association$10,000
The Nature Conservancy$10,000
Trinity Church$10,000
Old Dartmouth Historical Society$10,000
Boston Athenaeum$10,000
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church$5,000
The Main Place$5,000
Hope Dealer Community$5,000
Portland Community Squash$5,000
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 (FY25–25, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 75% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%LISTEN Community Services: $10k → 10%The Main Place: $5k → 10%Sea Change Yoga: $5k → 7%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
MN
MA
OH
NJ
CT
CA
VA
HI
FL
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.6M · 12 repeat orgs$301k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
17

Total granted

$3.6M
$211k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+26%

Still filing today

67%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $90k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationArts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesReligionEnvironmentOther
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

  • TF
    THE FESSENDEN SCHOOL
    6× · 2020–2025 · $1.2M · revenue +45%
  • TH
    THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL
    6× · 2020–2025 · $1.1M · revenue +57%
  • NE
    NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
    2× · 2020–2022 · $497k · revenue +31%

Funded once

  • PH
    Partners Healthcare Systems Inc (Newton-Wellesley Hospital)
    one grant, 2020 · $75k
  • BS
    BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $30k · revenue +27%
  • WH
    WALNUT HILL CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · 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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
2
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
3
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
4
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
5
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
6
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
7
Rhode Island School of Design

The mission of rhode island school of design, through its college and museum,is to educate its students and the public in the creation and (see schedule o)appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to…

Education
8
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
9
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

—
10
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
11
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
12
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Walnut Hill Center for the Arts Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Winsor 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

30 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. 30 of the 41 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/30
Grantees still filing
19/30
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE FESSENDEN SCHOOL: $1,165,000 · EducationTHE FESSENDEN SCHOOLTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $1,107,694 · EducationTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOLNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $497,026 · EducationNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSICDANA HALL SCHOOL: $150,000 · Education+7 more: $87,000 · EducationMass General Newton-Wellesley Hospital: $269,329 · OtherMass General Newton-W…Mass General Hospital (aka Mass General Brigham): $260,000 · OtherMass General Hospital…Partners Healthcare Systems Inc (Newton-Wellesley Hospital): $75,000 · OtherPartners Healthcare S…Woodwell Climate Research Center: $40,000 · OtherWoodwell Climate Rese…+12 more: $98,600 · Other+12 moreBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $30,000 · Arts & Culture317 Main St Community Center Inc: $18,750 · Arts & CultureOld Dartmouth Historical Society: $10,000 · Arts & CultureVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $5,000 · Arts & CulturePortland Community Squash: $23,750 · Recreation & SportsLISTEN Lebanon in Service to Each Neighbor: $10,000 · Human ServicesSEA CHANGE YOGA: $7,500 · Human ServicesTHE MAIN PLACE: $5,000 · Human ServicesALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $10,000 · HealthJOSLIN DIABETES CENTER INC: $5,000 · HealthALCOHOL AND DRUG FREEDOM CENTER OF KNOX COUNTY: $2,500 · HealthREFUGE INC: $5,000 · ReligionHope Dealer Community Inc: $5,000 · ReligionSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL ST VINCENT DE PAUL CENTER: $2,500 · Religion
Education$3,006,720Other$742,929Arts & Culture$63,750Recreation & Sports$23,750Human Services$22,500Health$17,500Religion$12,500

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 budgetTHE FESSENDEN SCHOOL: $1,165,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetTHE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL: $1,107,694 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $497,026 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDANA HALL SCHOOL: $150,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKS SCHOOL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPortland Community Squash: $23,750 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetWALNUT HILL CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPROPRIETORS OF THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budget317 Main St Community Center Inc: $18,750 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetMaine Island Trail Association: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLISTEN Lebanon in Service to Each Neighbor: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WINSOR SCHOOL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEA CHANGE YOGA: $7,500 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetVERO BEACH MUSEUM OF ART INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJOSLIN DIABETES CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHope Dealer Community Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE MAIN PLACE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetALCOHOL AND DRUG FREEDOM CENTER OF KNOX COUNTY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSOCIETY OF ST VINCENT DE PAUL ST VINCENT DE PAUL CENTER: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSIPPICAN LANDS TRUST INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetOUR SISTERS SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALMA DEL MAR FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONCORDIA COLLEGE CORPORATION: $100 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.

Boston Foundation IncMaine Community Found…Fidelity FoundationThe Ayco Charitable F…National Philanthropi…Charities Aid Foundat…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Boston Foundation IncMA17.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Fidelity Foundation · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Charities Aid Foundation America · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Joslin Diabetes Center Inc: 35% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Old Dartmouth Historical Society: 2% of income from government
  • New England Conservatory of Music: 1% of income from government
  • Proprietors of the Boston Athenaeum: 0% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Our Sisters School: 0% of income from government
  • The Fessenden School: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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 41 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 Elfers’ 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