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Ellis L Phillips Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ellis L Phillips 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.

$252k
Granted FY2025still arriving
9
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0175% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$190kHuman Services$127kEducation$100kYouth Development$65kCrime & Legal$55kInternational$35kAnimals$35kPhilanthropy$30kOther$0
02FY2025 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $202k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$21,600
Median grant
4
States reached
$4.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Individual grant recipient$50,000
Individual grant recipient$45,200
ULSTER COUNTY SPCA$35,000
URBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE$25,000
ULSTER IMMIGRANT DEFENSE NETWORK$21,600
MAKING MUSIC MATTERS$20,000
LITTLE SCHOOLHOUSE CHILDCARE$20,000
HILDEBRAND FAMILY SELF-HELP CENTER$20,000
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION$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 (FY24–25, $77k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, 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%RISE ABOVE FOUNDATION: $40k → 11%ULSTER IMMIGRANT DEFENSE NETWORK: $22k → 16%ULSTER IMMIGRANT DEFENSE NETWORK: $15k → 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 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
Bowdoin International Music Festival

The mission of the Bowdoin International Music Festival is to provide gifted young musicians from around the world with an opportunity to study with world-class artists, and to provide audiences with classical music performed to the…

Arts & Culture
2
Bay State Performing Arts Inc

Organization creates musical experiences to inspire change, build community and celebrate difference.

Arts & Culture
3
Manchester Music Festival Inc

Mmf engages, inspires, and grows a supportive audience for classical music, performed at the highest level of artistic excellence, and teaches exceptional young performers in the art of chamber music.

Arts & Culture
4
Marlboro School of Music Inc

To inspire new generations of musical leaders by enabling artists of diverse ages, nationalities and perspectives to form a nuturing closely knit community devoted to the intensive exploration of chamber music.

Arts & Culture
5
Boston Baroque Inc

The organization operates america's first permanent period orchestra and chorus which reach local, national, and international audiences through a subscription series, touring engagements, recordings, and broadcasts.

Arts & Culture
6
Dedham School of Music Incorporated

Dedham school of music provides an environment for people of all ages, abilities, and means to learn, play, and enjoy music.

Arts & Culture
7
Boston Musica Viva Inc

To broaden experience, knowledge and enjoyment of every style of new music by embracing the full range of today's compositional activity and giving voice to music that might otherwise not be heard.

—
8
Boston Music Project Inc

To provide a creative youth development program that uses an intensive

Arts & Culture
9
Urban Guild Inc

The corporation is organized to improve the quality of life in bostons urban communities by building capacity, environmental health, and providing economic opportunity in a manner that responds directly to community needs, interests, and…

Community Improvement
10
Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Corporation

The BPO was formed in 1979 to provide opportunities for an evolving community of amateur student and professional players to perform together present challenging classical repertoire & enhance the publics awareness & understanding of this…

Arts & Culture
11
Joy of Music Program Inc

To provide music education and performance to the central massachusetts community.

Arts & Culture
12
Monadnock Music

Monadnock music makes exceptional music accessible to all in intimate and informal settings in the town and villages of the monadnock region and beyond. through a commitment to varied and imaginative performances and teaching, monadnock…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is National Police Accountability Project 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

16 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. 16 of the 28 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)
16/16
Grantees still filing
7/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $45,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipientNEW BEDFORD RESEARCH & ROBOTICS: $44,500 · OtherNEW BEDFORD RESEARCH & ROBOTICSANSEYE POU AYITI (APA) - HAITI: $35,000 · OtherANSEYE POU AYITI (APA) - HAITIKEYS: $25,000 · OtherKEYSNATIONAL POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJ: $20,000 · OtherWaltham Boys and Girls Club: $20,000 · OtherChurch of St. John the Evangelist: $20,000 · OtherBOSTON COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL: $20,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY BOAT BUILDING: $20,000 · OtherBMOP: $15,000 · OtherSparkShare Inc: $25,025 · OtherSparkShare IncURBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INC: $25,000 · OtherURBAN GROWERS COLLECTIVE INCHILDEBRAND FAMILY SELF-HELP CENTER INC: $20,000 · OtherBUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 · Other+2 more: $5,750 · OtherBOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBOSTON MODERN ORCHE…SHELTER MUSIC BOSTON INC: $35,000 · Arts & CultureSHELTER MUSIC BOSTO…MAKING MUSIC MATTERS INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureMAKING MUSIC MATTER…BOSTON JAZZ FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Arts & CultureBOSTON JAZZ FOUNDAT…RISE ABOVE FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesRISE ABOVE …ULSTER IMMIGRANT DEFENSE NETWORK: $36,600 · Human ServicesULSTER IMMI…NATIONAL POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT INC: $35,000 · Crime & LegalULSTER COUNTY SPCA: $35,000 · AnimalsLITTLE SCHOOLHOUSE CHILDCARE: $20,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $15,000 · EducationTHE COMMUNITY FUND OF DARIEN: $30,000 · Philanthropy
Other$405,475Arts & Culture$125,000Human Services$76,600Crime & Legal$35,000Animals$35,000Education$35,000Philanthropy$30,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT INC: $50,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetRISE ABOVE FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetULSTER IMMIGRANT DEFENSE NETWORK: $36,600 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetNATIONAL POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT INC: $35,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetULSTER COUNTY SPCA: $35,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetSHELTER MUSIC BOSTON INC: $35,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FUND OF DARIEN: $30,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetSparkShare Inc: $25,025 over 1y, 14% of budgetHILDEBRAND FAMILY SELF-HELP CENTER INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMAKING MUSIC MATTERS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetLITTLE SCHOOLHOUSE CHILDCARE: $20,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetBOSTON JAZZ FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetBUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetTRUSTEES OF DEERFIELD ACADEMY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDARIEN NATURE CENTER INC: $750 over 1y, 0.1% 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 IncThe Pfizer Foundation…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Vanguard Charitable E…Network for GoodThe Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Boston Foundation IncMA16.1× affinity6 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Network for Good · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Ellis L Phillips Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ellis L Phillips Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Rise Above Foundation Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Boston Modern Orchestra Project Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Darien Nature Center Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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 · 0–25%
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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Ellis L Phillips Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Ellis L Phillips 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.

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 28 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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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