Skip to content
Flagship Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Flagship 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.

$59k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Food & Nutrition$218kHousing & Shelter$108kHuman Services$101kYouth Development$50kInternational$45kReligion$31kEducation$30kHealth$28kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $9k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $50k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK$20,000
FEEDING AMERICA$20,000
LAZARUS HOUSE MINISTRIES$10,000
WELLESLEY FOOD PANTRY INC$3,000
ST MARY ST CATHERINE OF SIENA$3,000
UNITED WAY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY INC$3,000
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 (FY18–23, $31k) 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%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $6k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $5k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $5k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $5k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $5k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $5k → 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

NH
MN
IL
NY
MA
OH
KY
MD
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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$658k · 21 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

21 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 17 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

21
3

Total granted

$658k
$26k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+81%

Still filing today

71%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Housing & ShelterInternationalFood & NutritionHealthPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • GB
    GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $167k · revenue +89%
  • IR
    International Rescue Committee INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $35k · revenue +63%
  • CC
    CARITAS COMMUNITIES INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $35k · revenue +34%

Funded once

  • SM
    St Mary's Center for Women & Children Incgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $11k · revenue +81%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +1%
  • BG
    BOYS GIRLS CLUB OF BOSTON
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
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
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
2
Boston Architectural College

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

—
3
Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership Inc D/B/a Metro Housing Boston

Metro housing boston mobilizes wide-ranging resources to provide innovative and personalized services that lead families and individuals to housing stability, economic security, and an improved quality of life.

Housing & Shelter
4
Massachusetts Business Roundtable Inc

The mission of the roundtable is to make massachusetts the most desirable place to live, work and do business by engaging private sector executives and public leaders to ensure access to a robust, diverse and talented workforce that…

—
5
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

—
6
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance Inc

Maha breaks down barriers facing first-time and first-generation home buyers and owners through education, counseling, advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

Housing & Shelter
7
Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation

Mhic's mission is to be an innovative private financier of afforable housing and community development throughout new england, providing financing that would not otherwise be available, and extending the impact of that financing to ensure…

Housing & Shelter
8
Mass General Brigham Health Plan Inc

Mass general brigham health plan's mission is to promote the health and wellness of our members, and to help ensure equitable, affordbale health care for the diverse communities we serve.

Health
9
Massachusetts Regional Employment Board Association

The massachusetts workforce association (mwa) is a statewide membership association that leads, advocates and convenes on behalf of the massachusetts workforce development system.

Employment
10
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
11
Massachusetts Council of Human Services Providers Inc

To advance the interests of the human services sector and providers through advocacy, education, and engagement of diverse stakeholders for collective impact.

—
12
Massachusetts Education & Career Opportunities Inc

Massachusetts education and career opportunities, inc. (massedco, inc.) is a statewide network of service sites that provides education and career advising to over 12,000 low-income, first generation individuals each year. massedco…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Home for Little Wanderers Inc; the most unlike its peers is International Rescue Committee 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

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 26 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $167,000 · OtherGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INCST MARYS CENTER FOR WOMEN CHILD: $34,000 · OtherST MARYS CENTER FOR WOMEN CHILDST MARY-ST CATHERINE OF SIENA HARVE: $27,500 · OtherST MARY-ST CATHERINE OF SIENA HARVEDISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS: $25,000 · OtherDISABLED AMERICAN VETERANSIndividual grant recipient: $24,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVE: $19,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $16,000 · OtherCAMP PASQUANEY: $25,000 · OtherCAMP PASQUANEYBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC: $20,000 · Other+6 more: $40,000 · Other+6 moreLAZARUS HOUSE INC: $51,000 · Housing & ShelterLAZARUS HOUSE INCCARITAS COMMUNITIES INC: $35,000 · Housing & ShelterCARITAS COMMUNITI…ROSIE'S PLACE INC: $22,000 · Housing & ShelterROSIE'S PLACE INCWELLESLEY FOOD PANTRY INC: $26,000 · Food & NutritionFeeding America: $25,000 · Food & NutritionInternational Rescue Committee INC: $35,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 · InternationalTHE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $31,000 · Human ServicesTHE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO FOUNDATION: $30,000 · EducationEASTER SEALS MASSACHUSETTS INC: $15,000 · HealthTHE JED FOUNDATION: $12,500 · Health
Other$397,500Housing & Shelter$108,000Food & Nutrition$51,000International$45,000Human Services$31,000Education$30,000Health$27,500

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 budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $167,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLAZARUS HOUSE INC: $51,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $35,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCARITAS COMMUNITIES INC: $35,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $31,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWELLESLEY FOOD PANTRY INC: $26,000 over 4y, 4.5% of budgetFeeding America: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCAMP PASQUANEY: $25,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetROSIE'S PLACE INC: $22,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC: $20,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEASTER SEALS MASSACHUSETTS INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE JED FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSt Mary's Center for Women & Children Inc: $11,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BOSTON GLOBE FOUNDATION INC: $8,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetUnited Way Of Massachusetts Bay 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.

Boston Foundation IncHighland Street Conne…Eastern Bank Foundati…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Boston Foundation IncMA14.9× affinity5 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Highland Street Connection and Subsidiaries · Eastern Bank Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Flagship Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Flagship Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 23%
  • Easter Seals Massachusetts Inc: 45% of income from government
  • St Mary's Center for Women & Children Inc: 40% of income from government
  • The Home for Little Wanderers Inc: 38% of income from government
  • United Way of Massachusetts Bay Inc: 23% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Lazarus House Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Rosie's Place Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
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 Flagship Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Flagship 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 26 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 Flagship’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