· Private foundation
James W O'Brien Foundation Inc
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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2024
- Under $10k8 grants · $34k
- $10k–50k5 grants · $110k
- $50k–250k3 grants · $337k
- $250k+1 grant · $256k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| MERRIMACK COLLEGE | $255,575 |
| BOSTON COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL | $150,000 |
| ST MARY'S HIGH SCHOOL | $125,000 |
| LYNN ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL | $61,849 |
| GIRLS INC OF LYNN | $30,000 |
| CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL | $25,000 |
| SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL | $20,000 |
| THE AUGUSTINIAN FUND | $20,000 |
| VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY CHARLES WIDGER SCHOOL OF LAW | $15,000 |
| ST MICHAEL'S PARISH TODAY'S MASSES | $5,006 |
| FRONT DOOR AGENCY | $5,000 |
| YMCA OF GREATER NASHUA | $5,000 |
| NASHUA CHILDREN'S HOME | $5,000 |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF NASHUA | $5,000 |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF LYNN | $4,500 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY24–24, $17k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
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.
The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.
Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.
Dean college is a private, residential new england college grounded in a culture and tradition that all students deserve the opportunity to discover and exceed their greatest aspirations. a personal and transformative community since 1865,…
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…
Emmanuel college is a coed, residential catholic liberal arts and sciences college with 2,112 undergraduate and graduate students.
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…
Nichols college strives to develop tomorrow's leaders through a dynamic, career-focused business education. the college transforms students into successful graduates who respond to challenges, are eager for responsibility, and assume…
The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.
New england law/boston dedicates itself to preparing students to be successful lawyers and leaders in the public and private sectors through integrated practical, theoretical and ethical education of the highest caliber and to contributing…
Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…
Hilbert college is an independent institution of higher learning that embraces its catholic franciscan heritage and values. students from diverse backgrounds are educated in liberal arts and professional programs to become informed…
How this is measured
10 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. 10 of the 19 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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.
- Who funds MERRIMACK COLLEGE ↗
- Who funds GIRLS INCORPORATED OF BOSTON AND LYNN ↗
- Who funds CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL OF LAWRENCE INC ↗
- Who funds SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Nashua ↗
- Who funds NASHUA CHILDREN'S HOME ↗
- Who funds THE FRONT DOOR AGENCY INC ↗
- Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF LYNN INC ↗
- Who funds LOWER CAPE OUTREACH COUNCILINC ↗
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.
Open a dossier: Eastern Bank Foundation · Td Charitable Foundation · Fidelity Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · American Tower Corporation Foundation Inc · New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Citizens Charitable Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Charities Aid Foundation America · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization James W O'Brien Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James W O'Brien Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.
- Girls Incorporated of Boston and Lynn: 28% of income from government
- Lower Cape Outreach Councilinc: 6% of income from government
- Merrimack College: 1% of income from government
- Suffolk University: 1% of income from government
- Boys & Girls Club of Lynn Inc: 0% of income from government
- Central Catholic High School of Lawrence Inc: 0% of income from government
How this is measured
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