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Martha L Symington Charitable Fdn at a glance

· Private foundation

Martha L Symington Charitable Fdn

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$171k
Granted FY2024still arriving
29
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Environment$191kArts & Culture$115kSocial Science$110kEducation$90kHealth$37kReligion$37kPhilanthropy$31kInternational$28kOther$0
02FY2024 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k28 grants · $121k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$5,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$2.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TANGLEWOOD CAMP & LEARNING CENTER$50,000
ST LOUIS SHAKESPEAR FESTIVAL$5,000
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION$5,000
HARVARD COLLEGE FUND$5,000
COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL$5,000
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI CENTER$5,000
GENERAL HENRY KNOX MUSEUM$5,000
FISTULA FOUNDATION$5,000
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY$5,000
CAMDEN CONFERENCE$5,000
UNITED MIDCOAST CHARITIES$5,000
HARVARD MAGAZINE$5,000
FOREST PARK FOREVER$5,000
OPERA THEATRE OF ST LOUIS$5,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ST LOUIS$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 75% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: $50k → 8%GRACE AND PEACE FELLOWSHIP: $5k → 22%FISTULA FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%The Cultural Landscape Foundation: $5k → 14%FOREST PARK FOREVER: $5k → 21%DAMARISCOTTA RIVER ASSN - COASTAL RIVERS: $5k → 9%MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST: $5k → 9%TANGLEWOOD CAMP AND: $50k → 13%HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: $25k → 8%FISTULA FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%FOREST PARK FOREVER: $5k → 21%DAMARISCOTTA RIVER ASSN - COASTAL RIVERS: $5k → 9%TANGLEWOOD CAMP & LEARNING CENTER: $50k → 13%HARVARD LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI CENTER: $15k → 8%FISTULA FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%GRACE AND PEACE FELLOWSHIP: $5k → 21%TANGLEWOOD CAMP & LEARNING CENTER: $50k → 13%HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: $10k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%FOREST PARK FOREVER: $5k → 21%TANGLEWOOD CAMP AND: $50k → 13%HARVARD MAGAZINE: $5k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%FOREST PARK FOREVER: $5k → 21%TANGLEWOOD CAMP & LEARNING CENTER: $50k → 13%HARVARD MAGAZINE: $5k → 8%COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL: $5k → 17%GENERAL HENRY KNOX MUSEUM: $5k → 11%TANGLEWOOD CAMP AND: $38k → 13%HARVARD LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI CENTER: $5k → 8%MARY INSTITUTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $5k → 11%HARVARD MAGAZINE: $5k → 8%MARY INSTITUTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: $5k → 11%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ST LOUIS: $5k → 21%GEN HENRY KNOX MUSEUM: $5k → 11%HARVARD MAGAZINE: $5k → 8%PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ST LOUIS: $5k → 21%HARVARD MAGAZINE: $5k → 8%SHOW ME INSTITUTE: $5k → 21%Shakespeare Festival of St Louis: $5k → 21%TREKKERS INC: $10k → 11%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
MT
NY
MA
SD
PA
CA
MO
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$792k · 34 repeat orgs$23k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +42% since the first grant, against +21% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
6

Total granted

$792k
$13k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+21%

Still filing today

56%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 94% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
EducationArts & CultureEnvironmentPhilanthropyInternationalHealthOther
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

  • HM
    HARVARD MAGAZINE INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $30k · revenue +19%
  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    6× · 2019–2024 · $27k · revenue +44%
  • FP
    Forest Park Forever Inc
    6× · 2019–2024 · $25k · revenue +108%

Funded once

  • GP
    GRACE & PEACE FELLOWSHIP
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
  • CT
    CONGREGATION TEMPLE ISRAEL
    one grant, 2022 · $4k
  • PO
    PARENTS OF PS 9 INC
    one grant, 2020 · $1k · revenue +16%
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
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
2
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
3
Maine Media College

Maine Media Workshops & College educates and inspires visual artists and storytellers to achieve their creative potential. We provide lifelong learning opportunities for those pursuing the fine arts and media-related professions. We are…

—
4
Natural History Institute

Natural History Institute is organized to provide leadership and resources for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans and the rest of the…

Arts & Culture
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
Boston Architectural College

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

—
7
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
8
Trustees of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

The broad mission of the ASCSA has remained constant over its distinguished history: teaching research archaeological exploration publication and dissemination of research. Founded in 1881 the ASCSA provides graduate students and scholars…

Arts & Culture
9
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
10
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
11
Williams College

Williams College strives to achieve educational excellence by fostering a community of learning in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, devoted alumni and parents.

Education
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Cultural Landscape Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Anderson Parent School Council. 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

25 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. 25 of the 44 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
19/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $137,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientHARVARD LAW SCHOOL: $85,000 · OtherHARVARD LAW SCHOOLHARVARD LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI CENTER: $25,000 · OtherHARVARD LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI CENTERCAMDEN CONFERENCE: $17,500 · OtherHARVARD COLLEGE FUND: $15,500 · Other+19 more: $112,250 · Other+19 moreTANGLEWOOD CAMP AND LEARNING CENTER: $150,000 · EducationTANGLEWOOD CAMP AND LEARNING…THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $30,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNI…WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $27,000 · EducationWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY+4 more: $8,000 · EducationHARVARD MAGAZINE INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureHARVARD MAGAZI…The General Henry Knox Museum: $27,500 · Arts & CultureThe General He…THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE CULTURAL L…Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: $15,000 · Arts & CultureOpera Theatre …ST LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $13,518 · Arts & CultureST LOUIS SHAKE…Forest Park Forever Inc: $25,000 · EnvironmentCoastal Rivers Conservation Trust: $15,500 · EnvironmentMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $13,000 · EnvironmentSHAW INSTITUTE: $7,290 · EnvironmentUNITED MIDCOAST CHARITIES INC: $18,500 · PhilanthropySHOW-ME INSTITUTE: $12,500 · PhilanthropyThe Fistula Foundation: $21,000 · HealthTREKKERS INC: $18,500 · Recreation & Sports
Other$392,750Education$215,000Arts & Culture$111,018Environment$60,790Philanthropy$31,000Health$21,000Recreation & Sports$18,500

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 budgetTANGLEWOOD CAMP AND LEARNING CENTER: $150,000 over 3y, 76% of budgetHARVARD MAGAZINE INC: $30,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $30,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetThe General Henry Knox Museum: $27,500 over 6y, 2.5% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $27,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $25,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetThe Fistula Foundation: $21,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTREKKERS INC: $18,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetUNITED MIDCOAST CHARITIES INC: $18,500 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetCAMDEN CONFERENCE: $17,500 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetCoastal Rivers Conservation Trust: $15,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOpera Theatre of Saint Louis: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $13,518 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $13,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSHOW-ME INSTITUTE: $12,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetATLANTIC CHALLENGE FOUNDATION INC DBA THE APPRENTICESHOP: $10,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetSHAW INSTITUTE: $7,290 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetINSIDE CLIMATE NEWS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMILLAY HOUSE ROCKLAND: $4,000 over 4y, 3.2% of budgetJACKSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY: $2,250 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetPARENTS OF PS 9 INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetETHICAL CULTURE FIELDSTON SCHOOL: $1,000 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.

  • Who funds TANGLEWOOD CAMP AND LEARNING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds HARVARD MAGAZINE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds The General Henry Knox Museum ↗
  • Who funds WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Forest Park Forever Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Fistula Foundation ↗
  • Who funds TREKKERS INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED MIDCOAST CHARITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMDEN CONFERENCE ↗
  • Who funds Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust ↗
  • Who funds Opera Theatre of Saint Louis ↗
  • Who funds ST LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ↗
  • Who funds Maine Coast Heritage Trust ↗
  • Who funds SHOW-ME INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds ATLANTIC CHALLENGE FOUNDATION INC DBA THE APPRENTICESHOP ↗
  • Who funds SHAW INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds President and Fellows of Harvard College ↗
  • Who funds INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS INC ↗
  • Who funds MILLAY HOUSE ROCKLAND ↗
  • Who funds JACKSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY ↗

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.

Maine Community Found…Community Foundation …Mattina R Proctor Fou…Davis Family Foundati…St Louis Community Fo…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …Donor Advised Charita…American Endowment Fo…
Maine Community Foundation IncME18.3× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Inc · Mattina R Proctor Foundation · Davis Family Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Endowment 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 Martha L Symington Charitable Fdn funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Martha L Symington Charitable Fdn. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 44 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 Martha L Symington Charitable Fdn’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