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Robert and Dana Smith Charitable Foundation C/O Castanea Partners at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert and Dana Smith Charitable Foundation C/O Castanea Partners

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.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$454k
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.

Health$3.0MYouth Development$1.5MEducation$1.1MScience & Tech$250kArts & Culture$200kPhilanthropy$140kRecreation & Sports$55kEmployment$50kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $250k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.1M
$250,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$1.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON$454,158
PAN MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE$350,000
BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL$250,000
WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION$150,000
BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION$100,000
SOUTHWEST MONTANA MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION$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 (FY20–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 66% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%PAN MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE: $350k → 7%THE CAPE COD FOUNDATION: $20k → 8%PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVAD COLLEGE: $475k → 8%WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $150k → 8%BUZZARDS BAY COALITION INC: $26k → 11%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $325k → 16%HOPEWELL FUND: $100k → 14%PAN MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE: $250k → 7%CAPE COD FOUNDATION: $20k → 8%PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $125k → 8%WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $50k → 8%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $250k → 16%PAN MASSACHUSETS CHALLENGE: $250k → 7%PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE: $125k → 8%WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $50k → 8%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $250k → 16%PAN MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE: $250k → 7%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $138k → 16%PAN MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE: $250k → 7%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $125k → 16%PAN MASSACHUSETS CHALLENGE: $250k → 7%BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: $125k → 16%NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $150k → 7%BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION: $100k → 16%NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $150k → 7%THE GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK: $50k → 16%FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES: $100k → 7%DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE: $100k → 16%FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES: $100k → 7%ZUMIX INC: $8k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON: $454k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF BOSTON INC: $300k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON: $280k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON: $200k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC: $165k → 16%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON: $113k → 16%YEAR UP INC: $50k → 16%RE-IMAGINING MIGRATION: $50k → 16%THE BASEBALL INC: $50k → 16%BROWN PEACE INSTITUTE: $10k → 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 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.
$5.1M · 6 repeat orgs$449k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
8

Total granted

$5.1M
$344k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
+16%

Still filing today

100%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $105k 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
HealthEducationYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureScience & TechRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • PAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $1.6M · revenue +49%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $1.5M · revenue +100%
  • CH
    Children's Hospital Corporation
    6× · 2020–2025 · $1.2M · revenue +76%

Funded once

  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +16%
  • RM
    RE-IMAGINING MIGRATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -69%
  • YEAR UP INC
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue -18%
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
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
3
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.…

—
4
Trustees of Boston College

Mission strengthened by more than a century and a half of dedication to academic excellence, boston college commits itself to the highest standards of teaching and research in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and to the…

Education
5
The Broad Institute Inc

The mission of the broad institute is to propel progress in biomedicine, through research aimed at the understanding and treatment of disease and the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the scientific community to benefit the public.…

Health
6
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Bb&n, an all gender day school in cambridge, massachusetts, was established in 1974 by the merger of two independent schools, the buckingham school and the browne & nichols school, founded respectively in 1889 and 1883. located on multiple…

Education
7
Bentley University

Organization's mission bentley university believes good business can impact more than the bottom line - it can change the world. bentley is a community of future business leaders who will deliver value in the marketplace and lasting…

Education
8
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

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

—
9
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
10
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
11
Mass General Brigham Incorporated & Affiliates Group Return

Mass general brigham incorporated is developing an integrated health care delivery system throughout the region that offers patients a continuum of coordinated, high-quality care.

Health
12
Boston Foundation Inc

As Greater Boston's community foundation, the Boston Foundation devotes its resources to expanding opportunities, improving lives and strengthening communities. See Schedule OThe Foundation fulfills this mission in three principal ways:…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Noble and Greenough School; the most unlike its peers is Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 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, 2017–2025.

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. 18 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
12/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $1,600,000 · OtherPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE IN…+4 more: $130,964 · Other+4 moreBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC: $1,511,658 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOST…+1 more: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentChildren's Hospital Corporation: $1,212,500 · HealthChildren's Hospital Corpo…BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION: $100,000 · HealthBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER COR…Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $100,000 · HealthDana-Farber Cancer Instit…President and Fellows of Harvard College: $725,000 · EducationPresident and Fellow…NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $300,000 · EducationNOBLE AND GREENOUGH …RE-IMAGINING MIGRATION INC: $50,000 · EducationYEAR UP INC: $50,000 · EducationCape Cod Foundation Inc: $40,000 · EducationWOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $250,000 · Science & TechFACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $200,000 · Arts & CultureZUMIX INC: $7,800 · Arts & CultureHOPEWELL FUND: $100,000 · Philanthropy
Other$1,730,964Youth Development$1,521,658Health$1,412,500Education$1,165,000Science & Tech$250,000Arts & Culture$207,800Philanthropy$100,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $1,600,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BOSTON INC: $1,511,658 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetChildren's Hospital Corporation: $1,212,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $725,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $300,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: $250,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFACING HISTORY & OURSELVES INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHOPEWELL FUND: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON MEDICAL CENTER CORPORATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRE-IMAGINING MIGRATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetYEAR UP INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BASEBALL INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCape Cod Foundation Inc: $40,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $25,964 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLOUIS D BROWN PEACE INSTITUTE CORP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetZUMIX INC: $7,800 over 1y, 0.3% 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 set of overlaps that mostly run through this funder rather than between each other.

Fidelity Investments …
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundMA6× affinity4 shared granteesties to 0 of 0Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: 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 Robert and Dana Smith Charitable Foundation C/O Castanea Partners funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert and Dana Smith Charitable Foundation C/O Castanea Partners. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: 63% of income from government
  • Buzzards Bay Coalition: 37% of income from government
  • Louis D Brown Peace Institute Corp: 32% of income from government
  • Boston Medical Center Corporation: 23% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Children's Hospital Corporation: 10% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Zumix Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Cape Cod Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Baseball Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Year Up Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
1rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 19 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 Robert and Dana Smith Charitable Foundation C/O Castanea Partners’ 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