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Robert and Iris Fanger Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert and Iris Fanger Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$47k
Granted FY2024still arriving
67
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$8k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Environment$143kArts & Culture$122kEducation$49kReligion$33kHuman Services$27kHealth$22kHousing & Shelter$5kRecreation & Sports$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 67 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$250
Median grant
6
States reached
$55k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WOODWELL CLIMATE RESEARCH CENTER$8,000
TEMPLE ISRAEL$5,540
THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS$5,000
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON$2,540
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,250
BOSTON BALLET$1,500
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE$1,000
MARGARET JENKINS DANCE CO$1,000
BALLET THEATER FOUNDATION$1,000
WGBH$1,000
NEW YORK CITY BALLET$1,000
HUNTINGTON THEATRE CO$750
BOSTON ATHENAEUM CONSERVATION MATCH$550
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL$500
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 (FY18–24, $27k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 96% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CRITICAL EXPLORERS: $200 → 7%MV COMMUNITY SERVICES: $400 → 8%CRITICAL EXPLORERS: $200 → 7%CRITICAL EXPLORERS: $100 → 7%LIMMUD BOSTON: $225 → 8%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $400 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $400 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $300 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $200 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $200 → 16%ST FRANCIS HOUSE: $100 → 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%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $3k → 16%HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $2k → 16%THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS: $100 → 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

ME
NH
WA
ID
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
WY
SD
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
NC
DC
FL
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$530k · 109 repeat orgs$62k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +43% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

109 repeat relationships: 49 still active in FY2024, 60 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

109
110

Total granted

$530k
$56k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+43%
+22%

Still filing today

57%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesHealthInternationalOther
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

  • Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc
    7× · 2018–2024 · $119k · revenue +96%
  • THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $25k · revenue +94%
  • MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    7× · 2018–2024 · $14k · revenue +183%

Funded once

  • MG
    MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2018 · $10k
  • NO
    NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOLgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +69%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $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
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 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
4
American Repertory Theatre Co Inc

Seeks to expand the boundaries of theater, producing, performing and presenting works of literary, experimental and educational value. provide a home for outstanding artists, a training ground for young artists (including an extensive…

Arts & Culture
5
Bard College

Bard college seeks to provide a challenging academic program and a supportive environment that fosters a collaborative interchange of ideas in the classroom as well as ambition to achieve excellence.

Education
6
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
7
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
8
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
9
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
10
Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston

The Boston Public Library provides educational and cultural enrichment free to all by engaging the public through programming and active spaces, restoring and preserving our history, providing access to borrow from our vast collection of…

Education
11
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Boston Landmarks Orchestra Inc; the most unlike its peers is Eakins Press Foundation. 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

113 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. 113 of the 242 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)
18
Early backer (in before they grew)
109/113
Grantees still filing
83/113
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $155,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTEMPLE ISRAEL INCORPORATED: $31,527 · OtherTEMPLE ISRAEL INCORPORATEDMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON: $21,510 · OtherMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTONDARTMOUTH COLLEGE FUND: $12,165 · Other+126 more: $111,661 · Other+126 moreWoodwell Climate Research Center Inc: $119,200 · Science & TechWoodwell Climate Resea…MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $13,600 · Arts & CultureMASSACHUSETTS…Sarasota Ballet of Florida Inc: $11,500 · Arts & CultureSarasota Ball…BOSTON BALLET INC: $9,500 · Arts & CultureBOSTON BALLET…BALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $7,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET THEATR…NEW YORK CITY BALLET INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK CITY…ASOLO THEATRE INC: $4,900 · Arts & CultureASOLO THEATRE…BOSTON ARTS ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $3,500 · Arts & Culture+22 more: $16,255 · Arts & Culture+22 moreTrustees of Dartmouth College: $15,000 · EducationWEST FALMOUTH LIBRARY INC: $4,200 · EducationNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $3,750 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $2,600 · EducationTRUSTEES OF LAWRENCE ACADEMY AT GROTON MA CORP: $2,500 · EducationTrustees of Tufts College: $1,550 · Education+16 more: $7,025 · EducationTHE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $24,600 · Human ServicesSAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $1,600 · Human Services+3 more: $1,125 · Human ServicesNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $5,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $3,000 · EnvironmentTHE 300 COMMITTEE LAND TRUST INC: $2,800 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,250 · EnvironmentOYSTER POND ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST INC: $1,050 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain Club: $595 · Environment+1 more: $300 · EnvironmentDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $4,450 · HealthMAYO CLINIC: $1,000 · HealthChildren's Hospital Corporation: $800 · HealthCROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION INC: $500 · HealthST LUKE'S WOOD RIVER FOUNDATION INC: $250 · Health+1 more: $200 · Health
Other$331,863Science & Tech$119,200Arts & Culture$72,255Education$36,625Human Services$27,325Environment$13,995Health$7,200

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetWoodwell Climate Research Center Inc: $119,200 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC: $24,600 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $13,600 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetSarasota Ballet of Florida Inc: $11,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON BALLET INC: $9,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $7,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK CITY BALLET INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASOLO THEATRE INC: $4,900 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $4,450 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWEST FALMOUTH LIBRARY INC: $4,200 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetNEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $3,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON ARTS ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $3,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE 300 COMMITTEE LAND TRUST INC: $2,800 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $2,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF LAWRENCE ACADEMY AT GROTON MA CORP: $2,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LENNY ZAKIM FUND: $2,450 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $1,600 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSTREB INC: $1,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $1,550 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDISCALCED INC: $1,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWOODS HOLE GOLF CLUB: $1,481 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $1,450 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetROSIE'S PLACE INC: $1,400 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBOSTON DANCE ALLIANCE INC: $1,400 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDORRANCE DANCE INCORPORATED: $1,350 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEW DANCE COMPLEX INC: $1,250 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $1,250 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSpeakeasy Stage Company Inc: $1,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: $1,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $1,150 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,100 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOYSTER POND ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST INC: $1,050 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetHARVARD MAGAZINE INC: $1,050 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHUNTINGTON THEATRE CO INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROPRIETORS OF THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $880 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetChildren's Hospital Corporation: $800 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCAMBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION INC: $700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FRANCIS OUIMET SCHOLARSHIP FUND INC: $600 over 3y, 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 Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS INC ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Dartmouth College ↗
  • Who funds MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Sarasota Ballet of Florida Inc ↗
  • Who funds BOSTON BALLET INC ↗
  • Who funds BALLET THEATRE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW YORK CITY BALLET INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds ASOLO THEATRE INC ↗
  • Who funds Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds WEST FALMOUTH LIBRARY INC ↗
  • Who funds NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC ↗
  • Who funds BOSTON ARTS ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE 300 COMMITTEE LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF LAWRENCE ACADEMY AT GROTON MA CORP ↗
  • Who funds ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds THE LENNY ZAKIM FUND ↗
  • Who funds SAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds STREB INC ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Tufts College ↗
  • Who funds DISCALCED INC ↗

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 IncEastern Bank Foundati…Combined Jewish Phila…The Klarman Family Fo…Barr FoundationHighland Street Conne…Alchemy FoundationThe Cabot Family Char…Liberty Mutual Founda…New England Foundatio…The William & Lia G P…Stevenson Family Char…
Boston Foundation IncMA39.8× affinity25 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · The Klarman Family Foundation · Barr Foundation · Highland Street Connection and Subsidiaries · Alchemy Foundation · The Cabot Family Charitable Trust · Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc · New England Foundation for the Arts Incorporated · The William & Lia G Poorvu Family Foundation · Stevenson Family Charitable Trust

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 Iris Fanger Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert and Iris Fanger Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 210%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • The Home for Little Wanderers Inc: 38% of income from government
  • Boston Medical Center Corporation: 23% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Historical Society: 22% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Saint Francis House Inc: 18% of income from government
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center Inc: 11% of income from government
  • The Cambridge Historical Society: 11% of income from government
  • Children's Hospital Corporation: 10% of income from government
  • The Boston Landmarks Orchestra Inc: 9% of income from government
  • 2LIFE Communities Inc: 8% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Emmanuel Music Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Boston Dance Alliance Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Huntington Theatre Co Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Boston Lyric Opera Company: 3% of income from government
  • Martha's Vineyard Community Services Inc: 3% of income from government
  • West Falmouth Library Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Company One Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • The New Dance Complex Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Revelsinc: 1% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • New England Conservatory of Music: 1% of income from government
  • Simmons University: 1% of income from government
  • Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Berklee College of Music Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Boston Ballet Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Proprietors of the Boston Athenaeum: 0% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Hebrew Senior Life Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Boston Arts Academy Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
  • Rosie's Place Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
21get no government money at all
16report 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.

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 242 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 Robert and Iris Fanger Family’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