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The Christopher W Schlesinger Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Christopher W Schlesinger 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.

$39k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$11k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Youth Development$50kEnvironment$35kEducation$25kCommunity Improvement$24kEmployment$21kFood & Nutrition$21kArts & Culture$19kHealth$16kOther$0
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k12 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
$2,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$350k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARION INSTITUTE$10,500
WESTPORT FOOD PANTRY$6,000
BUZZARDS BAY COALITION$5,250
NEW BEDFORD LIGHT INC$4,500
WESTPORT LAND TRUST$2,500
FUTURE CHEFS$2,000
HOPE & MAIN$2,000
ONLY A CHILD$2,000
OUR SISTERS SCHOOL$2,000
NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS$1,000
RAINBOW RAILROAD$1,000
MSPCA$250
PAN-MASS CHALLENGE$200
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 (FY17–24, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 13% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER: $3k → 8%GENESIS CENTER: $1k → 14%CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER: $1k → 8%CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER: $500 → 8%SOMEVILLE HOMELESS COALITION: $1k → 8%SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION: $1k → 8%SOMEVILLE HOMELESS COALITION: $500 → 8%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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$202k · 18 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

18 repeat relationships: 12 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
11

Total granted

$202k
$31k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+95%

Still filing today

89%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k 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
InternationalHuman ServicesArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementEducationPhilanthropyOther
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

  • BUZZARDS BAY COALITION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $24k · revenue +88%
  • OS
    OUR SISTERS SCHOOL
    7× · 2017–2025 · $21k · revenue +52%
  • WF
    WESTPORT FOOD PANTRY INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $18k · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • FORGE CITY WORKS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +214%
  • GB
    GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue +1%
  • CE
    COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF SOUTHEASTERN MA
    one grant, 2022 · $2k
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
The Good Food Institute Inc

To harness the power of food innovation and markets to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals by supporting efforts to make alternative proteins accessible, affordable, and delicious.

Food & Nutrition
2
All Farmers Inc

We envision a food system that reflects the diverse communities of our region in leadership, ownership, and priorities. all farmers lowers barriers to enable refugee and immigrant farmers to grow resilient community farms through access to…

Food & Nutrition
3
Greater Chicago Food Depository

The greater chicago food depository is the nonprofit food bank serving cook county. our mission - is to end hunger. we believe food is a basic human right. to achieve our mission, we work in partnership with a network of community-based…

Food & Nutrition
4
Boston Architectural College

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

—
5
Boston Harbor Now Inc

Our mission is to ensure that the people of greater boston benefit from a vibrant, resilient, and inclusive waterfront, harbor, and islands; these spaces are equitable, accessible, and adapted to climate change; and to ensure our public,…

Environment
6
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
7
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

Our mission is to solve hunger in central pennsylvania by ensuring that everyone struggling with hunger has access to enough wholesome food every day. we will achieve this bold goal with the help of our generous donors, volunteers and…

Food & Nutrition
8
Commonwealth Care Alliance Inc

Commonwealth care alliance, inc.'s mission is to improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs by innovating, coordinating and providing the highest quality, individualized care.

Health
9
Ceres Inc

Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and resilient world. through education and research, we make the business case for action on the most pressing sustainability…

Environment
10
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

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

—
11
Feeding Westchester Inc

Driven by the belief that access to healthy food is a basic right for all people, feeding westchester leads hunger action programs and mobilizes the resources needed to eradicate hunger in westchester county.

—
12
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Inc

Massachusetts taxpayers foundation provides public & private sector decision makers with accurate, timely, unbiased research & constructive solutions that drive public policy in order to strengthen the state's finances & position the…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Third Sector New England Inc; 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

23 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. 23 of the 30 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
21/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PROJECT ONLY A CHILD: $49,500 · OtherPROJECT ONLY A CHILDWESTPORT LAND TRUST: $10,750 · OtherWESTPORT LAND TRUSTGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $3,000 · OtherONLY A CHILD INC: $5,000 · OtherONLY A CHILD INCCHILDREN INCORPORATED: $4,700 · OtherCAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $4,500 · Other+11 more: $12,100 · Other+11 moreFORGE CITY WORKS INC: $20,000 · Community ImprovementFORGE CITY WORKS IN…THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $11,000 · Community ImprovementTHIRD SECTOR NEW EN…HOPE & MAIN: $9,500 · Community ImprovementHOPE & MAINOUR SISTERS SCHOOL: $20,500 · EducationOUR SISTERS…FIDALGO ISLAND ROTARY FOUNDATION: $4,000 · EducationFIDALGO ISL…BUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $24,250 · EnvironmentBUZZARDS BA…NEW BEDFORD LIGHT: $16,000 · Arts & CultureNEW BEDFO…REHEARSAL FOR LIFE INC: $1,750 · Arts & CultureREHEARSAL…NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,000 · Arts & CultureWESTPORT FOOD PANTRY INC: $17,500 · Food & NutritionTHE LIVESTOCK INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND INC: $1,000 · Food & NutritionTHE MARION INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 · PhilanthropyRAINBOW RAILROAD USA INC: $3,000 · Philanthropy
Other$89,550Community Improvement$40,500Education$24,500Environment$24,250Arts & Culture$18,750Food & Nutrition$18,500Philanthropy$18,000

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 budgetBUZZARDS BAY COALITION: $24,250 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetOUR SISTERS SCHOOL: $20,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetFORGE CITY WORKS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetWESTPORT FOOD PANTRY INC: $17,500 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetNEW BEDFORD LIGHT: $16,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE MARION INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $11,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE & MAIN: $9,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetONLY A CHILD INC: $5,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetCHILDREN INCORPORATED: $4,700 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $4,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetFIDALGO ISLAND ROTARY FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetRAINBOW RAILROAD USA INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetREHEARSAL FOR LIFE INC: $1,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $1,700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LIVESTOCK INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GENESIS CENTER: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $700 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $200 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.

The Joan Shafran and …Southcoast Community …Boston Foundation IncBristol County Saving…Morgan Stanley Global…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Network for GoodDonor Advised Charita…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …
The Joan Shafran and Rob Haimes Foundation IncMA15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Joan Shafran and Rob Haimes Foundation Inc · Southcoast Community Foundation Inc · Boston Foundation Inc · Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Network for Good · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 The Christopher W Schlesinger Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Christopher W Schlesinger 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Buzzards Bay Coalition: 37% of income from government
  • Somerville Homeless Coalition Inc: 31% of income from government
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Rehearsal for Life Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Cambridge Community Center Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Narrows Center for the Arts Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
  • The Marion Institute Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Forge City Works Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Our Sisters School: 0% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
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 The Christopher W Schlesinger Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Christopher W Schlesinger 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 30 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 Christopher W Schlesinger’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