· Private foundation
The Colburn 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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k17 grants · $53k
- $10k–50k2 grants · $43k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON | $33,000 |
| THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND FOUNDATION | $10,000 |
| GBH | $9,500 |
| THE TRUSTEE OF RESERVATION | $9,000 |
| MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | $8,000 |
| THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | $7,000 |
| BEVERLY HOSPITAL | $2,500 |
| THE UNITED WAY OF BAY | $2,000 |
| MANCHESTER ESSEX CONSERVATION | $2,000 |
| SPAULDING REHAB HOSPITAL | $2,000 |
| CONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION | $2,000 |
| ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM | $1,200 |
| THE FRICK COLLECTIONS | $1,200 |
| SURFRIDE FOUNDATION | $1,200 |
| SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST US | $1,200 |
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 (FY22–22, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 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
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
26 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- MOMUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON9× · 2017–2025 · $220k
- TNTHE NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND FOUNDATION USA INC9× · 2017–2025 · $92k · revenue +191%
- MGMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL9× · 2017–2025 · $68k
Funded once
- TATHE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGOgraduatedone grant, 2023 · $60k · revenue +29%
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTSone grant, 2020 · $8k · revenue +7%- ANAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesone grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue +23%
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.
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 museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."
The museum of fine arts, houston serves as a welcoming and inclusive place for all people, connecting the communities of houston with diverse histories of art spanning 6,000 years and six continents. through our permanent collections,…
The metropolitan museum of art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.
The huntington library, art museum, and botanical gardens shares its world-renowned collections to support scholarship, foster learning, inspire creativity, and offer transformative experiences for diverse audiences.
See schedule osfmoma believes the art of our time is vital and shares it with passion and purpose, and that art and the creative process can open minds and help build a better world. for that reason, we assemble unparalleled collections,…
Home to the art and legacy of the american painter clyfford still, we invite all to explore the potential of individual creative endeavor.
The newport art museum's mission is to share a diversity of art and experiences that spark reflection, inspiration, and connection within our newport community and beyond. the museum was founded in 1912 on the belief that arts and culture…
The connecticut river museum's mission is to deepen appreciation of the river's history and to inspire its stewardship by providing unique educational and recreational experiences to diverse audiences.
The founding mission of the new-york historical society ("the new york historical "tnyh") is to collect, preserve, and interpret, for the broadest possible public, material relevant to the history of the united states in general and of new…
Nmoa mission statement is: we welcome everyone with inclusive experiences that spark curiosity and foster community.
To promote understanding of the history of massachusetts and the nation by collecting and communicating materials and resources that foster historical knowledge.
The baltimore museum of art connects art to baltimore and baltimore to the world, embodying a commitment to artistic excellence and social equity in every decision from art presentation, interpretation, and collecting, to the composition…
How this is measured
12 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. 12 of the 34 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 THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND FOUNDATION USA INC ↗
- Who funds THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO ↗
- Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS ↗
- Who funds BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC ↗
- Who funds MANCHESTER ESSEX CONSERVATION TRUST ↗
- Who funds MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS ↗
- Who funds The Frick Collection ↗
- Who funds ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC ↗
- Who funds AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR COURTAULD INSTIT ↗
- Who funds CONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
- Who funds MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MUSEUM 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.
Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Colburn Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Colburn Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
- The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
- Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
- Museum of Fine Arts: 0% of income from government
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Colburn Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Colburn 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.
Play a game based on Colburn’s filings →