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The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$40k
Granted FY2023
6
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

96% of The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 8 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 6 organizations, $40k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

6
’20
3
’21
2
’22
6
’23
8
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

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 2024.

Philanthropy$952kEnvironment$88kArts & Culture$25kEducation$24kHealth$20kCrime & Legal$13kAnimals$7kInternational$5kOther$0
02FY2023 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k4 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
$5,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GARDEN NURSERY SCHOOL$10,000
CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS$10,000
THE FOOD PROJECT$5,000
COMMUNITY ART CENTER INC$5,000
FRIENDS OF PLEASANT BAY$5,000
WILD CARE$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:

Its human-services grants (FY23–23, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%COMMUNITY ART CENTER INC: $5k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
IL
NY
MA
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
VA
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 79% of The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 95% of the giving stays in NH; by stated purpose, 92%.

The Howard a Van Vleck Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.1% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its 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 Forest Park Conservancy

To protect and restore the ecological health of forest park and marquam nature park, maintain and enhance their extensive trails networks, promote equitable access, and inspire diverse community appreciation and stewardship of these iconic…

Environment
2
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
3
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
4
Bartlett Arboretum Association Inc

To cultivate and develop an expansive collection of trees, gardens, and plants for all to explore, enjoy and study; and to provide through education and stewardship, a greener, healthier, more beautiful environment.

Environment
5
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
6
Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc

Sudbury valley trustees, inc. ("the organization") works to protect natural areas and farmland for wildlife and people in the 36 communities that surround the sudbury, assabet, and concord rivers. the organization cares for some of the…

Environment
7
Princeton Land Trust

The princeton land trust was formed to preserve the natural beauty and rural character of the town of princeton.

—
8
The Trustees of Reservations

Overview - founded in boston by pioneering landscape architect and open space visionary charles eliot in 1891, the trustees is the nation's first and the commonwealth's largest conservation and preservation nonprofit.

Environment
9
The Adirondack Council Inc

The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…

Environment
10
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition

The mission of the massachusetts land trust coalition is to advance land conservation across massachusetts by providing education, tools, networking and advocacy for land trusts and their partners.

Environment
11
Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve

The mission of the mount desert land & garden preserve is to conserve and share the beauty of our historic lands and gardens.

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Norman Bird Sanctuary Trust; the most unlike its peers is Cool Earth Action Usa Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

25 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 25 of the 28 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)
25/25
Grantees still filing
15/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $951,756 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDDARTMOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST INC: $45,000 · EnvironmentTHE POMPERAUG RIVER WATERSHED COALITION INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentCOOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentFRIEND OF PLEASANT BAY INC: $5,000 · EnvironmentFlanders Nature Center & Land Trust Inc: $5,000 · Environment+2 more: $5,000 · EnvironmentGARDEN NURSERY SCHOOL INC: $10,000 · EducationCAMBRIDGE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS INC: $10,000 · EducationWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $3,000 · EducationCornell University: $1,000 · EducationTRUDEAU INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 · HealthTHE CECILIA CHORUS OF NEW YORK: $5,000 · OtherCOLUMBUS FOUNDATION (MOSAIC FUND FOR JUSTICE): $5,000 · OtherMontclair Foundation Inc: $5,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY OUTREACH GROUP FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN: $2,500 · OtherWILD CAREINC: $5,000 · OtherTHE NORMAN BIRD SANCTUARY TRUST: $2,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY ART CENTER INC: $5,000 · OtherThe Food Project Inc: $5,000 · OtherTIBETAN ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON INC: $5,000 · OtherMEGUNTICOOK ROWING: $2,000 · OtherINTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY: $10,000 · Arts & CulturePARTAKERS INC: $5,000 · Crime & LegalSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Crime & Legal
Community Improvement$951,756Environment$85,000Education$24,000Health$20,000Other$41,500Arts & Culture$10,000Crime & Legal$7,500

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 budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $951,756 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDARTMOUTH NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST INC: $45,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetTRUDEAU INSTITUTE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGARDEN NURSERY SCHOOL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetCAMBRIDGE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetTHE POMPERAUG RIVER WATERSHED COALITION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY ART CENTER INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe Food Project Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWILD CAREINC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCOOL EARTH ACTION USA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTIBETAN ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON INC: $5,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetMontclair Foundation Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFRIEND OF PLEASANT BAY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFlanders Nature Center & Land Trust Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPARTAKERS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetWOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOL: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPEAK FOR THE TREES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSANDY HOOK PROMISE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAQUIDNECK ISLAND LAND TRUST: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NORMAN BIRD SANCTUARY TRUST: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEGUNTICOOK ROWING: $2,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetCornell University: $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.

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 IncEversource Energy Fou…Eastern Bank Foundati…The Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…National Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Boston Foundation IncMA21.4× affinity9 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Eversource Energy Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile 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 The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Partakers Inc: 59% of income from government
  • Cambridge School Volunteers Inc: 14% of income from government
  • Community Art Center Inc: 14% of income from government
  • The Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Montclair Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Speak for the Trees Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Sandy Hook Promise Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Howard a Van Vleck Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Howard a Van Vleck 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 28 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Howard a Van Vleck’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