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The Howard Johnson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Howard Johnson 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.

$318k
Granted FY2025still arriving
43
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$53k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Health$468kAnimals$423kEducation$330kArts & Culture$229kRecreation & Sports$188kPhilanthropy$90kEnvironment$84kCivil Rights$40kOther$0
02FY2025 · 43 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k31 grants · $79k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $187k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $53k
$3,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$3.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MARTHA'S VINEYARD HOSPITAL INC$52,500
VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST$31,000
ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER$30,000
ZIGGY'S HAVEN BIRD SANCTUARY$25,000
FRESH AIR FUND$20,500
ASPCA$20,000
JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER$10,000
SHARON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL$10,000
HOUSE OF FEATHERS$10,000
HARVARD COLLEGE FUND$10,000
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER$10,000
ONE PLYMPTON PRESERVATION FOUNDATION$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA$7,000
BOSTON BRUINS FOUNDATION INC$5,000
RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY$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 (FY21–24, $11k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 52% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 9%SEARCH AND CARE: $4k → 17%MOUNT DESERT ISLAND YMCA: $2k → 11%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
OR
CT
CA
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
GA
TX
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.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 47 repeat orgs$514k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

47 repeat relationships: 33 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

47
30

Total granted

$1.4M
$435k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+14%

Still filing today

83%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $79k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEducationHealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesRecreation & 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

  • MV
    MARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $180k · revenue +79%
  • JM
    Jupiter Medical Center Inc
    7× · 2019–2025 · $134k · revenue +63%
  • TA
    THE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER
    6× · 2019–2025 · $115k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • TRUSTEES OF PHILLIPS ACADEMY
    one grant, 2019 · $52k · revenue -2%
  • MD
    Macular Degeneration Associationgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue +25%
  • HV
    HOUSATONIC VALLEY COALITION
    one grant, 2021 · $40k
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
Naples Zoo Inc

Naples zoo is accredited by the american zoo & aquarium association (aza) and has numerous animal exhibits placed on its 45-acre site. (continued on schedule o)each exhibit is unique and designed to simulate typical conditions for the…

Animals
3
Northeast Animal Shelter Inc

To provide, promote, and advance humane protection, care and treatment of animals thru education of the public and the operation of an animal shelter which cares for, spays and neuters, and places homeless pets in permanent homes.

—
4
The Norman Bird Sanctuary Trust

Our mission is to spark people's curiosity to explore, steward, and find peace and joy in nature. in service to this, norman bird sanctuary inspires, builds, and engages a community of stewards who preserve, protect, enjoy, and learn from…

Animals
5
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
6
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
7
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
8
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
9
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
10
Rhode Island School of Design

The mission of rhode island school of design, through its college and museum,is to educate its students and the public in the creation and (see schedule o)appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to…

Education
11
Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons Inc

THE ANIMAL RESCUE FUND OF THE HAMPTONS ACTIVELY RESCUES CATS AND DOGS, PROVIDES QUALITY CARE AND OFFERS SANCTUARY UNTIL LOVING HOMES CAN BE FOUND. ARF's work with animals, within our community and throughout the organization is guided by…

Animals
12
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Big Dog Ranch Rescue 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

63 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. 63 of the 90 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
63/63
Grantees still filing
43/63
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $112,500 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATEDTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $61,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITYHOUSATONIC VALLEY COALITION: $40,000 · OtherHOUSATONIC VALLEY COALITIONIndividual grant recipient: $35,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientAMERICAN RED CROSS: $30,000 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $26,000 · OtherUNITED ANIMAL NATIONS DBA REDROVER: $25,000 · OtherWEILL CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDICINE: $25,000 · OtherHOBE SOUND NATURE CENTER INC: $22,000 · OtherWarrior Dog Foundation: $25,000 · Other+33 more: $249,500 · Other+33 moreTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $115,000 · AnimalsTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL …THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $47,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERICAN SOCIET…Mission K9 Rescue Inc: $25,000 · AnimalsMission K9 Rescue I…ZIGGY'S HAVEN BIRD SANCTUARY INC: $25,000 · AnimalsZIGGY'S HAVEN BIRD …Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League of the Palm Beaches Inc: $20,000 · AnimalsPeggy Adams Animal …BIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC: $20,000 · AnimalsBIG DOG RANCH RESCU…+12 more: $83,500 · Animals+12 moreJupiter Medical Center Inc: $134,000 · HealthJupiter Medical C…Macular Degeneration Association: $50,000 · HealthMacular Degenerat…The Danbury Hospital: $45,500 · HealthThe Danbury Hospi…Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $21,000 · HealthDana-Farber Cance…Vanderbilt University Medical Center: $20,000 · HealthVanderbilt Univer…MOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $13,500 · Health+3 more: $21,000 · Health+3 moreMARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $180,000 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S VINE…THE SPORTS MUSEUM OF NEW ENGLAND INC: $24,000 · Arts & CultureTHE SPORTS MU…MARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INC: $14,000 · Arts & CultureMARTHA'S VINE…One Plympton Preservation Foundation Inc: $10,000 · Arts & CultureTRUSTEES OF PHILLIPS ACADEMY: $52,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF …Spelman College: $37,500 · EducationSpelman Coll…MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: $37,500 · EducationMOREHOUSE CO…TABOR ACADEMY: $32,000 · EducationTABOR ACADEM…Foxcroft School: $21,000 · EducationFoxcroft Sch…RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY INC: $15,000 · EducationRIDGEFIELD A…NORTHEAST HARBOR LIBRARY: $9,000 · Education+3 more: $21,000 · Education+3 moreFRESH AIR FUND: $109,500 · Recreation & SportsKABOOM INC: $25,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $4,500 · Recreation & SportsHOBE SOUND COMMUNITY CHEST INC: $55,000 · PhilanthropyFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $25,000 · PhilanthropyCHARLOTTESVILLE AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Philanthropy
Other$651,000Animals$335,500Health$305,000Arts & Culture$228,000Education$225,000Recreation & Sports$139,000Philanthropy$90,000

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 budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $180,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetJupiter Medical Center Inc: $134,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: $115,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFRESH AIR FUND: $109,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $61,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHOBE SOUND COMMUNITY CHEST INC: $55,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTRUSTEES OF PHILLIPS ACADEMY: $52,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMacular Degeneration Association: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $47,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Danbury Hospital: $45,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSpelman College: $37,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMOREHOUSE COLLEGE: $37,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTABOR ACADEMY: $32,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $26,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED ANIMAL NATIONS DBA REDROVER: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetKABOOM INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetWarrior Dog Foundation: $25,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetMission K9 Rescue Inc: $25,000 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR THE CAROLINAS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetZIGGY'S HAVEN BIRD SANCTUARY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetTHE SPORTS MUSEUM OF NEW ENGLAND INC: $24,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetHOBE SOUND NATURE CENTER INC: $22,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $21,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetFoxcroft School: $21,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetPeggy Adams Animal Rescue League of the Palm Beaches Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIG DOG RANCH RESCUE INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of Acadia: $16,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetRIDGEFIELD ACADEMY INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD MUSEUM INC: $14,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMOUNT DESERT ISLAND HOSPITAL: $13,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMount Desert Land and Garden Preserve: $10,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPARADISE PARROT RESCUE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetCHARLOTTESVILLE AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHEPHERD HELP AND RESCUE EFFORT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetOne Plympton Preservation Foundation Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetANIMAL HAVEN INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFLORIDA EXOTIC BIRD SANCTUARY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetOASIS SANCTUARY FOUNDATION LTD: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetThe New York and Presbyterian Hospital: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $9,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE CLUB: $9,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetMOUNT DESERT NURSING ASSOC: $9,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHEAST HARBOR LIBRARY: $9,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetPALM BEACH PARROT RESCUE INC: $8,500 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $7,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetLake Forest College: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetGREENS FARMS ACADEMY INC: $7,000 over 7y, 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.

Colket Family Foundat…Cornelia Cogswell Ros…Ethel D Colket Founda…Florence V Burden Fou…Maine Community Found…The Bessemer Giving F…E Newbold & Margaret …Gerrish H Milliken Fo…The Diomedes Foundati…Hattie a and Fred C L…Fore River FoundationDiana Davis Spencer F…
Colket Family FoundationPA26.2× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Colket Family Foundation · Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation Inc · Ethel D Colket Foundation · Florence V Burden Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · The Bessemer Giving Fund · E Newbold & Margaret Dupont Smith F Foundation (Dba Thornedge Fdn) · Gerrish H Milliken Foundation 009209-009 · The Diomedes Foundation · Hattie a and Fred C Lynam Trust · Fore River Foundation · Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Inc

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 Johnson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Howard Johnson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 180%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • The Sports Museum of New England Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Jupiter Medical Center Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Island Housing Trust Corporation: 1% of income from government
  • The Danbury Hospital: 1% of income from government
  • Rollins College: 0% of income from government
  • Big Dog Ranch Rescue Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
18get no government money at all
12report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
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 90 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 Howard Johnson’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