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The Jack and Kathy Shields Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Jack and Kathy Shields Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$113k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Youth Development$989kFood & Nutrition$942kEducation$927kHuman Services$769kHousing & Shelter$471kHealth$375kEnvironment$260kEmployment$100kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k8 grants · $51k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $364k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $601k
$35,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CROSSROADS FOR KIDS INC$112,800
THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT$100,000
SCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC$75,000
BULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION$62,500
STARTING RIGHT NOW$50,750
LOVIN SPOONFULS INC$50,000
SURIVOR VENTURES$50,000
FATHER BILLS & MAINSPRING INC$50,000
HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC$50,000
TAMPA BAY WATCH$40,000
CHARITY GUILD INC$40,000
HOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC$40,000
COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC$35,000
THE BASE$35,000
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC$35,000
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 (FY20–25, $1.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT: $100k → 8%MARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $40k → 8%AFYA FOUNDATION: $13k → 9%SURIVOR VENTURES: $50k → 19%THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT: $100k → 8%HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $75k → 11%SURIVOR VENTURES: $50k → 19%THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT: $100k → 8%HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $50k → 11%THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT: $60k → 8%HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $50k → 11%THRIVE SUPPORT & ADVOCACY: $25k → 8%EL BUEN SAMARITANO FOOD PROGRAM INC: $7k → 11%HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $50k → 11%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $50k → 16%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $32k → 13%EL BUEN SAMARITANO FOOD PROGRAM INC: $7k → 11%HOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $50k → 11%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $50k → 16%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $32k → 13%LINKED MENTORING INC: $20k → 8%GSA LINK INC: $20k → 11%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $50k → 16%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $32k → 13%FRIENDSHIP HOME: $5k → 8%EL BUEN SAMARITANO FOOD PROGRAM INC: $7k → 11%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $50k → 16%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $7k → 13%THRIVE SUPPORT & ADVOCACY: $7k → 8%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $35k → 16%METROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $5k → 13%BULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION: $63k → 13%THRIVE SUPPORT & ADVOCACY: $7k → 8%COMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $25k → 16%BULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION: $25k → 13%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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.5M · 34 repeat orgs$518k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +65% since the first grant, against +39% for those funded once.

34 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

34
16

Total granted

$4.5M
$513k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+65%
+39%

Still filing today

91%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesFood & NutritionEducationHealthRecreation & SportsHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • CROSSROADS FOR KIDS INC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $634k · revenue +117%
  • TV
    THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $360k · revenue +122%
  • SO
    SCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $310k · revenue +21%

Funded once

  • TT
    THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGEgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $150k · revenue +35%
  • WR
    WORCESTER REGIONAL FOOD HUB
    one grant, 2021 · $100k
  • CH
    CAMP HARBOR VIEW FOUNDATION INC CO CONNORS FAMILY OFFICE
    one grant, 2020 · $50k
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
Greater Boston Food Bank Inc

Our costs consist of acquiring, sorting and distributing food to 617 member agencies, transportation and logistics, and community outreach to 69 direct distribution sites such as gbfb mobile markets, and federal distributions for low…

—
2
Food Link Inc

Food link is working to create a more equitable food system throughout greater boston by rescuing and distributing high-quality, customized food to under-resourced communities and by advocating for systems change.

Food & Nutrition
3
Community Cooks Inc

Community cooks mobilizes individuals, businesses, civic educational and faith-based groups to prepare home-cooked food for vulnerable populations seeking assistance from human service agencies throughout greater boston. the agency…

Food & Nutrition
4
Citizens Inn Inc

The organization's mission is to prevent and end hunger and homelessness by providing integrated services that promote long-term stability, health, and independence. (see schedule o for full description)

Housing & Shelter
5
Merrimack Valley Food Bank Inc

The focus of the merrimack valley food bank is to help meet a person's most profound need - adequate nutrition and freedom from hunger. only through cooperative efforts can society initiate change, develop strategies to alleviate hunger,…

Food & Nutrition
6
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Inc

The mission of the boston health care for the homeless program (bhchp) is to provide or assure access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community.

Human Services
7
East Boston Community Soup Kitchen Inc

To feed, shelter and assist with recovery and self-care the hungry and homeless in our community, and to do so without judgement or exclusivity

Human Services
8
Familyaid Boston Inc

Familyaid boston empowers parents and caregivers facing homelessness to secure and sustain housing and build strong foundations for their children's futures.

—
9
Project Hope Boston Inc

Project hope is a multi service agency that moves families up and out of poverty.project hope works in partnership with women and families in the dorchester and roxbury neighborhoods of boston on their journeys up and out of poverty. we do…

Human Services
10
Mass General Brigham Incorporated

Patient care, teaching, research and serving the community.

Health
11
Interfaith Social Services Inc

To provide south shore residents with the resources necessary to support a healthy and fulfilling life. our team delivers programs focused on alleviating hunger, providing mental health counseling, preventing homelessness, and bringing joy…

Human Services
12
The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

The brien center provides a continuum of care for children, adolescents, adults and families living with significant and persistent mental health and substance use disorders. we are guided by the belief that everyone in berkshire county…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Community Servings Inc; the most unlike its peers is Bee Project. 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

42 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. 42 of the 51 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/42
Grantees still filing
32/42
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT INC: $360,000 · Human ServicesTHE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT INCHOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $275,000 · Human ServicesHOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INCCOMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $260,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY SERVINGS INCMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $108,000 · Human ServicesMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INCSURVIVOR VENTURES INC: $100,000 · Human ServicesSURVIVOR VENTURES INCBULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION INC: $87,500 · Human ServicesBULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION INC+6 more: $157,500 · Human Services+6 moreBROCKTON BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF METRO SOUTH: $185,425 · OtherBROCKTON BOYS AND GIRLS CLU…STARTING RIGHT NOW: $172,060 · OtherSTARTING RIGHT NOWTHE CAPE AND ISLANDS VETERANS OUTREACH CENTER INC: $168,000 · OtherTHE CAPE AND ISLANDS VETERA…WORCESTER REGIONAL FOOD HUB: $100,000 · OtherWORCESTER REGIONAL FOOD HUBBIG SISTER ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BOSTON INC: $75,000 · OtherBIG SISTER ASSOCIATION OF G…CAMP HARBOR VIEW FOUNDATION INC CO CONNORS FAMILY OFFICE: $50,000 · OtherSOUTH SHORE RESOURCE AND ADVOCACY CENTER: $42,500 · OtherFATHER BILL'S & MAINSPRING INC: $153,200 · OtherFATHER BILL'S & MAINSPRING …+11 more: $248,700 · Other+11 moreCROSSROADS FOR KIDS INC: $633,800 · Recreation & SportsCROSSROADS FOR K…THE BASEBALL INC: $95,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE BASEBALL INCSCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC: $310,000 · EducationSCHOOL ON WHEEL…THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $150,000 · EducationTHE TRUSTEES OF…HOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC: $100,000 · EducationHOPE FLOATS HEA…Found in Translation Inc: $100,000 · EducationFound in Transl…+1 more: $7,000 · EducationTHE CHARITY GUILD INC: $220,000 · Food & NutritionTHE CHARITY…SPOONFULS: $200,000 · Food & NutritionSPOONFULSMARSHFIELD FOOD PANTRY INC: $38,000 · Food & NutritionMARSHFIELD …DIGGER FOODS INC: $20,000 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $15,000 · Food & NutritionCAPE WELLNESS COLLABORATIVE INC: $100,000 · HealthTAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $96,000 · HealthHEALTH IMPERATIVES INC: $45,000 · HealthRhode Island Hospital Foundation: $25,000 · HealthSouth Shore Peer Recovery Inc: $20,000 · HealthTAMPA BAY WATCH INC: $140,000 · EnvironmentREGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $120,000 · Environment
Human Services$1,348,000Other$1,194,885Recreation & Sports$728,800Education$667,000Food & Nutrition$493,000Health$286,000Environment$260,000

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 budgetCROSSROADS FOR KIDS INC: $633,800 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetTHE VALEDICTORIAN PROJECT INC: $360,000 over 4y, 20% of budgetSCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC: $310,000 over 5y, 5.6% of budgetHOUSE OF POSSIBILITIES INC: $275,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY SERVINGS INC: $260,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetTHE CHARITY GUILD INC: $220,000 over 4y, 21% of budgetSPOONFULS: $200,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSTARTING RIGHT NOW: $172,060 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetTHE CAPE AND ISLANDS VETERANS OUTREACH CENTER INC: $168,000 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetFATHER BILL'S & MAINSPRING INC: $153,200 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $150,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTAMPA BAY WATCH INC: $140,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetREGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL INC: $120,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MINISTRIES INC: $108,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCAPE WELLNESS COLLABORATIVE INC: $100,000 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetHOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC: $100,000 over 3y, 5.2% of budgetFound in Translation Inc: $100,000 over 4y, 2.5% of budgetSURVIVOR VENTURES INC: $100,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetTAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $96,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE BASEBALL INC: $95,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetBULLARD FAMILY FOUNDATION INC: $87,500 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetBIG SISTER ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BOSTON INC: $75,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetHEALTH IMPERATIVES INC: $45,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLINKED MENTORING INC: $40,000 over 2y, 48% of budgetMARTHA'S VINEYARD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $40,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHRIVE SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY INC: $39,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMARSHFIELD FOOD PANTRY INC: $38,000 over 6y, 3.2% of budgetPLYMOUTH AREA COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $38,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetWEYMOUTH COUNCIL FOR THE HUNGRY INC: $38,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetBROCKTON NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO CHILDREN: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRhode Island Hospital Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE DUXBURY COUNCIL ON AGING INC: $21,200 over 5y, 3.5% of budgetDIGGER FOODS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetSouth Shore Peer Recovery Inc: $20,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetTHE AFYA FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $12,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON AREA GLEANERS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBOSTON GREEN ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC: $7,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetBEE PROJECT: $6,000 over 1y, 47% of budgetCOASTAL FOODSHED: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetFRIENDSHIP HOME INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Eastern Bank Foundati…Rockland Trust Charit…Arbella Insurance Fou…Boston Foundation IncPoint32health Foundat…Bluestone Bank Charit…Riley Mabel Louise Tr…Project Bread-The Wal…Yawkey Foundation IIEversource Energy Fou…Goddard Health Servic…Abington Bank Communi…
Eastern Bank FoundationMA41× affinity20 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Eastern Bank Foundation · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · Arbella Insurance Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Point32health Foundation Inc · Bluestone Bank Charitable Foundation Inc · Riley Mabel Louise Tr Uwill · Project Bread-The Walk for Hunger Inc · Yawkey Foundation II · Eversource Energy Foundation Inc · Goddard Health Services Inc · Abington Bank Community Foundation Inc F/K/A Envision Bank 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 Jack and Kathy Shields Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Jack and Kathy Shields Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 110%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Thrive Support and Advocacy Inc: 93% of income from government
  • Health Imperatives Inc: 79% of income from government
  • House of Possibilities Inc: 76% of income from government
  • South Shore Peer Recovery Inc: 71% of income from government
  • Friendship Home Inc: 66% of income from government
  • Coastal Foodshed: 66% of income from government
  • Boston Green Academy Foundation Inc: 59% of income from government
  • Father Bill's & Mainspring Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Boston Area Gleaners Inc: 20% of income from government
  • Digger Foods Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Community Servings Inc: 12% of income from government
  • The Charity Guild Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Brockton Neighborhood Health Center Inc: 9% of income from government
  • School On Wheels of Massachusetts Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Regional Environmental Council Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Marshfield Food Pantry Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Martha's Vineyard Community Services Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Crossroads for Kids Inc: 1% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
  • The Baseball Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Metropolitan Ministries Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
11get no government money at all
8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
7rely 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 Jack and Kathy Shields Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Jack and Kathy Shields Family 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 51 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 Jack and Kathy Shields 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