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Massachusetts · Private foundation

The John and Gertrude Donovan 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.

$61k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
34
Grants FY2025
27
Organizations funded FY2024
11%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$1,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$12,500
Organizations funded a year
8 to 42
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
11
Total assets, FY2025
$372k
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 11% of the organizations The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 5% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
AnimalsEducationInternationalHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterHealthOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving34$61k21%
FY202427$54k11%
FY202342$89k19%
FY202240$83k33%
FY202141$86k51%
FY202027$81k63%
FY201913$53k31%
FY20188$55k25%
85% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$208kReligion$85kHuman Services$63kEducation$42kRecreation & Sports$26kAnimals$21kInternational$18kHealth$7kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
WA
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
PA
NJ
CT
CA
VA
MD
AR
TN
DC
GA

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Circle of Hope Inc$194,14694%
Trinity College$31,00030%
Hale Education Inc$29,50080%
Jeff's Place Children's Bereavement Center Inc$24,00082%
First Parish of Westwood United Church$10,0001n/a
Habitat for Humanity Inc$9,00091%
Falmouth Service Center Inc$7,50060%
Focus on Tanzanian Communities Inc$7,00030%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$7,00070%
The American Legion$6,00040%
Show all 47 grantees
All grantees of The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Circle of Hope Inc$194,14694%
Trinity College$31,00030%
Hale Education Inc$29,50080%
Jeff's Place Children's Bereavement Center Inc$24,00082%
First Parish of Westwood United Church$10,0001n/a
Habitat for Humanity Inc$9,00091%
Falmouth Service Center Inc$7,50060%
Focus on Tanzanian Communities Inc$7,00030%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$7,00070%
The American Legion$6,00040%
Housing Assistance Corporation$4,50050%
Mara Elephant Project USA Inc$4,00040%
Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc$3,75040%
Boston Rescue Mission Inc$3,50060%
Westwood Land Trust Inc$3,10041%
Friends of Falmouth Dogs a Non Profit Corporation$3,00012%
Pine Street Inn Inc$3,00050%
Christmas in the City Inc$2,80650%
Westwood Community Chest$2,70051%
African Wildlife Foundation Inc$2,70050%
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals$2,50050%
Trustees of Tufts College$2,40030%
Project H O P E Inc$2,0002n/a
The Sato Project$2,00010%
Women for Women International$2,00020%
Joslin Diabetes Center Inc$2,00020%
Amherst College Trustees$2,00020%
Westwood Historical Society Inc$1,50038%
Special Olympics Massachusetts Inc$1,50030%
Friends of the Westwood Public Library$1,50023%
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$1,00010%
Parkinson's Body and Mind Inc$1,00010%
Literations Corp$1,00010%
American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches$1,00020%
Rosie's Place Inc$1,00010%
Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc$1,00010%
Life Skills Haiti Foundation Inc$1,00012%
East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue Inc$1,00010%
The Uli Foundation$1,00010%
Adoptions With Love Inc$50010%
Special Olympics Inc$5001n/a
International Fund for Animal Welfare Inc$50010%
Toys for Tots Inc$50011%
Mashpee Womens Club$50011%
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals$50010%
Friends of Boston's Homeless Inc$40010%
The Wily Network$10010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 39 recipients with no EIN on record ($227k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCircle of Hope Inc: $194,146 over 9y, 4.1% of budgetTrinity College: $31,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHale Education Inc: $29,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetJeff's Place Children's Bereavement Center Inc: $24,000 over 8y, 1.9% of budgetHabitat for Humanity Inc: $9,000 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetFalmouth Service Center Inc: $7,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFocus on Tanzanian Communities Inc: $7,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMedecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc: $7,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetThe American Legion: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHousing Assistance Corporation: $4,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMara Elephant Project USA Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: $3,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBoston Rescue Mission Inc: $3,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWestwood Land Trust Inc: $3,100 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetFriends of Falmouth Dogs a Non Profit Corporation: $3,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetPine Street Inn Inc: $3,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetChristmas in the City Inc: $2,806 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetWestwood Community Chest: $2,700 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetAfrican Wildlife Foundation Inc: $2,700 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMassachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $2,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Sato Project: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWomen for Women International: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJoslin Diabetes Center Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmherst College Trustees: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWestwood Historical Society Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetSpecial Olympics Massachusetts Inc: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Westwood Public Library: $1,500 over 2y, 3.1% of budgetSt Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetParkinson's Body and Mind Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLiterations Corp: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRosie's Place Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGuide Dogs for the Blind Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLife Skills Haiti Foundation Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetEast Coast Exotic Animal Rescue Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Uli Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAdoptions With Love Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Fund for Animal Welfare Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetToys for Tots Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMashpee Womens Club: $500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetThe American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of Boston's Homeless Inc: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Wily Network: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 44.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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 IncMA19× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Rockland Trust - Blue Hills Charitable Foundation · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · The Altamira Foundation · Massachusetts Bankers Association Charitable Foundation Inc · Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc · American Tower Corporation Foundation Inc · Citizens Charitable Foundation · The Bromley Charitable Trust · Arbella Insurance Foundation · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston 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.

Compare The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation with peer funders

About The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation

How much does The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation give?
The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation reported 34 grants totaling $60,650 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 8 and 42 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Housing & Shelter (37%), Religion (15%), Human Services (11%).
Who are The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Circle of Hope Inc ($194k), Trinity College ($31k), Hale Education Inc ($30k).
Does The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 11% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Boston Foundation Inc, Eastern Bank Foundation, Rockland Trust - Blue Hills Charitable Foundation.
Where is The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation based?
The John and Gertrude Donovan Foundation is based in MA.

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 86 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

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