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The John J & Susan F Doran Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The John J & Susan F Doran Family 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.

$26k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0188% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$187kRecreation & Sports$80kArts & Culture$36kCivil Rights$30kPublic Safety & Disaster$13kPhilanthropy$13kHealth$9kCommunity Improvement$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k3 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $16k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BOURNE BRAVES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION$15,875
NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION$5,000
UPPER CAPE COD REGIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL$5,000
WELLESLEY SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION$500
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 (FY17–17, $500) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%FRIENDSHIP HOME: $500 → 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.
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$324k · 15 repeat orgs$57k to everyone else

15 repeat relationships: 3 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
28

Total granted

$324k
$52k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+44%
+62%

Still filing today

47%
39%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 81% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationInternationalHealthHuman ServicesCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • PS
    PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
    3× · 2017–2019 · $35k · revenue +49%
  • TO
    TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS
    3× · 2017–2022 · $17k · revenue +44%
  • TP
    The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc
    2× · 2022–2023 · $13k · revenue +55%

Funded once

  • GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2023 · $30k · revenue +19%
  • GS
    GROUNDWORK SOMERVILLE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $5k · revenue +62%
  • AN
    ALLENS NECK FRIENDS MEETING
    one grant, 2017 · $2k
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
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
3
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
4
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

—
5
Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc

Wentworth institute of technology is a nationally recognized private coeducational and residential university of higher education with a mission to empower, inspire and innovate through experiential learning with a core purpose of career…

Education
6
The Trustees of Princeton University

Research, education and general - princeton university is a private not-for-profit, non-sectarian institution of higher learning with approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 3,300 graduate students. 2,500 students graduated in the 2024-2025…

Education
7
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
8
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
9
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
10
President and Fellows of Harvard College

Undergraduate, graduate, and professional education and research across a broad array of academic domains.

Education
11
Children's Hospital Corporation

Provider of pediatric healthcare, education, research & community service

Health
12
Bentley University

Organization's mission bentley university believes good business can impact more than the bottom line - it can change the world. bentley is a community of future business leaders who will deliver value in the marketplace and lasting…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is National Philanthropic Trust; 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

21 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. 21 of the 45 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/21
Grantees still filing
14/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOURNE BRAVES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: $80,138 · OtherBOURNE BRAVES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONRFK CENTER: $36,000 · OtherRFK CENTERRFK HUMAN RIGHTS: $30,000 · OtherRFK HUMAN RIGHTSUPPER CAPE COD REGIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL: $15,000 · OtherUPPER CAPE COD REGIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL+28 more: $30,515 · Other+28 moreLASELL UNIVERSITY: $81,000 · EducationLASELL UNIVERSITYPERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND: $34,500 · EducationPERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLINDGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $30,000 · EducationGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITYTRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS: $17,250 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS+2 more: $1,500 · EducationNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST: $10,000 · PhilanthropyNicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation: $5,000 · PhilanthropyThe Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc: $12,500 · Crime & LegalGROUNDWORK SOMERVILLE INC: $5,000 · Community ImprovementMansfield Shelter Friends Inc: $2,000 · AnimalsDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $1,000 · HealthALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $100 · Health
Other$191,653Education$164,250Philanthropy$15,000Crime & Legal$12,500Community Improvement$5,000Animals$2,000Health$1,100

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 budgetLASELL UNIVERSITY: $81,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND: $34,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS: $17,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc: $12,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGROUNDWORK SOMERVILLE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetWELLESLEY SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetRon Burton Training Village Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMansfield Shelter Friends Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetPAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDSHIP HOME INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Borgen Project: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBE LIKE BRIT FOUNDATION INC: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S FOUNDATION OF AMERICA INC: $100 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.

  • Who funds LASELL UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS ↗
  • Who funds The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST ↗
  • Who funds Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation ↗
  • Who funds GROUNDWORK SOMERVILLE INC ↗
  • Who funds WELLESLEY SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Ron Burton Training Village Inc ↗
  • Who funds Mansfield Shelter Friends Inc ↗
  • Who funds PAN-MASSACHUSETTS CHALLENGE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF THE SMITH COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds HARK SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDSHIP HOME INC ↗
  • Who funds The Borgen Project ↗
  • Who funds SCHOOL ON WHEELS OF MASSACHUSETTS INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds BE LIKE BRIT FOUNDATION 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.

The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation IncNC10.5× affinity7 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 John J & Susan F Doran Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The John J & Susan F Doran Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • Friendship Home Inc: 66% of income from government
  • Groundwork Somerville Inc: 12% of income from government
  • School On Wheels of Massachusetts Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Perkins School for the Blind: 7% of income from government
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc: 7% of income from government
  • Lasell University: 4% of income from government
  • The Trustees of the Smith College: 1% of income from government
  • Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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 45 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on John J & Susan F Doran 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