Massachusetts · Public charity
The Lenny Zakim Fund
THE LENNY ZAKIM FUND ("the fund") believes positive social change can be created by small, effective, grassroots organizations that are often overlooked by large foundations, government agencies, and major donors. Our mission is to identify, listen to, support and connect grassroots community organizations and programs operating "below…
- $647k
- Granted FY2024(still arriving)
- 55
- Itemized grants FY2024
- 55
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 31%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Itemized, FY2024
- $620k
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2024
- $10,000
- Largest grant, FY2024
- $20,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 49 to 79
- FY2017 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2024
- 2
- Total assets, FY2024
- $9.2M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 31% of the organizations The Lenny Zakim Fund funded were first-time grantees, receiving 26% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $158k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024still arriving | 55 | $620k | 18% |
| FY2023 | 55 | $598k | 31% |
| FY2022 | 54 | $771k | 30% |
| FY2021 | 52 | $697k | 25% |
| FY2020 | 79 | $1.0M | 33% |
| FY2019 | 49 | $644k | 24% |
| FY2018 | 54 | $741k | 24% |
| FY2017 | 51 | $558k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Sector New England Inc | $159,500 | 7 | 0% |
| Chica Inc | $115,500 | 5 | 8% |
| Bma Tenpoint Inc | $110,000 | 6 | 4% |
| Center for Labor Education and Research Inc | $100,700 | 4 | 1% |
| Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores Incorporated | $100,000 | 5 | 14% |
| Building Bridges Through Music Inc | $97,500 | 5 | 8% |
| African Cultural Services Inc | $93,000 | 5 | 11% |
| Community Works West Inc | $85,000 | 5 | 1% |
| The Welcome Project Inc | $82,500 | 5 | 6% |
| Aarons Presents Inc | $82,000 | 4 | n/a |
Show all 154 grantees
Plus 4 recipients with no EIN on record ($61k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
The Lenny Zakim Fund supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 9 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 135 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Eastern Bank Foundation · Foley Hoag Foundation · Haymarket People's Fund Inc · Health Resources in Action Inc · The Hyams Foundation Inc · Barr Foundation · Children's Hospital Corporation · Boston Charitable Trust Fund City of Boston Trust Office · United Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc · Philanthropy Massachusetts Inc
How this is measured
About The Lenny Zakim Fund
- How much does The Lenny Zakim Fund give?
- The Lenny Zakim Fund reported 55 itemized grants totaling $620,171, out of $646,572 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 49 and 79 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
- What does The Lenny Zakim Fund fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Human Services (17%), Youth Development (11%), Civil Rights (11%).
- Who are The Lenny Zakim Fund's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Third Sector New England Inc ($160k), Chica Inc ($116k), Bma Tenpoint Inc ($110k).
- Does The Lenny Zakim Fund fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 31% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as The Lenny Zakim Fund?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Boston Foundation Inc, Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc), Eastern Bank Foundation.
- Where is The Lenny Zakim Fund based?
- The Lenny Zakim Fund is based in MA.
Play a game based on Lenny Zakim’s filings →