· Private foundation
The Lowell Institute
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.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k1 grant · $9k
- $10k–50k3 grants · $76k
- $50k–250k6 grants · $481k
- $250k+3 grants · $1.7M
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| WGBH | $998,356 |
| Northeastern University | $404,245 |
| Museum of Science | $301,415 |
| WorldBoston Inc | $105,417 |
| Harvard University Extension School | $100,542 |
| John F Kennedy Library Foundation | $90,000 |
| Boston College | $75,000 |
| Cambridge Forum | $60,000 |
| Boston Public Library Fund | $50,000 |
| Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University | $32,666 |
| Peabody Essex Museum | $30,000 |
| Boston University | $13,500 |
| Paul Revere Memorial Association | $9,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY20–21, $50k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
20 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down.
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY6× · 2020–2025 · $2.7M · revenue +63%- MOMUSEUM OF SCIENCE6× · 2020–2025 · $1.8M · revenue +13%
NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION4× · 2020–2024 · $1.1M · revenue +108%
Funded once
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETYgraduatedone grant, 2020 · $5k · revenue +159%
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.
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.
Organization's mission statement true to the ambitious vision of its founder and her spirit of creative risk-taking, the mission of the isabella stewart gardner museum is: - to bring to life and preserve the rich historic collection; - to…
The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.
Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…
The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."
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…
New england historic genealogical society's mission is to advance the study of family history in america and beyond. we educate, inspire, and connect people through our scholarship, collections, and expertise. we conduct business under the…
The rhode island historical society, through its collections, museums, and educational initiatives, welcomes everyone to engage with rhode island's complex and significant past.
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.
The Boston Public Library provides educational and cultural enrichment free to all by engaging the public through programming and active spaces, restoring and preserving our history, providing access to borrow from our vast collection of…
The mission of lowell observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach…
How this is measured
14 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.
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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 14 of the 21 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds MUSEUM OF SCIENCE ↗
- Who funds NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM CORPORATION ↗
- Who funds JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION INCORPORATED ↗
- Who funds WORLD BOSTON INC ↗
- Who funds CAMBRIDGE FORUM INC ↗
- Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE ↗
- Who funds REVOLUTIONARY SPACES INC ↗
- Who funds PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM INC ↗
- Who funds BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FUND INC ↗
- Who funds TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY ↗
- Who funds UNCORNERED INC ↗
- Who funds PAUL REVERE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION ↗
- Who funds MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
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: Highland Street Connection and Subsidiaries · Eastern Bank Foundation · Fidelity Non-Profit Management Foundation · Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities & Public Policy Inc · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization The Lowell Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Lowell Institute. Bigger dots raise more.
- Uncornered Inc: 24% of income from government
- Massachusetts Historical Society: 22% of income from government
- Revolutionary Spaces Inc: 20% of income from government
- Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
- New England Aquarium Corporation: 12% of income from government
- Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
- Cambridge Forum Inc: 4% of income from government
- Peabody Essex Museum Inc: 3% of income from government
- Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
- Paul Revere Memorial Association: 1% of income from government
- Museum of Science: 0% of income from government
How this is measured
Play a game based on Lowell Institute’s filings →