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The Vertex Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

The Vertex Foundation Inc

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.

$6.8M
Granted FY2019
125
Grants FY2019
36
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

90% of The Vertex Foundation Inc’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Charities Aid Foundation America, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year The Vertex Foundation Inc named its own grantees at scale: 31 organizations, $7M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

31
’19
14
’20
8
’21
10
’22
12
’23
10
’24
0
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

International$24MPhilanthropy$17MHealth$7.5MEducation$5.3MHuman Services$1.9MArts & Culture$601kPublic Safety & Disaster$357kFood & Nutrition$323kOther$0
02FY2019 · 125 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k95 grants · $466k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $307k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+6 grants · $4.7M
$5,000
Median grant
36
States reached
$3.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES INC$1,215,000
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION$1,168,198
I2LEARNING FOUNDATION$1,160,000
CITY YEAR$510,000
THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL$416,180
BARRETSTOWN FOUNDATION$275,000
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE$215,500
GRUBSTREET$200,000
DONORSCHOOSEORG$170,000
ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM$135,106
ENTHUSE CHARITABLE TRUST$130,000
RIZE MASSACHUSETTS$125,000
CAMP SUNSHINE AT SEBAGO LAKE$100,000
ELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE$75,000
BOSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM$56,000
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 (FY19–24, $239k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 23% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HOPE AND COMFORT INC: $25k → 7%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $25k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: $10k → 10%DIGNITY MATTERS INC: $6k → 11%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $10k → 8%Cradles to Crayons: $8k → 8%Cradles to Crayons: $5k → 8%Cradles to Crayons: $5k → 8%PINE STREET INN: $25k → 16%SECOND CHANCE CARS INC: $3k → 8%SECOND CHANCE CARS INC: $3k → 8%American Red Cross: $100k → 8%HORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN INC: $5k → 16%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $5k → 16%SOUTH BOSTON NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $5k → 16%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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
WA
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 67% of The Vertex Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

The Vertex Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 7.2% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

36%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.3M · 93 repeat orgs$15M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +67% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

93 repeat relationships: 27 still active in FY2019, 66 since wound down; 417 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

93
417

Total granted

$8.3M
$15M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+67%
+11%

Still filing today

15%
11%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 47% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $417k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureEnvironmentInternationalCommunity 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

  • RM
    Ronald McDonald House Global
    3× · 2019–2022 · $1.7M · revenue +82%
  • DIRECT RELIEF
    2× · 2019–2020 · $1.1M · revenue +67%
  • CITY YEAR INC
    2× · 2019–2024 · $534k · revenue +0%

Funded once

  • MG
    MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2020 · $5.0M
  • IL
    i2 LEARNING FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2019 · $1.2M · revenue -65% · 44% of their budget
  • BC
    Boston Charitable Trust Fund City of Boston Trust Office
    one grant, 2020 · $1.0M · revenue -100%
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
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
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to provide access to and conduct activities in furtherance of higher education.

—
4
Boston Harbor Now Inc

Our mission is to ensure that the people of greater boston benefit from a vibrant, resilient, and inclusive waterfront, harbor, and islands; these spaces are equitable, accessible, and adapted to climate change; and to ensure our public,…

Environment
5
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Inc

Massachusetts taxpayers foundation provides public & private sector decision makers with accurate, timely, unbiased research & constructive solutions that drive public policy in order to strengthen the state's finances & position the…

Public Benefit
6
Massachusetts Business Roundtable Inc

The mission of the roundtable is to make massachusetts the most desirable place to live, work and do business by engaging private sector executives and public leaders to ensure access to a robust, diverse and talented workforce that…

—
7
Mass General Brigham Health Plan Inc

Mass general brigham health plan's mission is to promote the health and wellness of our members, and to help ensure equitable, affordbale health care for the diverse communities we serve.

Health
8
New England Lawboston

New england law/boston dedicates itself to preparing students to be successful lawyers and leaders in the public and private sectors through integrated practical, theoretical and ethical education of the highest caliber and to contributing…

Education
9
Northeast College of Health Sciences

Northeast college of health sciences (the college) is committed to academic excellence, leadership, and professional best practices in the health sciences.

Education
10
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
11
Wheaton College

Wheaton college provides a transformative liberal arts education, combining theory and practice, for intellectually curious students within a collaborative and vibrant extended community and network that values and strives to create an…

Education
12
The Bridgespan Group Inc

Bridgespan's mission is to build a better world by strengthening the ability of mission-driven organizations and philanthropists to achieve breakthrough results in addressing society's most important challenges and opportunities.

Community Improvement
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Childrens Museum; the most unlike its peers is I2 Learning Foundation Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

63 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. 63 of the 514 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
62/63
Grantees still filing
42/63
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $27,492,761 · PhilanthropyCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICAAMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC: $15,166,944 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC+4 more: $2,148,600 · PhilanthropyMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCORPORATED: $5,000,000 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INCO…Trustees of Boston University Medical Campus: $1,000,000 · OtherTrustees of Boston Univer…TRUSSELL TRUST: $999,310 · OtherTRUSSELL TRUSTENTHUSE CHARITABLE TRUST: $774,269 · OtherTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $747,000 · OtherUK Online Giving Foundation: $548,877 · OtherCITY YEAR INC: $534,100 · OtherMASS GENERAL BRIGHAM INC: $500,000 · Other+164 more: $4,763,798 · Other+164 moreRonald McDonald House Global: $1,651,600 · HealthSCRIPPS HEALTH: $250,000 · Healthi2 LEARNING FOUNDATION INC: $1,160,000 · EducationDONORSCHOOSEORG: $170,000 · Education+3 more: $50,000 · EducationDIRECT RELIEF: $1,050,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $100,000 · International+1 more: $25,000 · InternationalNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION INC: $300,000 · Arts & CultureMUSEUM OF SCIENCE: $215,500 · Arts & CultureGRUB STREET INC: $200,000 · Arts & CultureISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $135,106 · Arts & CultureTHE CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $56,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 · Human ServicesCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $57,500 · Human ServicesPINE STREET INN INC: $26,500 · Human ServicesHOPE AND COMFORT INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesMASSACHUSETTS COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $10,000 · Human Services+2 more: $11,400 · Human Services
Philanthropy$44,808,305Other$14,867,354Health$1,901,600Education$1,380,000International$1,175,000Arts & Culture$906,606Human Services$230,400

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA: $27,492,761 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetAMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC: $15,166,944 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetRonald McDonald House Global: $1,651,600 over 3y, 0.5% of budgeti2 LEARNING FOUNDATION INC: $1,160,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $1,050,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBoston Charitable Trust Fund City of Boston Trust Office: $1,000,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetBoston Foundation Inc: $1,000,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $747,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $534,100 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION INC: $300,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCRIPPS HEALTH: $250,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMUSEUM OF SCIENCE: $215,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGRUB STREET INC: $200,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $170,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM INC: $135,106 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND INC: $125,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEEDING SAN DIEGO: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF GREATER FALL RIVER INC: $100,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetTHE FOOD BANK OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCAMP SUNSHINE AT SEBAGO LAKE INC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetELEMENTARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: $75,000 over 1y, 7.1% of budgetTOGETHER WE RISE: $60,533 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $57,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetTHE CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $56,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUnited Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc: $48,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPINE STREET INN INC: $26,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE AND COMFORT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCAREER COLLABORATIVE INC: $25,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetZEPHYR EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 23% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS BIOTECHNOLOGY EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetEDVESTORS INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetREBUILDING TOGETHER BOSTON INC: $15,000 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetCATHLEEN STONE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION GRATITUDE INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHARLES RIVER CONSERVANCY INC: $12,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY GREATER BOSTON INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSAVE THE HARBORSAVE THE BAY INC: $10,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPROJECT CITIZENSHIP INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetMASSACHUSETTS COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPFEIFFER UNIVERSITY: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJUST-A-START CORPORATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSECOND CHANCE CARS INC: $5,900 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetDignity Matters Inc: $5,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR HOSPITAL ART INC: $5,020 over 1y, 0.3% 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.

Boston Foundation IncEastern Bank Foundati…Liberty Mutual Founda…Cummings Foundation G…Barr FoundationCombined Jewish Phila…Highland Street Conne…Charities Aid Foundat…Rockland Trust - Blue…Eastern Cambridge Fou…Rockland Trust Charit…Eversource Energy Fou…
Boston Foundation IncMA38.1× affinity20 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 · Liberty Mutual Foundation Inc · Cummings Foundation Grants Inc (Fka Oneworld Boston Inc) · Barr Foundation · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Highland Street Connection and Subsidiaries · Charities Aid Foundation America · Rockland Trust - Blue Hills Charitable Foundation · Eastern Cambridge Foundation · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · Eversource Energy 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 Vertex Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Vertex Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 110%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • United Way of Massachusetts Bay Inc: 23% of income from government
  • Horizons for Homeless Children: 21% of income from government
  • Mystic River Watershed Association Inc: 18% of income from government
  • Just-a-Start Corporation: 16% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Pine Street Inn Inc: 11% of income from government
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Project Citizenship Inc: 10% of income from government
  • Citizen Schools Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Third Sector New England Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Grub Street Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Childrens Museum: 1% of income from government
  • Edvestors Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Hope and Comfort Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Mount Saint Mary's University Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Museum of Science: 0% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Rosie's Place Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Boston Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
11get no government money at all
16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely 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.

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 514 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Vertex’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