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Thornton Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Thornton Family Foundation

Its FY2020 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$6k
Granted FY2020
1
Grants FY2020
1
States reached
$6k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2020.

Education$1.0MEnvironment$44kArts & Culture$5kCommunity Improvement$5kAnimals$3kHuman Services$3kHousing & Shelter$1kInternational$1k
02FY2020 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$5,974
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON$5,974
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 (FY18–18, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, 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%PINE STREET INN: $1k → 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.
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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 3 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2020, 2 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
18

Total granted

$1.1M
$28k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+61%
+62%

Still filing today

33%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20
EnvironmentArts & CulturePhilanthropyHealthEducationHuman ServicesOther
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

  • M
    MIT
    2× · 2018–2019 · $1.0M
  • MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC
    2× · 2018–2020 · $36k · revenue +61%
  • CF
    CONCORD FREE LIBRARY
    2× · 2018–2019 · $25k

Funded once

  • BS
    BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +6%
  • A5
    ACCESS 51 CAPITAL
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • CL
    CONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUSTgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $3k · revenue +215%
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 Outdoor Heritage Foundation Inc Attn Susan Sacco
—
2
Cohasset Conservation Trust Inc
—
3
Kestrel Land Trust

Kestrel land trust conserves and cares for forests, farms, and riverways in the connecticut river valley of western massachusetts while nurturing an enduring love of the land

Environment
4
The Quebec-Labrador Foundation Inc

The program mission of the quebec-labrador foundation u.s. is defined by a regional component (new england and eastern canada), and an international component, which ties our regional model to a global conservation network. qlf's program…

Philanthropy
5
Wetlands Foundation
Environment
6
Conservation Law Foundation Inc

Conservation law foundation, inc. (clf) protects new england's environment for the benefit of all people and future generations. we use the law, science, and markets to create solutions that preserve and restore our natural resources,…

Environment
7
Maine Audubon Society

Maine Audubon works to conserve Maine's wildlife and habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation, and action. We are helping the people of Maine become the nation's most informed and effective stewards of wildlife and…

Environment
8
New Jersey Conservation Foundation

Recognizing that a healthy environment is critical to the well-being and survival of all living things, new jersey conservation foundation is devoted to preserving land and protecting natural resources throughout new jersey's (continued on…

Environment
9
Manchester Essex Conservation Trust

Manchester essex conservation trust preserves in perpetuity the natural beauty, wildlife habitat, and open space resources in our two towns and adjacent communities. we protect this land through acquisitions, conservation restrictions,…

Environment
10
The Kennebec Land Trust

The kennebec land trust (klt) works cooperatively with landowners and communities to conserve the forests, lakes, streams, wetlands, fields, and wildlife that help define central maine. klt protects and stewards land permanently, offers…

Environment
11
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
12
Massachusetts Land Conservation Trust

Conservation and preservation of land.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Trustees of Reservations; the most unlike its peers is Quissett Harbor Preservation Trust 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

14 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. 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
14/14
Grantees still filing
13/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MIT: $1,000,500 · OtherMIT+7 more: $35,250 · OtherMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $35,974 · EnvironmentCONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUST: $2,500 · Environment+6 more: $4,500 · EnvironmentBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureCONCORD CARLISLE FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 · PhilanthropyNEW ENGLAND DEACONESS ASSOCIATION: $1,000 · HealthTHE WINSOR SCHOOL: $1,000 · EducationPINE STREET INN INC: $1,000 · Human Services
Other$1,035,750Environment$42,974Arts & Culture$5,000Philanthropy$2,500Health$1,000Education$1,000Human Services$1,000

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 budgetMASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $35,974 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONCORD LAND CONSERVATION TRUST: $2,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetCONCORD CARLISLE FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEW ENGLAND DEACONESS ASSOCIATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WINSOR SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUDBURY VALLEY TRUSTEES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPINE STREET INN INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ENGLAND FORESTRY FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetQUISSETT HARBOR PRESERVATION TRUST INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION INC: $250 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.

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 IncFiduciary Charitable …Ge Aerospace Foundati…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Boston Foundation IncMA15.1× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Fiduciary Charitable Foundation Dba Fiduciary Trust Charitable · Ge Aerospace Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Thornton Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Thornton Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • New England Forestry Foundation Inc: 88% of income from government
  • Pine Street Inn Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc: 11% of income from government
  • New England Deaconess Association: 6% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get 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
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 21 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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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