Skip to content

· Private foundation

William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$53k
Granted FY2018
23
Grants FY2018
5
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Environment$48kEducation$22kRecreation & Sports$13kArts & Culture$9kReligion$6kHousing & Shelter$4kYouth Development$1k
02FY2018 · 23 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k22 grants · $43k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$1,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$2k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Natural Resources Defense Council$10,000
Learning Project Inc$5,000
Manomet Inc$5,000
Mothers Out Front$5,000
Friends of the Public Garden$4,000
Home Energy Efficiency Team Inc$3,500
St Cecilia Parish$3,000
Buckingham Browne and Nichols School$2,000
Community Music Center of Boston$2,000
New England Wildflower Society$1,000
Esplanade Association$1,000
Pine Street Inn$1,000
Environmental League of Massachusetts Inc$1,000
Yale University$1,000
Beaver Country Day School$1,000
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 (FY17–18, $2k) 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%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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$91k · 19 repeat orgs$11k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +60% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

19 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
6

Total granted

$91k
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+60%
+13%

Still filing today

89%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureHousing & ShelterYouth DevelopmentHuman 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

  • NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue +41%
  • MI
    MANOMET INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $10k · revenue +85%
  • TL
    THE LEARNING PROJECT INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $10k · revenue +13%

Funded once

  • CM
    Community Music School of Boston
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
  • Y
    Yale
    one grant, 2017 · $1k
  • THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONSgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $1k · revenue +50%
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
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
3
Bartlett Arboretum Association Inc

To cultivate and develop an expansive collection of trees, gardens, and plants for all to explore, enjoy and study; and to provide through education and stewardship, a greener, healthier, more beautiful environment.

Environment
4
Sudbury Valley Trustees Inc

Sudbury valley trustees, inc. ("the organization") works to protect natural areas and farmland for wildlife and people in the 36 communities that surround the sudbury, assabet, and concord rivers. the organization cares for some of the…

Environment
5
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
6
Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation Inc Attn Susan Sacco
—
7
Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc

To protect the nature of massachusetts for people and for wildlife through education, land conservation, advocacy, scientific research, and habitat stewardship/restoration.

Environment
8
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Inc

See attached schedule othe conservancy has sole responsibility for managing all aspects of the rose kennedy greenway, including horticulture, programming, public art, maintenance, and capital improvements. we envision a vibrant, inclusive,…

Recreation & Sports
9
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition

The mission of the massachusetts land trust coalition is to advance land conservation across massachusetts by providing education, tools, networking and advocacy for land trusts and their partners.

Environment
10
Harvard Conservation Trust

To preserve the unique character and natural resources of harvard.

Environment
11
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…

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Esplanade Association Inc; the most unlike its peers is Natural Resources Defense Council 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

23 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. 23 of the 29 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
21/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $20,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCMANOMET INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentMANOMET INCFRIENDS OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN INC: $9,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN INCMOTHERS OUT FRONT INC: $6,500 · EnvironmentMOTHERS OUT FRONT INCNATIVE PLANT TRUST INC: $2,000 · EnvironmentLakes Region Conservation Trust: $2,000 · Environment+4 more: $2,850 · Environment+4 moreTHE LEARNING PROJECT INC: $10,000 · OtherTHE LEARNING PROJECT INCST CECILIA PARISH INC: $6,000 · OtherST CECILIA PARISH INCCommunity Music School of Boston: $3,000 · OtherCommunity Music School of …Oberlin College and Conservatory: $2,000 · OtherOberlin College and Conser…Yale: $1,000 · OtherYALE UNIVERSITY: $1,000 · Other+1 more: $500 · OtherMILTON ACADEMY: $3,000 · EducationMILTON ACADE…BUCKINGHAM BROWNE & NICHOLS SCHOOL: $3,000 · EducationBUCKINGHAM B…BARNARD COLLEGE: $2,000 · EducationBARNARD COLL…THE BEAVER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $2,000 · EducationTHE BEAVER C…SOLAR YOUTH INC: $1,000 · EducationSOLAR YOUTH …HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY TEAM INC: $4,500 · Housing & ShelterHALEY HOUSE INC & AFFILIATES: $2,000 · Housing & ShelterCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER OF BOSTON INC: $2,000 · Arts & CultureESPLANADE ASSOCIATION INC: $2,000 · Arts & CultureJEAN APPOLON EXPRESSIONS INC: $1,000 · Arts & CultureSOCCER UNITY PROJECT INC: $2,000 · Youth DevelopmentPINE STREET INN INC: $2,000 · Human Services
Environment$52,350Other$23,500Education$11,000Housing & Shelter$6,500Arts & Culture$5,000Youth Development$2,000Human Services$2,000

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 budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMANOMET INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LEARNING PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMOTHERS OUT FRONT INC: $6,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMILTON ACADEMY: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBUCKINGHAM BROWNE & NICHOLS SCHOOL: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSOCCER UNITY PROJECT INC: $2,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetBARNARD COLLEGE: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPINE STREET INN INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER OF BOSTON INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIVE PLANT TRUST INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHALEY HOUSE INC & AFFILIATES: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BEAVER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetESPLANADE ASSOCIATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJEAN APPOLON EXPRESSIONS INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOLAR YOUTH INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGarden Club of the Back Bay Inc: $750 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSEAL HARBOR VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC: $100 over 1y, 0.1% 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 IncMA28.7× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Boston Foundation Inc · Barr Foundation · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · Eastern Bank Foundation · Fidelity Foundation · The Chicago Community Trust · Crawford Foundation · The Orchard Foundation · The Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Charitable Trust-I · New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Analog Devices Foundation · Ibm International 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 William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 70%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Solar Youth Inc: 19% of income from government
  • Manomet Inc: 12% of income from government
  • Pine Street Inn Inc: 11% of income from government
  • Soccer Unity Project Inc: 6% of income from government
  • Native Plant Trust Inc: 3% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Reservations: 2% of income from government
  • Friends of the Public Garden Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Jean Appolon Expressions Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Community Music Center of Boston Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Milton Academy: 0% of income from government
  • Buckingham Browne & Nichols School: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
7get no government money at all
3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

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 29 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on William L Murphy & Claire M Corcoran Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph