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Massachusetts · Private foundation

Zell Family 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.

$140k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
21
Grants FY2025
16
Organizations funded FY2024
81%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$2,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$56,000
Organizations funded a year
9 to 16
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
7
Total assets, FY2025
$1.0M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 81% of the organizations Zell Family Foundation Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 94% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 6% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $102k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHousing & ShelterHealthInternationalCrime & LegalEducationOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving21$140k81%
FY202416$108k81%
FY202315$114k73%
FY202213$107k62%
FY20219$92k89%
FY202015$77k87%
FY201915$60k20%
FY201812$60k17%
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Crime & Legal$333kHousing & Shelter$190kHuman Services$104kInternational$46kCommunity Improvement$37kArts & Culture$31kYouth Development$15kRecreation & Sports$10kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
MI
NY
MA
OR
PA
CA
MD
AZ
NM
DC
GA

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 72 grantees
All grantees of Zell Family Foundation Inc by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Rise Up Industries$56,0001n/a
Give a Beat Foundation$47,00025%
Dismas House of Massachusetts Inc$41,00012%
Saint Elizabeth Shelter Corporation$37,50041%
Hias Inc$30,00010%
Motor City Mitten Mission$30,00015%
Valley Community Development Corporation$30,00011%
Avenues for Justice Inc$26,00031%
Alpha Project for the Homeless$25,00010%
Housing Works$25,00011%
Motherhood Beyond Bars Inc$20,00014%
Womens Community Justice Association Inc$20,00014%
Center for Restorative Justice Works$20,00012%
YWCA of Greater Portland$17,00021%
Golden Rule Reentry$16,0001n/a
Youth Shelters & Family Services Inc$15,50040%
Leap to Success$15,50042%
Why Not Prosper Inc$15,00013%
Womenfirst Transition Referral Center$15,00012%
Jeremiah Program$14,50040%
A Sense of Home$12,75031%
Building Opp for Self-Sufficiency$12,75040%
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation$12,50030%
HomeStart Inc$12,50030%
Community Legal Services Inc$12,50030%
Freedom Farms$11,00019%
Beyond These Walls$10,00012%
Ruth Ellis Center$10,00010%
United in Harmony$10,00031%
Alternatives for Girls$10,00010%
The Doe Fund Inc$6,00030%
Humble Design Inc$6,00020%
Kitchen Angels Inc$5,50040%
Hilltown Village$5,00021%
Fii - National$4,00020%
A Community of Friends$4,00020%
Dignity Village$3,0001n/a
Community Action Pioneer Valley$3,00020%
Environmental Leadership Program Inc$3,00010%
Tiny Seed Project Inc$3,00011%
Roca Inc$3,00010%
Gsl Rescue$3,0001n/a
Red Lodge Transition Services$2,5001n/a
Union Rescue Mission$2,50010%
Ardella's House Inc$2,50012%
Sister S Returning Home Inc$2,50011%
Mercy Corps$2,50010%
Rehabilitation Through the Arts Inc$2,00010%
American Friends of Natal Inc$2,00010%
Spotlight Pa$2,00010%
Neighborhood Gardens Trust$2,00010%
Street Roots Inc$2,00010%
PS Science$2,00010%
Tapestry Inc$2,0001n/a
Los Angeles Food Bank$2,0001n/a
Prison University Project Inc Dba Mount Tamalpais College$1,5001n/a
Refugepoint Inc$1,5001n/a
English for New Bostonians Inc$1,50010%
Holyoke Community College Foundationinc$1,00010%
National Religious Campaign Against Torture$1,0001n/a
Crossroads Inc$1,00010%
Sisters Unchained Inc$1,00010%
A New Way of Life Reentry Project$1,00010%
Nami Westside La$1,00010%
Allens Lane Art Center$1,00010%
Cool Hand Series Inc$1,0001n/a
My Friend's Place$1,00010%
Kitchens for Good$1,00010%
The Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe Inc$1,0001n/a
Mothers Against Media Addiction$1,0001n/a
The Food Depot$50010%
Southwest Counseling Solutions$25010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 14 recipients with no EIN on record ($84k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Zell Family Foundation Inc supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGive a Beat Foundation: $47,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetDismas House of Massachusetts Inc: $41,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetSaint Elizabeth Shelter Corporation: $37,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetHias Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMotor City Mitten Mission: $30,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetValley Community Development Corporation: $30,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetAvenues for Justice Inc: $26,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetAlpha Project for the Homeless: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHousing Works: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMotherhood Beyond Bars Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetWomens Community Justice Association Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetCenter for Restorative Justice Works: $20,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetYWCA of Greater Portland: $17,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetYouth Shelters & Family Services Inc: $15,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetLeap to Success: $15,500 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetWhy Not Prosper Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetWomenfirst Transition Referral Center: $15,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetJeremiah Program: $14,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetA Sense of Home: $12,750 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetBuilding Opp for Self-Sufficiency: $12,750 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHomeStart Inc: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCommunity Legal Services Inc: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFreedom Farms: $11,000 over 1y, 9.3% of budgetBeyond These Walls: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetRuth Ellis Center: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetUnited in Harmony: $10,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetAlternatives for Girls: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Doe Fund Inc: $6,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHumble Design Inc: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKitchen Angels Inc: $5,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHilltown Village: $5,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetFii - National: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetA Community of Friends: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Action Pioneer Valley: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEnvironmental Leadership Program Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTiny Seed Project Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetRoca Inc: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUnion Rescue Mission: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetArdella's House Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetSister S Returning Home Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetMercy Corps: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRehabilitation Through the Arts Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Friends of Natal Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSpotlight Pa: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNeighborhood Gardens Trust: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetStreet Roots Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPS Science: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 59.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Seeding JusticeOR17× affinity6 shared granteesties to 4 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Seeding Justice · The Rose Hills Foundation · Meyer Memorial Trust · The William Penn Foundation · Independence Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Claneil Foundation Inc · The Philadelphia Foundation · Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts · United Way Of Massachusetts Bay Inc · Proteus Fund Inc · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors 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.

Compare Zell Family Foundation Inc with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Zell Family Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Zell Family Foundation Inc 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.

About Zell Family Foundation Inc

How much does Zell Family Foundation Inc give?
Zell Family Foundation Inc reported 21 grants totaling $140,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 9 and 16 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Zell Family Foundation Inc fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Crime & Legal (41%), Housing & Shelter (23%), Human Services (13%).
Who are Zell Family Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Rise Up Industries ($56k), Give a Beat Foundation ($47k), Dismas House of Massachusetts Inc ($41k).
Does Zell Family Foundation Inc fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 81% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Zell Family Foundation Inc accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Zell Family Foundation Inc?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Seeding Justice, The Rose Hills Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust.
Where is Zell Family Foundation Inc based?
Zell Family Foundation Inc is based in MA.

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 87 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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