Boston Foundation

The foundation had more than $1.2 billion in net assets in fiscal year 2018. The foundation paid about $130 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that year and received more than $200 million in donations. The organization says it has given $2 billion to nonprofits, including $1 billion in the past decade. The organization says it is a partner in philanthropy with 1,000 separate charitable funds. ²

The foundation says that in 2019 it received $151 million in contributions and paid $153 million in grants. The foundation also works with the Annual Campaign for Civic Leadership, the group says it is pushing public discourse and action. It also established the Philanthropic Initiative, a consulting unit of the foundation for other nonprofits. ³ Grant recipients include a number of left-of-center advocacy organizations, including 350.org, American Friends Service Committee, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Center for Reproductive Rights, Environmental Working Group, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Issue One, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and TSNE MissionWorks. ⁴

History

The foundation was established in 1915 by the father and son team of Charles E. and Charles M. Rogerson. James Longley was the first donor on 1917, giving $4 million. ⁵

In 1960, Boston financier Albert Stone gave $20 million to the foundation. This was used as seed funding for other nonprofits to create “large social justice movements.” It focuses on education health, housing and the arts. ⁵

During the 1980s and 1990s, the foundation established new anti-poverty initiatives. ⁵

In 2001, Paul S. Grogan became president and CEO. ⁵ Under Grogan, the foundation pushed legislative changes on health care, education and housing issues. ⁵

In January 2020, Grogan announced he was stepping down from the position, but would remain until a successor is chosen. The foundation’s chairman of the board of directors, Sandy Edgerley, announced he would conduct a search for a replacement. ⁶

In December 2020, it was announced that Emerson College president Dr. Lee Pelton would take the position of president and CEO of the Boston Foundation.  ⁷ He officially started in the position on June 1, 2021. ⁷

In 2025, the Boston Foundation partnered with the Trust Based Philanthropy Project through their “Meet the moment” initiative. This initiative seeks to bring its supporters together “in solidarity with nonprofits.” The group claims that the political climate could pose risks to nonprofits through reductions in funding, legal concerns, and lack of staff. ⁸

Advocacy Grantmaking

In 2019, the organization donated $5.9 million to various groups in the Boston area, primarily focused on education, health care and the arts. Those included advocacy organizations; it gave $150,000 to the Latino Legacy Fund, to improve education for Latinos in the area and $150,000 to the Equality Fund promoting LGBT issues. ² Boston Foundation has also made substantial grants to national left-progressive organizations, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Center for Reproductive Rights, Environmental Working Group, and Natural Resources Defense Council. ⁴

In 2020, the Boston Foundation worked with the United Way for the COVID-19 Response Fund to award one-time operating grants to non-profits that support the elderly and other vulnerable populations. The fund was set up with the approval of the Boston city government. ⁹

The Boston Foundation teamed with Harvard School of Public Health on a study of high-risk pregnancies in 2019 among immigrant women and health disparities for women based on race and ethnicity. ¹⁰

Less publicized were the political grants to progressive organizations, promoting abortion, gun control and other matters, some outside the Boston area.

Previous grant recipients have include $38,000 to the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts, and separately $25,000 to the national ACLU Foundation in New York, according to the 2017 tax returns. The foundation also gave $100,500 to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State based in Washington; the $10,000 to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions based in Arlington, Virginia; $117,750 to the Center for Reproductive Rights based in New York; $25,000 to the liberal Democracy Now Productions based in New York; $45,750 to Earthjustice based in San Francisco; $350,000 to the Environmental Working Group; $32,750 to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, based in New York; $217,350 to the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts; and another $50,000 to the Planned Parenthood League of Indiana and Kentucky. ¹¹

Leadership

Outgoing president and CEO Paul S. Grogan took over the organization in 2001 and announced his retirement in 2020. During his tenure, the foundation says it has doubled the size of assets to more than $1.3 billion, while also increasing grants to $150 million per year. The foundation says that $1.7 billion of the total $2.1 billion grants made occurred under Grogan. Before working for the Boston Foundation, he was the vice president for government, community and public affairs at Harvard University. Before that, Grogan had jobs under Boston Mayors Kevin H. White (D) and Raymond L. Flynn (D). ¹² Dr. Lee Preston took over the position of President and CEO of the Boston Foundation on June 1, 2021. ⁷ He previously served as president of Emerson College from 2011 to 2021, which followed him serving for 13 years as president of Willamette College in Salem, Oregon. ¹³ In addition, he was named Chairman elected to the board of Trustees for Boston University in April 2022. ¹³

Chairman of the Board of Directors Sandra Edgerley was a management consultant for Bain & Company from 1984 to 1996. She left the company to spend devote full time to raising her children and was engaged in various philanthropy efforts. ¹⁴

Vice president of strategy and operations Stephen Chan has been with the organization since 2004. He was previously an advisor to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D). Chan is a board member of the ACLU of Massachusetts. ¹⁵

Vice president of communications and public affairs Keith Mahoney began with the organization in 2010. He also previously worked for Mayor Menino as director of state relations for the city. Before that, served as the legal counsel for Massachusetts state Sen. Cheryl Jacques, a Democrat who also served as president of the LGBT group Human Rights Campaign. ¹⁶

Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropic Officer Kate Guedj joined the organization in 2000. She was previously an executive at the Massachusetts Barr Association and director of the Massachusetts Barr Fund, its philanthropic arm. ¹⁷

Vice President for Programs Orlando Watkins is a former vice president for Match Education and was a vice president for the Greater New Orleans Foundation. ¹⁸

Financials

According to its 2021 990 form the Boston Foundation reported a revenue of $324,652,362, expenses of $228,370,471, and total assets of $1,673,670,064. ¹⁹