The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation is the independent philanthropic arm of Cabot-Wellington LLC, an investment management firm from Boston. The foundation gives grants to organizations such as the Tides Foundation, American Near East Refugees, Young Women Empowered, and Multifaith Alliance. The foundation states it has four main areas of giving: cultures and humanities, education and youth, conservation and environment, and health and human services. All grantees must be sponsored by a member of the Cabot family. ^{1 2 3}

History

The foundation was created in 1992 by Thomas D. Cabot and his wife Virginia Wellington Cabot. ⁴

Grantmaking

Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation granted more than $1.8 million in 2021. These were split $170,000 for culture and humanities, $474,500 for education and youth, $425,000 for conservation and environment, nearly $700,000 for health and human services, and nearly $50,000 for matching grants. Grants for the purpose of culture and humanities typically go to film and theatre. Grants for the purpose of education and youth typically go to schools and libraries. ⁵

Conservation and Environment

The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation spent $425,000 on conservation and environmental causes in 2021. Three key grantees are Keep America Beautiful which received $35,000; the Nature Conservancy of Vermont, Colorado, and Maine which received $65,000; and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility which received $30,000. Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit which focuses on conservation through recycling and litter cleaning. ⁶ The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit which focuses on conservation through expanding weather dependent energy sources, like wind turbines and solar panels. ⁷ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is a nonprofit which asserts the United States benefits from an inclusive and accountable government workforce. ⁸

Health and Human Services

The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation spent nearly $700,000 on health and human service grants in 2021. Two important grantees are the Multifaith Alliance which received $45,000 and the Tides Foundation which received over $320,000.  The Multifaith Alliance is a nonprofit which advocates for policies which allow Syrian refugees to live in the United States. ⁹ The Tides Foundation is a multi-billion-dollar nonprofit which advocates for LGBT causes, abortion access, wind and solar energy sources, feminist ideologies, and voting rights. ¹⁰

1. “Mission.” Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://apply.vwcfoundation.org/.
2. “The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation.” The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation | Boston, MA | Cause IQ. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/virginia-wellington-cabot-fndtn-tr-121692-thomas-d,046728351/.
3. “Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation | to Benefit Mankind through The …” VWCFoundation.org. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://apply.vwcfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWCF-2021-Annual-Report.pdf.
4. “Mission.” Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://apply.vwcfoundation.org/.
5. “Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation | to Benefit Mankind through The …” VWCFoundation.org. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://apply.vwcfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWCF-2021-Annual-Report.pdf.
6. Vrydaghs, McCall. “Keep America Beautiful.” Keep America Beautiful, October 31, 2023. https://kab.org/.
7. “Our Goals for 2030.” The Nature Conservancy. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/.
8. “About Peer – Protecting Public Employees.” PEER.org, June 30, 2023. https://peer.org/about-us/.
9. “Who We Are.” Multifaith Alliance. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://multifaithalliance.org/who-we-are/.
10. “The Tides Approach.” Tides, November 3, 2023. https://www.tides.org/approach/.