Boston Baptist Social Union
Medford, MA · EIN 04-6034977. Reported 226 grants totalling $6,961,901 to 69 recipients across tax years 2020-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Boston Baptist Social Union did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $17,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $30,000; the smallest was $340 and the largest $376,125. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts | Groton, MA | $1,298,305 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Baptist Multi-Cultural Ministries | Lexington, MA | $980,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Ruggles Baptist Church | Boston, MA | $381,431 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Mass Baptist Multicultural Ministires | Lowell, MA | $255,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Messiah Baptist Church | Brockton, MA | $234,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church - Lynn | Lynn, MA | $220,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| First Nepali Baptist Church of Somerville | Somerville, MA | $210,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain | Jamaica Plain, MA | $194,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Boston Missionary Baptist Community Center | Roxbury, MA | $191,250 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Christian Youth Conference at Ocean Park Inc | New Bedford, MA | $189,800 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Overseas Burmese Christion Fellowship | Boston, MA | $184,600 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Calvary Baptist Church of Lowell | Lowell, MA | $180,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| The Boston Project Ministries | Dorchester, MA | $174,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of Medford | Medford, MA | $161,740 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Lowell International Church | Lowell, MA | $151,900 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Seafarer's Friend | Chelsea, MA | $150,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Emmanuel Gospel Center | Boston, MA | $130,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Twelfth Baptist Church | Roxbury, MA | $121,800 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| United Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain | Jamaica Plain, MA | $115,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Miracle Mile Ministries | Boston, MA | $107,375 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Uniteboston | Dorchester, MA | $101,900 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Outdoor Church of Cambridge | Harvard, MA | $101,500 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Boston Black Church Vitality | Boston, MA | $100,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| All Hands in-Trinity Baptist Church | Arlington, MA | $91,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Young Life Boston | Boston, MA | $90,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of West Townsend | West Townsend, MA | $83,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| City Mission Society of Boston | Boston, MA | $77,750 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| First Baptist Church of Rockport | Rockport, MA | $60,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Boston Trinity Academy | Boston, MA | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| City Strings United | Roxbury, MA | $40,500 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| First Nepali Baptist Church of Malden | Malden, MA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Project Manna Mass Avenue Baptist Church | Cambridge, MA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Compass Point Ministries | Abington, MA | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Fbc of Wakefield | Wakefield, MA | $24,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Boy With a Ball | Boston, MA | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Fbc Bedford | Bedford, MA | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Communities Together Inc | Lawrence, MA | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of Needham | Needham, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Iglesia Bautista Hispanoamericano De Boston | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Tedl-Tabernacle Evangelique De Louange | Lynn, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Remember Those in Captivity Ministries Inc | Brighton, MA | $19,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| First Baptist Church of Danvers | Danvers, MA | $18,300 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Open Hearts Ministries Inc | Haverhill, MA | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| CASA Nueva Vida Inc | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| David Harp Ministries Inc | Winter Garden, FL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Route One Ministry | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of Framingham | Framingham, MA | $13,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Annie Belmer Tree House | Fitchburg, MA | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fbc of Rowley | Rowley, MA | $11,200 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Amirah | Woburn, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of Ne | Mattapan, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Immigrant Family Services Institute Inc (ifsi-Usa) | Roslindale, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| La Vida Compass | Gloucester, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Zion Baptist Church Everett | Everett, MA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Bloom a Place for Girls | Brockton, MA | $6,850 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| First Calvary Baptist Church | North Andover, MA | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Beth Eden Baptist Church | Fitchburg, ME | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| First Calvary Baptist Church North Andover | North Andover, MA | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of Rowley | Rowley, MA | $5,400 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Baptist Church All Nations | Taunton, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Fbc Scituate | Scituate, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| New Galilee Full Gospel Community Worship Center | Lynn, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ruth's Way | East Boston, ME | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Time for Change Ministry | Lawrence, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| North Billerica Baptist Church | North Billerica, MA | $3,800 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| First Baptist Church of Hingham | Hingham, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| First Baptist Church of Wakefield | Wakefield, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Baptist Church of All Nations | Taunton, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
48 of 69 (70%) received money in more than one year over the 6 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 84%, across 5 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts
TO PROVIDE SUMMER & WINTER CANOEING EXPERIENCES TO INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE, AND SUPPORT TO MULTI CULTURAL MINISTRIES. VETERANS SUPPORT MINISTRIES. - Lowell International Church
FOOD PANTRY AND SOUP KITCHEN - City Mission Society of Boston
PROGRAM SUPPORT FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL, WITH A FOCUS ON HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION. - First Baptist Church of West Townsend
SUPPORT FOR MUSIC MINISTRY FOR ELDERLY AND DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED PERSONS.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 39 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 37 | $1,094,930 | $16,000 |
| 2021 | 34 | $1,177,643 | $18,650 |
| 2022 | 33 | $1,099,082 | $24,500 |
| 2023 | 35 | $1,349,925 | $20,000 |
| 2024 | 43 | $1,073,725 | $16,000 |
| 2025 | 44 | $1,166,596 | $15,500 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
100% of its giving went to organizations in Massachusetts. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $17,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Massachusetts.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Boston Baptist Social Union's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 6 returns (tax years 2020-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 34 Oakland Street, Medford, MA, 02155. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 04-6034977 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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