East Cambridge Savings Charitable
East Cambridge, MA · EIN 04-3399319. Reported 124 grants totalling $518,550 to 85 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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. East Cambridge Savings Charitable 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 $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $200 and the largest $122,500. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants & Contributions Paid | East Cambridge, MA | $122,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Arlington Eats | Arlington, MA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Greenroots Inc | Chelsea, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Homeowners Rehab Inc | Cambridge, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Mystic Valley Elder Services | Malden, MA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Chelsea Restoration Corporation | Chelsea, MA | $16,500 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bread of Life | Malden, MA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Cambridge YMCA | Cambridge, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Adolescent Consultation Services | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Community Center | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Somerville Cambridge Elder Services | Somerville, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cambridge Camping Association | Cambridge, MA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cambridge YMCA - Youth at Risk Fitness Program | Cambridge, MA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Children's Room | Arlington, MA | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Massachusetts Assisted Living Association Inc | Waltham, MA | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mystic Valley YMCA | Malden, MA | $6,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Community Learning Center | Cambridge, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Triangle Inc | Malden, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cambridge Matignon School | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cambridge Public Libarary Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Canbridge Public Library Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Action Agency of Somerville | Somerville, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Belmont Education | Belmont, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| La Coloborativa Inc | Chelsea, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lexington Interfaith Outreach Food Pantry Inc | Lexington, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mystic Valley YMCA - Malden | Malden, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| North Suburban YMCA | Woburn, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Somerville Community Corporation | Somerville, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Neighborhood Developers | Chelsea, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Triangle Inc - Annual Award Ceremony | Malden, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Triangle Inc Malden | Malden, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Umass Boston | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 3 | 1 | 2022 |
| YMCA of Greater Boston North Suburbanymca | Woburn, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Lesley University | Cambridge, MA | $4,500 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Jordan Boys and Girld Club - Chelsea | Chelsea, MA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless | Lynn, MA | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bridges Homeward | Cambridge, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chelsea Rotary Club | Chelsea, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Community Cooks | Somerville, MA | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Community Learning Center | Cambridge, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Umass Lowell | Lowell, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Massachusetts - Boston | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Watch Inc | Waltham, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| East End House | Cambridge, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Housing Corporation of Arlington | Arlington, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Jordan Boys & Girls Club | Chelsea, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mass Ala Association | Waltham, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northeastern University | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Somerville YMCA | Somerville, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Somerville Young Men's Chrisian Association | Somerville, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Masacchusettes Coalition for the Homeless | Lynn, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Salvation Army Chelseaeast Boston | Chelsea, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Waltham Family YMCA | Waltham, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Waltham YMCA | Waltham, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Second Chances | Somerville, MA | $2,200 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Lynn | Lynn, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Lynn | Lynn, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mass-Assited Living Association | Waltham, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rotary Club of Chelsea Camp - Rotary Project | Chelsea, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Massachusetts -Amherst | Boston, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bridges Homeward - Art Spears Fund 2025 | Cambridge, MA | $1,750 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Bunker Hill Community College | Boston, MA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cambridge Family & Children's Services | Cambridge, MA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fisher College | Boston, MA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pace University | New York, NY | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Umass Amherst | Amherst, MA | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Arlington Education Foundation | Arlington, MA | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Arts at the Armory | Somerville, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Baylor University - | Waco, TX | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Joseph Vinard Scholarship Fund | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Regis College | Weston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Simmons University | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Solution at Work Inc | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Solutions at Work Inc | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Suffolk University | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell | Lowell, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Universuty of Califonia (ucla) | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Camp Rotary Inc | Marblehead, MA | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Chelsea Rotary Camp | Boxford, MA | $800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
22 of 85 (26%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 14%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 56 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | $139,800 | $2,000 |
| 2022 | 48 | $145,300 | $2,500 |
| 2023 | 11 | $35,700 | $3,500 |
| 2024 | 1 | $122,500 | $122,500 |
| 2025 | 19 | $75,250 | $5,000 |
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
99% 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 $2,500. 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 East Cambridge Savings Charitable's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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: 292 Cambridge Street, East Cambridge, MA, 02141. 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 04-3399319 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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