Nancy & Maurice Lazarus Fund
Boston, MA · EIN 04-6039456. Reported 310 grants totalling $268,850 to 92 recipients across tax years 2020-2023. 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. Nancy & Maurice Lazarus Fund 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 $500. Half of everything it gave fell between $300 and $1,000; the smallest was $100 and the largest $17,500. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenway High School | Boston, MA | $28,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| American Civil Liberties Union | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America | Washington, DC | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| WGBH | Boston, MA | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Lesley University Jill Lazarus Eurich Endowment | Cambridge Street, MA | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Medicines Sans Frontieres | New York, NY | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Partners in Health | Boston, MA | $6,750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Brandeis University Lee Scott Rachman Scholarship Fund | Waltham, MA | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mass Law Reform Institute | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Outer Cape Health Center | Harwich, MA | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | Montgomery, AL | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wbur | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Pine Street Inn | Boston, MA | $4,750 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Save the Children Federation Inc | Fairfield, CT | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Amnesty International | New York, NY | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Brandeis University Annual Fund | Waltham, MA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Dana Faber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Equal Justice Initiative | Montgomery, AL | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Atlanta, GA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| International Fund for Animal Welfare | Yarmouthport, MD | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Lawyers for Civil Rights | Boston, MA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mass General Hospital | Boston, MA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Rosie's Place | Boston, MA | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Unhcr | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, MA | $3,750 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| The Marfan Foundation | Port Washington, NY | $3,750 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Huntington Theater Company | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| NAACP Legal Defense Fund | New York, NY | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Newton Wellesley Hospital | Newton, MA | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Water Compass | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Aspcmspca | Jamaica Plain, MA | $2,750 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Cape Cod Modern House Trust | South Wellfleet, MA | $2,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Beth Israel Lahey Health | Boston, MA | $2,250 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Atrium School | Watertown, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Center for Coastal Studies | Provincetown, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Compassion and Choices | Etna, NH | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Lower Cape Outreach Council | Orleans, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mt Auburn Hospital | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Oxfam | Boston, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Rice University School of Architecture | Houston, TX | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Shady Hill School | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| St Joseph's Neighborhood Center | Rochester, NY | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| The Food Project | Lincoln, NH | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Conservation Trust | Wellfleet, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Food Pantry | Wellfllet, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Public Library | Wellfleet, MA | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT | $2,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Visiting Nurses of Cape Cod | Provincetown, MA | $1,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| De Novo | Cambridge, MA | $1,250 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Boston Baroque | Boston, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Project Bread | Boston, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| The Farm School | Athol, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Truro Center for the Arts | Truro, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater | Wellfleet, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Historical Society | Wellfleet, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Preservation Hall | Wellfleet, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Wellfleet Senior Center | Wellfleet, MA | $1,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Provincetown Soup Kitchen | Boston, MA | $1,150 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Trustees of Reservations | Boston, MA | $1,150 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| National Trust for Historic Preservation | Washington, DC | $1,050 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Maryland Institute College of Art | Baltimore, MD | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mass Audbon | Lincoln, MA | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Medicines Sans Frontieres | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Salisbury School | Salisbury, CT | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Special Olympics | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Posse Foundation | New York, NY | $900 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Boston Partners in Education | Boston, MA | $800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Carroll School for the Blind | Newton, MA | $800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Home for Little Wanderers | Boston, MA | $800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Watertown Cooperative Nursery School | Watertown, MA | $800 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Bowdoin Street Health Center | Dorchester, MA | $750 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wild Care Cape Cod | Eastham, MA | $750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Newton Free Library | Newton, MA | $600 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Symphony Space | New York, NY | $600 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Uaspire | Boston, MA | $600 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Usaspire | Boston, MA | $600 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Boston Healthcare for the Homeless | Boston, MA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Visting Nurses of Cape Cod | Hyannis, MA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Northeastern University School of Law | Boston, MA | $400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Herring River | Wellfleet, MA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| More Than Words | Boston, MA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New England Aquarium | Boston, MA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New England Wildlife Association | South Weymouth, MA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wildcare Cape Cod | Eastham, MA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kind Kids in Need of Defense | Washington, DC | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kind Kids in Need of Desks | New York, NY | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Newton Free Lbrary | Newton, MA | $200 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Sitters for Scholars | Boston, MA | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
79 of 92 (86%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 97%, across 3 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 159 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 | 71 | $62,050 | $500 |
| 2021 | 76 | $62,000 | $500 |
| 2022 | 78 | $79,000 | $500 |
| 2023 | 85 | $65,800 | $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
69% 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 $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 Nancy & Maurice Lazarus Fund's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). 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: C/O Fiduciary Trust Co Po Box 5, Boston, MA, 02205. 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 04-6039456 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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