Northern Bank & Trust Charitable Foundation Inc
Woburn, MA · EIN 46-1606139. Reported 141 grants totalling $2,370,606 to 94 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. Northern Bank & Trust Charitable Foundation Inc 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $12,500; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $251,726. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heading Home | Boston, MA | $833,106 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Nashoba Learning Group | Bedford, MA | $172,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| National Brain Tumor Society | Newton, MA | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Ron Burton Training Village Inc | Hubbardston, MA | $81,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Joy in Childhood Foundation | Canton, MA | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Woburn | Woburn, MA | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Club Woburn | Woburn, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts Inc | Acton, MA | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cradles to Crayons | Newton, MA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Dunkin Joy in Childhood Foundation | Canton, MA | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| YMCA of Greater Boston | Boston, MA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership Inc (mvhp) | Lowell, MA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Minuteman Senior Services | Bedford, MA | $32,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Grtr Lowell | Lowell, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership Inc | Lowell, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Mission of Deeds | Reading, MA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Birthday Wishes | Natick, MA | $27,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Raising a Reader Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Sudbury Community Food Pantry | Sudbury, MA | $22,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Boston College Public Interest Law Foundation | Newton, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica | Billerica, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement of Grtr Boston | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Rise Above Foundation | Northbridge, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Second Chances Inc | Somerville, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Woburn Host Lions Charities Inc | Woburn, MA | $16,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Community Teamwork Inc | Lowell, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Foundation to Be Named Later | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Metro Housing Boston | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mystic Valley Elder Services | Malden, MA | $15,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| People Helping People Inc | Burlington, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| First Congregational Church | Stoneham, MA | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lowell Transitional Living Center | Lowell, MA | $13,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro North | Stoneham, MA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell | Westford, MA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Hope and Comfort Inc | Needham, MA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Nupath Inc | Woburn, MA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Chesterbrook Community Foundation | Waltham, MA | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Acton Comm Supper Food Pantry | Boxborough, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Billerica | Billerica, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Central Boston Elder Services | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Council of Social Concern | Woburn, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Joslin Diabetes Center Inc | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Junior Achievement of Greater Boston | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement of Northern New England | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Just a Start | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lawrence Community Works Inc | Lawrence, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Merrimack Valley Food Bank Inc | Lowell, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Neighborhood of Affordable Housing Noah | East Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Corey C Griffin Charitable Foundation | Framingham, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Woburn Council of Social Concern | Woburn, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Woburn Public Library | Woburn, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Community Coalition of Melrose Inc | Melrose, MA | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| South Middlesex Opportunity Council | Framingham, MA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| City Kids | Allston, MA | $6,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| YMCA of Metro North-Melrose | Melrose, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Women's Money Matters (fka Budget Buddies Inc) | Boston, MA | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massmetrowest | Worcester, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boston Impact Initiative Fund | Jamacia Plain, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Centre Street Food Pantry | Newton, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Comfort Zone Camp | Richmond, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community Cooks | Somerville, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Daniel's Table | Framingham, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Gifts of Hope Unlimited Inc | Sudbury, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Girls Inc of Greater Lowell | Lowell, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Greater Framingham Community Church | Framingham, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Hopesudbury | Sudbury, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Local Initiatives Support Corporation | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Melrose Farmers Market | Melrose, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnr | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pan Mass Challenge | Nedham, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Senior Center Friends of Stoneham Inc | Stoneham, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Smile Mass Inc | Sudbury, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Student Financial Educational Initiative | North Andover, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Food Drive | Melrose, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Town of Chelmsford Scholarship Fund | Lowell, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Womens Money Matters Inc | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Habitat for Humanity Metrowest | Worcester, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Joey Domenici Foundation | Woburn, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Lazarus House Ministries | Lawrence, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| New England Center and Home for Veterans | Boston, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ascension Career Training Inc | Middleborough, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Metrowest | Marlborough, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield | Stoneham, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dignity Matters Inc | Framingham, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Disabled and Limbless Veterans | Burlington, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kids in Tech | Lowell, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Project Kompass | North Chelmsford, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Elizabeth Peabody House | Somerville, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Town of Reading | Reading, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| YMCA of Metro North | Melrose, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass & Metrowest | Worcester, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Noahs Way Inc | Wakefield, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Salvation Army Massachusetts | Canton, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
28 of 94 (30%) 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 55%, 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 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.
- Heading Home
Assist low-income families in Middlesex County in need of housing - Boys & Girls Club Woburn
Support low to moderate income children - Nashoba Learning Group
Support individuals with autism and their families - Boston College Public Interest Law Foundation
The Hillinger Fund - Public Interest Legacy Fund - Junior Achievement of Greater Boston
Financial education for low-moderate income students - Woburn Council of Social Concern
Assist low-income families in need with food insecurity
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 92 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 | 11 | $260,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 29 | $475,380 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 37 | $664,726 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 63 | $965,500 | $10,000 |
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
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 $10,000. 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 Northern Bank & Trust Charitable Foundation Inc'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: 275 Mishawum Rd, Woburn, MA, 01801. 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 46-1606139 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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