Shah Charitable Foundation
Boston, MA · EIN 81-5082563. Reported 74 grants totalling $6,424,614 to 61 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation told the IRS it does not accept unsolicited requests: it contributes only to organizations it selects itself.
Does this foundation accept applications?
No -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation to check a box if it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds". Shah Charitable Foundation checked it on its most recent filing, as 78% of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered did. An unsolicited request is unlikely to go anywhere.
Organizations it funds that make grants of their own
5 of the organizations Shah Charitable Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 6 grants totalling $1,063,025 to them. That is 34% of the $3,158,557 of its giving we could match to a registered organization. Each is classified by the IRS as a philanthropy or grantmaking organization, reported grants to at least 25 organizations of its own, and has at least 10 funders behind it.
1 of them file Form 990-PF and did not check the box saying it funds only organizations it picks. The other 4 file Form 990, which never asks, so for those there is no answer on record either way. The last column says which is which.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application to any of them reaches this foundation's money. A private foundation's grant to a community foundation or a federated campaign is often a donor-advised fund or a gift designated for a purpose the foundation chose, and has nothing to do with any open programme the receiving organization runs. Its return's purpose text sometimes names a family fund or a designated purpose, which is the plainest case of money no applicant can reach; where it names none, neither return says which. The list is who this foundation paid that also makes grants. Whether any of them would fund you is a question for its own page.
| Grantmaker | Kind | State | Received | Grants | Years | Last | Only funds organizations it picks? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc | grantmaking organization | Colorado | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| The New England Patriots Charitable | grantmaking organization | Massachusetts | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 | No, on its 990-PF |
| Boston Foundation Inc | community foundation | Massachusetts | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 | Its form does not ask |
| Philanthropy Massachusetts Inc | federated giving programme | Massachusetts | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Golf Fights Cancer Inc | grantmaking organization | Massachusetts | $525 | 1 | 1 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
A floor, not a full list. A grantmaker appears here only where this foundation's return named it clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows, and only where that grantmaker has a page on this site. There may be more. Dollars here are summed by EIN across every spelling on its returns, so a figure can differ from the matching row in the full list below, which groups names as written. And the IRS classification cannot tell a grantmaker from a funders' association or a donor-advised fund sponsor, so a payment to one of these may be dues or an account rather than support for a grants programme.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $3,954. Half of everything it gave fell between $500 and $25,000; the smallest was $100 and the largest $1,300,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Chelsea | Chelsea, MA | $1,300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston, MA | $1,300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Schwab Charitable Fund | Orlando, FL | $1,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| I2 Learning Foundation | New York, NY | $425,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Barack Obama Foundation | Chicago, IL | $350,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Ednavigator Inc | New Orleans, LA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Massachusetts Wonderfund Inc | Newton, MA | $100,614 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Providence College | Providence, RI | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| City of Boston | Boston, MA | $96,685 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Eliot Innovation School | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Emergency Assistance Foundation | West Palm Beach, FL | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Museum of Fine Arts | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New England Patriots Foundation | Foxborough, MA | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Teacher Collaborative | Somerville, MA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $25,875 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boston Schools Fund | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Boston Foundation | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boston Medical Center | Boston, MA | $22,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bagly Inc | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Missionsafe | Dorchester, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vincent Club | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Inner Explorer | Franklin, MA | $12,600 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Achilles International | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boston Public Schools | Roxbury, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Heritage Museums & Gardens | Sandwich, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Inner-City Scholarship Fund | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pathways for Children | Gloucster, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Whittier Street Health Center | Roxbury, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Yuvaan Tiwari Foundation | Atlanta, GA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boston Education Development Fund | Roxbury, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Indiaspora | San Francisco, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rehearsal for Life | Jamiaca Plain, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rosies Place | Providence, RI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pan Mass Challenge | Needham, MA | $3,839 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Massinc | Boston, MA | $2,909 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cranberry Sunset Farm | Marston Mills, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Philanthropy Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United South End Settlements | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA | $1,170 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | Rye Brook, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Waltham Partnership for Youth | Atlanta, GA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation | Hyannis, MA | $819 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Project Bread | East Boston, MA | $765 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation | Carmel, IN | $700 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Innercity Weigthtlifting | Boston, MA | $675 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Golf Fights Cancer | Norton, MA | $525 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| March of Dimes | Arlington, VA | $518 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Family Reach Foundation | Boston, MA | $505 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Aidslifecycle | San Francisco, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Christina Noble Childrens Foundation | Tallahassee, FL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| West End House | Carmel, IN | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Falmouth Road Race Inc | Falmouth, MA | $273 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| With Hope | Placentia, CA | $265 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics | Austin, TX | $264 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Walk With Hope | Hyannis, MA | $263 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| City of Hope | Duarte, CA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Movember | Santa Monica, CA | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Multiple Sclerosis Society | Denver, CO | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mental Health America | Alexandria, VA | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
8 of 61 (13%) 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 23%, 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, and this foundation told the IRS it does not.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 42 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 | 13 | $1,870,248 | $2,909 |
| 2022 | 30 | $4,219,898 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 21 | $258,623 | $1,000 |
| 2024 | 10 | $75,845 | $509 |
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
50% of its giving went to organizations in Massachusetts.
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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. Unlike this foundation, none of them is on record as funding only organizations it picks, and each page says what its filings show.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Shah Charitable Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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: 31 Saint James Av 740, Boston, MA, 02116. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 81-5082563 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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