The Albert J Gifford Charitable Trust
Worcester, MA · EIN 04-6023790. Reported 42 grants totalling $537,062 to 28 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. 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. The Albert J Gifford Charitable Trust 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 $20,000; the smallest was $27 and the largest $35,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Way of Central Massachusetts | Worcester, MA | $85,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA | $80,000 | 3 | 2 | 2024 |
| First Congregational Church | Shrewsbury, MA | $71,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute-Wpi | Worcester, MA | $65,000 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Way of Centeral Massachusetts | Worcester, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Worcester Art Museum | Worcester, MA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jeremiah's Inn | Worcester, MA | $17,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Worcester | Worcester, MA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friendly House Inc | Worcester, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Music Worcester Inc | Worcester, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Regional Environmental Council Steven Fischer | Worcester, MA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Abbey Kelley Foster | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| African Community Education (ace) | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity Metro Westgreater Worcester | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mustard Seed Catholic Worker Commun | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Shrewsbury Public Library | Shrewsbury, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Worcester Historical Museum | Worcester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mcauley Nazareth Home for Boys Sonya Abdien | Leicester, MA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Reach Out and Read Inc | Boston, MA | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Shrewsbury Public Library Mary Casey | Shrewsbury, MA | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester Pingsheng Chen | Worcester, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mab Community Services-Massachusett | Brookline, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Open Sky Community Services | Worcester, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dismas House of Massachusetts Inc | Worcester, MA | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| India Society of Worcester (isw) Puneet Kohli | Shrewsbury, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| From Multiple K-1'S | Worcester, MA | $35 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| From Multiple K-1S | Worcester, MA | $27 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
8 of 28 (29%) 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 38%, 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.
- United Way of Central Massachusetts
TO RESPOND TO NEEDS AND POSITION OUR - Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NEW PLEDGE FOR 100,000 PD OVER 4 YR - First Congregational Church
1) 7,920 THE CONSERVATION TREATMENT - Worcester Art Museum
SUPPORT OF THE NEXT CRITICAL PHASE O - Music Worcester Inc
DIGITIZATION OF AUDIO ARCHIVES AND/O - Worcester Polytechnic Institute-Wpi
DURING 12/21/20 DISTRIBUTION MEETING
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 13 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 | 10 | $136,035 | $13,000 |
| 2022 | 8 | $130,000 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 13 | $131,027 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 11 | $140,000 | $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.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. The Albert J Gifford Charitable Trust has 2 of them, worth $65,000. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA | $50,000 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute-Wpi | Worcester, MA | $15,000 |
Where its money goes
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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 The Albert J Gifford Charitable Trust'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: 100 Front Street 5TH Floor, Worcester, MA, 01608. 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 04-6023790 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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