The Great Island Foundation
New York, NY · EIN 13-4049061. Reported 127 grants totalling $14.7M to 83 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. 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". The Great Island 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
3 of the organizations The Great Island Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 5 grants totalling $261,000 to them. That is 3% of the $9,636,000 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.
All of them file Form 990, which never asks whether an organization funds only groups it picks, so there is no answer on record either way.
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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Community Foundation | grantmaking organization | New York | $206,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 | Its form does not ask |
| Fund for the City of New York Inc | community foundation | New York | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 | Its form does not ask |
| Cambridge Community Foundation | community foundation | Massachusetts | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 | 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $50,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $3,000,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Research & Conservation Association (orca) | Vero Beach, FL | $3,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Stichting European Climate Foundation | The Hague | $2,750,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Blue Forest Finance Inc | Sacramento, CA | $1,950,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | $1,500,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Oceans North Conservation Society | Ottawa, Ontario | $750,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sportsmen's Tennis and Enrichment Center | Dorchester Center, MA | $580,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Saint Ann's School | Brooklyn, NY | $460,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Storm King Art Center | New Windsor, NY | $350,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| United Nation Foundation's Climate Alliance | New York, NY | $350,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Kelp Forest Foundation | Zeist | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| New York Botanical Garden | Bronx, NY | $275,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Conservation International Foundation | Arlington, VA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brooklyn Community Foundation | Brooklyn, NY | $206,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Kasiisi Project | Cambridge, MA | $186,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, MA | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Noguchi Museum | Queens, NY | $162,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Rewild | Austin, TX | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Land Core | Los Angeles, CA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cambridge Center for Adult Education | Cambridge, MA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Food Link | Arlington, MA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Discalced Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $60,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program | Azusa, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Native Renewables Inc | Flagstaff, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Neo Philanthropy | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fund for the City of New York | New York, NY | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Theatre for a New Audience | Brooklyn, NY | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation | Hyannis, MA | $31,000 | 4 | 3 | 2022 |
| Brooklyn Public Library | Brooklyn, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $27,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Heights and Hills | Brooklyn, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Cambridge Community Foundation | Cambridge, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Edvestors | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Medico | Georgetown, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Community Servings | Jamaica Plain, MA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| On the Rise | Cambridge, MA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Pine Street Inn | Boston, MA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Propublica | New Yok, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| 564 Park Avenue Preservation Foundation | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Beacon Academy | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Black Women Build | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Brooklyn Community Bail Fund | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Democracy North Carolina | Morrisville, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Every Campus a Refuge | Greensboro, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (actblue Charities) | Orlando, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement | Des Moine, IA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Neo Philantrophy Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New Florida Majority Education Fund | Miami, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New Georgia Project Inc (actblue Charities) | Atlanta, GA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Office of College Advancement Bates College | Lewiston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Pennsylvania Voice | Philadelphia, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Power | Philadelphia, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Respond Crisis Translation | San Franciso, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Brooklyn Academy of Music | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Family Pantry of Cape Cod | Harwich, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Y2Y Harvard Square | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Charles River Conservancy | Cambridge, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Cambridge Public Library | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| City Squash | The Bronx, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Common Justice | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Consumer Reports Inc | Yonkers, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Cora Dance | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Emerge Ct Inc | New Haven, CT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| New School of Music | New Yok, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ralph Lowell Society | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Read 718 | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Seachange Capital Partners | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Cambridge School of Weston | Weston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Campaign Against Hunger | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Union of Concerned Scientists | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wbur | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | Woods Hole, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Buckingham Browne & Nichols School | Cambridge, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Community Rowing Inc | Brighton, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Connecticut College Fund | New London, CT | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Fessenden School | Newton, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mass Poetry | Boston, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Chidrens Hospital Trust | Boston, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Flatbush Development Corp | Brooklyn, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kings Against Violence Initiative | Brooklyn, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mount Auburn Hospital | Cambridge, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
29 of 83 (35%) 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 32%, across 4 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 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.
- Ocean Research & Conservation Association (orca)
DEDICATED TO PROTECT AND RESTORE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS AND SPECIES SUSTAIN THROUGH SCIENCE-BASED CONSERVATION ACTION. - Blue Forest Finance Inc
TO ACCELERATE ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION THROUGH CONSERVATION FINANCE, ENABLING CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES. - The Stichting European Climate Foundation
PIE AMERICAS PROGRAMME - TRANSITION TO RENEWABLES AND PHASE OUT OF COAL, OIL & GAS - New Venture Fund
ALASKA'S TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST: LAND, CLIMATE, AND THE FUTURE - United Nation Foundation's Climate Alliance
CHARITABLE GENERAL PURPOSE - The Kelp Forest Foundation
BLUE CARBON SEDIMENT STUDY
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 81 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 | 68 | $1,953,000 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | 31 | $1,667,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 16 | $1,800,000 | $37,500 |
| 2023 | 7 | $3,000,000 | $250,000 |
| 2024 | 5 | $6,300,000 | $1,000,000 |
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
26% of its giving went to organizations in Florida.
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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 The Great Island Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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: 115 East 69TH Street, New York, NY, 10021. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 13-4049061 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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