Funders › Massachusetts

The Keel Foundation

Boston, MA · EIN 04-3166698. Reported 67 grants totalling $1,334,650 to 28 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$15,000median grant
$1,334,650granted, 2021-2025
28recipients, as named on its returns
56%of grantees funded again the next year
$4,116,753assets, latest filing

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 Keel Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $15,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $20,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $125,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
11 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
13 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
27 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
11 grants
$100,000 and Up
5 grants

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Concord Hospital TrustConcord, NH$310,550332023
HadassahNew York, NY$250,000442025
Kerem ShalomConcord, MA$113,000442025
Clover Foundation IncConcord, MA$80,000442025
Open Table IncConcord, MA$80,000442025
National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyWaltham, MA$70,000442025
Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra C/O Chris MegaMeredith, NH$58,000442025
18 DoorsNatick, MA$56,800442025
Catholic Charities New Hampshire Nancy MellittManchester, NH$40,000112023
Jewish Family & Children's ServicesWaltham, MA$35,000332025
Massachusetts General Hospital for Home Base ProgramBoston, MA$30,000222023
Malala FundPhiladelphia, PA$26,000112023
Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston IncBoston, MA$25,000442025
World Central Kitchen IncWashington, DC$25,000112022
Prescott Conservancy Inc Attn Phoebe Vanscoy-GiesslerLaconia Nh, NH$20,000222025
Ukraine Crisis Aid GoupGilford, NH$15,600112025
Bay State Brawlers Roller Derby IncFitchburg, MA$15,000112022
Buddy Dog Humane SocietySudbury, MA$15,000442025
Metrowest Legal Services IncFramingham, MA$15,000222023
Jewishgen IncNew York, NY$12,200332025
Alzheimer's AssociationSouthington, CT$10,000222024
Bay Chamber Concerts Josie DavisRockport, ME$10,000112023
HiasSilver Springs, MD$5,000112024
New Hampshire Catholic Charities IncManchester, NH$5,000112021
Reproductive Freedom for All FoundationsWashington, DC$5,000222025
Naral Pro Choice AmericaWashington, DC$4,000222023
Zoo New EnglandBoston, MA$2,500112021
United Way of Tri-County Inc Attn Paul MinaFramingham, MA$1,000112021

18 of 28 (64%) 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 56%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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 36 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.

Human Services
5 grants
Animal Welfare
5 grants
Food & Nutrition
4 grants
Housing & Shelter
4 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
4 grants
Religion
4 grants
Health Care
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202116$385,000$12,500
20224$160,550$20,000
202318$513,500$20,000
202415$125,400$5,000
202514$150,200$12,500

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

40% 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.

Massachusetts
$538K
New Hampshire
$449K
New York
$262K
District of Columbia
$34K
Pennsylvania
$26K
Maine
$10K
Connecticut
$10K
Maryland
$5K

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund14 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc13 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust11 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program10 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc10 shared recipientsThe Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc8 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $15,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Massachusetts.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Foundations funding human services in MassachusettsEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding animal welfare in New YorkEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Keel Foundation'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: One Post Office Square, Boston, MA, 02109. 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 04-3166698 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.