The Menemsha Family Fund
Chicago, IL · EIN 36-4267729. Reported 204 grants totalling $2,718,000 to 82 recipients across tax years 2023-2025. 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. The Menemsha Family Fund 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 $15,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $104,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center on Budget | Washington, DC | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimack Valley | Boston, MA | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Handel & Haydn Society | Boston, MA | $127,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Boston Childrens Museum | Boston, MA | $111,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Wellesley College Scholarship Fund | Welleseley, MA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Boston Food Bank | Boston, MA | $95,000 | 4 | 3 | 2025 |
| Greater Boston Legal Services | Boston, MA | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| National Abortion Federation | Washington, DC | $85,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Jewish World Service | New York, NY | $70,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Economic Policy Institute | New York, NY | $67,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| West End House Boys & Girls Club | Allston, MA | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| National Employment Law Project | New York, NY | $57,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of Mass | Boston, MA | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| United Way of Central Maryland | Baltimore, MD | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Bridge on Troubled Waters | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Friends of the Children - Boston | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Eastern Mass Abortion Fund | Cambridge, MA | $47,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Guttmacher Institute | New York, NY | $47,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Center for Reproductive Rights | New York, NY | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Law Reform Institute | Boston, MA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| National Women's Law Center | Washington, DC | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Conservation Law Foundation | Boston, MA | $42,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Budget and Policy Ctr | Boston, MA | $42,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| New Israel Fund | Philadelphia, PA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Wellesley College | Welleseley, MA | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Boston Public Library Fund | Boston, MA | $38,000 | 5 | 3 | 2025 |
| ACLU Foundation of Maryland | Baltimore, MD | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Citizens Housing and Planning Assn | Boston, MA | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Planned Parenthood of America | Washington, DC | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Smart From the Start | Roxbury, MA | $37,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Leadership Conference Education Fund | Boston, MA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Mass Advocates for Children | Boston, MA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Center for Law and Social Policy | Washington, DC | $34,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts | Boston, MA | $32,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| NAACP Legal Defense Fund | New York, NY | $32,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Silver Lining Mentoring | Boston, MA | $32,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Roosevelt Institute | New York, NY | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Maryland Center for Economic Policy | Baltimore, MD | $28,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Rosies Place | Boston, MA | $27,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Utec Inc | Lowell, MA | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Pine Street Inn | Boston, MA | $23,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Breaktime | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society | Silver Spring, MD | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lake Tanganyika Floating Hospital | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Legal Defense Fund | New York, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Provide | Round Rock, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Constitutional Rights | New York, NY | $19,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Maryland Food Bank | Baltimore, MD | $19,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Nurtury | Roxbury, MA | $18,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Medical Students for Choice | Philadelphia, PA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Global Fund for Women | San Francisco, CA | $12,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Brennan Center for Justice | New York, NY | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Martha's Vineyard Community Svs | Oak Bluffs, MA | $11,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Mass Immigrants & Refugee Action Coal | Boston, MA | $10,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Employ America | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Protect Our Care Education Fund | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Raising a Reader | Milpitas, CA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Roca | Chelsea, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Parks & People Foundation | Baltimore, MD | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Family Nurturing Center | Medford, OR | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Jews United for Justice | Boston, MA | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Nursing Students for Sex & Repr Health | St Paul, MN | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Environmental League of Mass | Boston, MA | $6,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Community Catalyst | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center | Vineyard Haven, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Reproductive Equity Now-Foundation | Boston, MA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Equality Now | Washington, DC | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wbur | Boston, MA | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Center for Popular Democracy | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Public Enterprise | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Horizons for Homeless Children | Roxbury, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| John and Anna Porter Foundation | Alton Bay, NH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Neighbor to Neighbor | Fort Collins, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| WGBH Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Health Imperatives | Brockton, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Tides for Reproductive Freedom | Holyoke, MA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Citizens Schools | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Project Bread | Boston, MA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Island Crown Initiative | West Tisbury, MA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
67 of 82 (82%) received money in more than one year over the 3 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 86%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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.
- Boston Childrens Museum
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS WERE MADE FOR THE GENERAL, CHARITABLE, EDUCATIONAL OR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE OF EACH ORGANIZATION.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 107 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 68 | $828,000 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 70 | $922,500 | $10,000 |
| 2025 | 66 | $967,500 | $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
57% 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 The Menemsha Family Fund'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: 227 W Monroe St Ste 3750, Chicago, IL, 60606. 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 36-4267729 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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