The Rands Foundation
Westwood, MA · EIN 87-0757900. Reported 199 grants totalling $5,270,000 to 85 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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 Rands 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
4 of the organizations The Rands Foundation funded make grants themselves, and it reported 10 grants totalling $260,000 to them. That is 6% of the $4,336,000 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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Foundation for Metrowest Inc | community foundation | Massachusetts | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 | Its form does not ask |
| Wellington Management Foundation | federated giving programme | Massachusetts | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 | Its form does not ask |
| Martin W Richard Charitable Foundation Inc | grantmaking organization | Massachusetts | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | Its form does not ask |
| The Philanthropy Connection Inc | grantmaking organization | Massachusetts | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 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 $20,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $30,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $250,000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esperanza Academy | Lawrence, MA | $410,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester Inc | Dorchester, MA | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ceres Inc | Boston, MA | $235,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Doctors Without Borders | New York, NY | $215,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Trustees of Reservations | Boston, MA | $210,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Wildlife Conservation Society | Bronx, NY | $210,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Audubon Society | Lincoln, MA | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Silver Lining Mentoring | Boston, MA | $175,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Blessed Stephen Bellesini Osa Academy Inc | Lawrence, MA | $160,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Connecticut College | New London, CT | $130,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Metrowest | Natick, MA | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Catie's Closet | Dracut, MA | $120,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Project Citizenship | Boston, MA | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Vietnam Health Improvement Project | Denver, CO | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Louis D Brown Peace Institute | Dorchester, MA | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Oxfam-America | Boston, MA | $105,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Beacon Academy | Boston, MA | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Brunswick School | Greenwich, CT | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Higher Achievement Program | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nativity Preparatory School of New Bedford | New Bedford, MA | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Spark the Wave | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| World Central Kitchens | Washington, DC | $95,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| First Parish in Needham | Needham, MA | $92,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| World Resources Institute | Washington, DC | $85,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Round the Bend Farm | Dartmouth, MA | $80,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Center for Reproductive Rights | New York, NY | $75,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Wellington Management Foundation | Boston, MA | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $75,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boston Debate League | Boston, MA | $65,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Generic Ministry | Needham, MA | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bellesini Academy | Lawrence, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Martin W Richard Charitable Foundation Inc | Dorchester, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nativity School of Worcester | Worcester, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Second Nature Inc (aka Nature Conservancy) | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | $47,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Westwood Community Chest | Westwood, MA | $45,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Zack Heger Foundation | Norwell, MA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Global Spokes | Atlanta, GA | $37,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Doug Flutie JR Foundation for Autism Inc | Framingham, MA | $35,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dedham Country Day School | Dedham, MA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Helping Hands Monkey Helpers for the Disabled | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Saint Catherine of Siena | Norwood, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boston Health Care for the Homeless | Boston, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hope Inc | New London, CT | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Hale Education | Westwood, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| International Rescue Committee | New York City, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| One Voice | Santa Monica, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Save the Children | Fairfield, CT | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Latin American Youth Center | Washington, DC | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Plummer Youth Promise | Salem, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Judes Children's Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Thrive Scholars | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Addison County Community Action Group Inc (hope) | Middlebury, VT | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boston Uncornered | Dorchester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| City Blossoms | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Dana Farber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| First Parish Dorchester | Dorchester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hebrew College | Newton, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress | Burlington, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mother Caroline Academy & Education Center | Dorchester, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nazareth Regional High School | Brooklyn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Project Place | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sopo Bicycle Cooperative | Atlanta, GA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| San Diego Museum of Art | San Diego, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Schwachman Diamond Syndrome Foundation | Florence, KY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Philanthropy Connection | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tufts Medical Center | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St John's Episcopal Church | Westwood, MA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| East Hartford Rotary Foundation | Glastonbury, CT | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Amazing Life Games | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cape Abilities | Hyannis, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fractured Atlas | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fresh Start Furniture Bank | Hudson, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Holt International Children's Services Inc | Eugene, OR | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Louisiana School Msa Foundation | Natchitoches, LA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nativity Preparatory School of Boston | Jamaica Plain, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Connecticut Foodshare | Wallingford, CT | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Little Theatre Manchester | Manchester, CT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
38 of 85 (45%) 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 71%, 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, 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.
- The Nature Conservancy
$25,000 to The Nature Conservancy of Massachusetts; $25,000 to national office
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 139 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 | 49 | $952,500 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 37 | $732,500 | $20,000 |
| 2023 | 38 | $1,135,000 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 37 | $1,265,000 | $25,000 |
| 2025 | 38 | $1,185,000 | $25,000 |
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
66% 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 The Rands 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: 157 Grove Street, Westwood, MA, 02090. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS.
EIN 87-0757900 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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