Funders › Massachusetts

The Stratford Foundation

Boston, MA · EIN 22-2524023. Reported 88 grants totalling $2,529,000 to 35 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$20,000median grant
$2,529,000granted, 2021-2025
35recipients, as named on its returns
77%of grantees funded again the next year
$15.4Massets, 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 Stratford 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 $20,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $30,000; the smallest was $3,000 and the largest $175,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
2 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
10 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
43 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
17 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
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
Project Mercy IncPoway, CA$615,000552025
Gordon CollegeWenham, MA$336,000552025
Wheaton CollegeWheaton, IL$224,000552025
Gleason Initiative FoundationNew Orleans, LA$150,000552025
Zionsville Presbyterian ChurchZionsville, IN$150,000332025
Christian Camps & Conferences IncAlton, NH$122,000442025
Friends of Kids With CancerSt Louis, MO$111,000552025
Wheeler MissionIndianapolis, IN$110,000552025
Forgotten Voices InternationalDillsburg, PA$70,000332024
The Salvation Army Indiana DivisionIndianapolis, IN$70,000442024
Indiana Univeristy FoundatonIndianapolis, IN$60,000552025
Als Indiana ChapterIndianapolis, IN$55,000332023
Central Indiana Youth for ChristIndianapolis, IN$40,000442025
The Als AssociationArlington, VA$40,000222025
The Salvation ArmyIndianapolis, IN$35,000112025
Dupage FoundationDowners Grove, IL$30,000222025
Family Promise North Shore IncBecerly, MA$30,000112021
Shepherd Community CenterIndianapolis, IN$30,000332025
Outreach IncIndianapolis, IN$26,000332025
Glen House Food PantryGlen Ellyn, IL$25,000112025
Young LifeBreckenridge, CO$25,000112022
Dupage Pads IncWheaton, IL$22,000112025
Bible ProjectPortland, OR$20,000222025
The Outreach FoundationFranklin, TN$20,000112021
Teen Parent ConnectionGlen Ellyn, IL$18,000112024
Beagle Freedom ProjectValley Village, CA$12,000112025
Zoo New EnglandBoston, MA$11,000112022
Altar Fly FishingLombard, IL$10,000222025
Christian Camps Dba Deer Foot LodgeAverill Park, NY$10,000112021
Jamaa Birth VillageFerguson, MO$10,000112021
Maple Built IncNashville, TN$10,000112022
Sagamore InstituteIndianapolis, IN$10,000112025
The NavigatorsColorado Springs, CO$10,000222025
Fountains of Hope InternationalCarmel, IN$7,000222025
Kevin Babington FoundationWestwood, MA$5,000112021

21 of 35 (60%) 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 77%, across 4 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 46 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
18 grants
Education
10 grants
Recreation & Sports
4 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
4 grants
International Affairs
2 grants
Religion
2 grants
Animal Welfare
2 grants
Youth Development
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202116$426,000$20,000
202216$538,000$20,500
202314$480,000$17,500
202419$495,000$15,000
202523$590,000$20,000

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

25% of its giving went to organizations in California. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

California
$627K
Indiana
$593K
Massachusetts
$382K
Illinois
$329K
Louisiana
$150K
New Hampshire
$122K
Missouri
$121K
Pennsylvania
$70K

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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 Fund21 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc20 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust17 shared recipientsNatl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc16 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program15 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc14 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $20,000. 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 California.
  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 CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in MassachusettsEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Stratford 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: 1 Post Office Square Fl 25, 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 22-2524023 · 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.