Funders › Connecticut

The Watt Family Foundation

Stamford, CT · EIN 13-3373456. Reported 100 grants totalling $664,119 to 54 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,000median grant
$664,119granted, 2020-2024
54recipients, as named on its returns
58%of grantees funded again the next year

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 Watt Family 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 $1,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $500 and $5,000; the smallest was $100 and the largest $80,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
43 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
26 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
16 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
8 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
2 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
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
Orchestra of St Luke'sNew York, NY$293,839552024
The Bruce MuseumGreenwich, CT$82,925552024
Princton Einstein Museum of SciencePrinceton, NJ$50,000112024
Avon Theatre Film CenterStamford, CT$47,500552024
Sarasota OperaSarasota, FL$23,000332023
Sarasota BalletSarasota, FL$17,500442023
Waverlylife Care Network FoundationNew Canaan, CT$12,500112024
Dana Farber Cancer InstituteBoston, MA$12,000222023
Parot Memorial LibraryOld Greenwich, CT$11,000332024
Greenwich Emergency Medical ServicesRiverside, CT$10,250112024
Fiaf (french Institute Alliance Francaise)New York, NY$10,000222021
Harvest Time Assembly of GodGreenwich, CT$10,000222024
Sound Beach Volunteer Service FoundationOld Greenwich, CT$10,000222024
Trinity Assembly of GodNew York, NY$10,000222024
Caramoor Centre for the ArtsKatonah, NY$9,000442023
Chamber Players of GreenwichGreenwich, CT$7,980442023
At Home in Greenwich IncGreenwich, CT$5,000112024
Caramoor Center for Music and the ArtsKatonah, NY$5,000112024
The Stamford Hospital FoundationStamford, CT$5,000112020
Metropolitan OperaNew York, NY$3,400112022
Museum of Modern ArtNew York, NY$2,750222021
Sound Beach Volunteer Fire DeptOld Greenwich, CT$2,750442023
Greenwich United WayGreenwich, CT$2,300442024
Perrot Memorial LibraryOld Greenwich, CT$2,000112020
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York, NY$1,500112021
Gems of GreenwichRiverside, CT$1,300332023
Greenwich Choral SocietyGreenwich, CT$1,050442024
Buck Country JazzGreenwich, CT$1,000112023
Canto Vocal ProgramNew York, NY$1,000112022
Dana Farber Cancer InstBoston, MA$1,000112020
Goshen Free LibraryGoshen, CT$1,000112023
Save the Children FoundationFairfield, CT$1,000112024
Waverly Life Care Network FoundationNew Canaan, CT$1,000112023
Blue Hill TroupNew York, NY$750332023
Hill House Senior ResidenceRiverside, CT$750222023
Meals on Wheels Inc of GreenwichGreenwich, CT$550222023
Back County Jazz OrgGreenwich, CT$525112024
Arpeggio Music Festival(first Congregational Church)Old Greenwich, CT$500112022
Back Country JazzGreenwich, CT$500112021
Greenwich Emergency Medical ServiceRiverside, CT$500112020
Mill River ParkStamford, CT$500112023
Planned Parenthood of Central FloridaSarasota, FL$500112022
Planned Parenthood of South New EnglandNew Haven, CT$500112020
United Network for Organ SharingRichmond, VA$500112023
Wounded Warrior ProjectNew York, NY$500112022
Greenwich Professional Fire Fighters AssociationGreenwich, CT$300112024
The Silver Shield AssociationGreenwich, CT$300112023
Aston Magna Foundation for Music and HumanitiesGreat Barrington, MA$250112022
Combined Organization of PoliceGreenwich, CT$250112020
The Silver Shield FoundationNew York, NY$250112024
Venice Art CenterVenice, FL$250112020
Combine Order of PoliceGreenwich, CT$200112021
Greenwich Arts CouncilGreenwich, CT$100112020
Greenwich PlayersGreenwich, CT$100112020

21 of 54 (39%) 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 58%, 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 39 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.

Arts & Culture
32 grants
Medical Research
3 grants
Human Services
2 grants
Health Care
1 grant
International Affairs
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202020$61,300$750
202118$68,874$875
202220$116,800$900
202324$163,570$1,000
202418$253,575$5,000

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

51% of its giving went to organizations in New York. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

New York
$338K
Connecticut
$221K
New Jersey
$50K
Florida
$41K
Massachusetts
$13K
Virginia
$500

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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 Fund18 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc16 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust13 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program10 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc10 shared recipientsGs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund10 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,000. 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 New York.
  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 arts & culture in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding human services in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding health care in New YorkEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Watt Family 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: Co W Watt-122 Palmers Hill Rd 32, Stamford, CT, 06902. 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 13-3373456 · 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.