# The Boston Foundation

> The Boston Foundation is Greater Boston’s community foundation: a nonprofit that manages charitable funds for donors, makes grants, commissions research, convenes civic coalitions and advocates for policy change. Founded in 1915, it combines the convenience of a donor-advised-fund provider with local knowledge, discretionary grantmaking, impact investing and a century-deep civic network. Its FY2025 report records $255 million granted through 12,472 grants, while its current financial page reports about $2.6 billion in net assets.

- **Founded:** 1915
- **Headquarters:** Boston, United States
- **Founders:** Charles E. Rogerson (Co-founder), Charles M. Rogerson (Co-founder and first director)
- **Team size:** More than 130 employees on the official organization profile; third-party and supplied datasets range higher.
- **Products:** Donor Advised Funds, Discretionary and special-fund grantmaking, The Philanthropic Initiative, Boston Indicators, Impact Pool and Mission First Investments
- **Notable:** One of the first community foundations in the United States, founded in 1915., Became the first U.S. community foundation to make grants after James Longley’s $4 million bequest in 1917., Reported $255 million paid through 12,472 grants in FY2025.

## Products & services

- **Donor Advised Funds** — Charitable accounts starting with a $10,000 gift, with donor services, grant due diligence, online administration and several investment choices.
- **Discretionary and special-fund grantmaking** — Competitive, community-informed and responsive grants to Greater Boston nonprofits, including the Fund for Boston’s Future and issue- or identity-focused funds.
- **The Philanthropic Initiative** — Fee-for-service strategy, research, program design and management for families, foundations and corporations; merged with TBF in 2012.
- **Boston Indicators** — Research and data products that track the region and inform public debate and policy.
- **Impact Pool and Mission First Investments** — Options that put charitable assets to work in impact-oriented portfolios and local mission-aligned investments before grants are made.
- **Giving Guides and donor advising** — Issue research, vetted nonprofit recommendations and relationship-based support for donors planning grants.
- **Civic leadership and policy advocacy** — Forums, coalitions, public research and advocacy on housing, wages, education, immigration and other regional issues.

## Achievements

- One of the first community foundations in the United States, founded in 1915.
- Became the first U.S. community foundation to make grants after James Longley’s $4 million bequest in 1917.
- Reported $255 million paid through 12,472 grants in FY2025.
- Received 2,517 gifts totaling $394 million and opened 53 new donor-advised funds in FY2025.
- Reported a 16 percent FY2025 payout rate from donor-advised funds, compared with the 5 percent legal minimum for private foundations.
- TPI influenced billions of dollars in giving and generated $3.59 million toward TBF’s FY2025 operating budget.
- Its three Equity Funds have made about $7.2 million in grants over more than a decade.
- Helped convene the Wage Equity Now coalition before Massachusetts enacted the Frances Perkins Wage Equity Act in 2024.
- Committed $15 million to Mission First investments roughly two decades ago, with capital repeatedly returned and redeployed.
- Meeting the Moment campaigns raised and catalyzed nearly $10 million for anti-hunger and immigrant-rights organizations by May 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Boston Indicators and partners published a first-of-its-kind report on family wealth across demographic groups in Massachusetts.
- **2026-07** — TBF highlighted new research on building-code barriers to missing-middle housing and the Free for All Endowment Fund’s $330,000 in awards to 21 organizations.
- **2026-06** — TBF awarded $1.2 million in two-year Safety Net Grants to 24 immigrant-serving Massachusetts organizations, selected through a 50-person community review panel.
- **2026-05** — President and CEO M. Lee Pelton announced plans to step down effective August 31, 2026; the board began a search for his successor.
- **2026-05** — The foundation distributed $1 million in general operating support to ten immigrant-serving nonprofits through Meeting the Moment.
- **2025-07** — One percent of assets in most eligible donor investment pools began flowing to the Mission First Pool, with a planned annual step-up to five percent by 2030 unless donors opt out or adjust their allocation.

## Links

- Website: https://www.tbf.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bostonfoundation/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/bostonfdn/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bostonfdn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBostonFoundation

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-boston-foundation
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13