About Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Bridge Over Troubled Waters provides effective and innovative services to runaway, homeless, and high-risk youth, helps youth avoid a lifetime of dependency on social services, guides youth towards self-sufficiency, and enables youth to transform their lives and build fulfilling, meaningful futures.
Focus Areas
homeless youth servicesrunaway youth supportyouth shelter and emergency residencetransitional living and independent housingmental health counselingcareer development and education (HiSET)mobile medical/healthcare outreachbasic needs and emergency assistance
Who They Fund
nonprofit organizations (grantee organizations)program participants/service userslocal community served by the program
About Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc’s recent giving shows a strong emphasis on housing-related capacity for youth-serving organizations, led by a $1,825,000 property purchase grant to Brunson House Inc in Boston and a $932,093 property-improvement grant to the same group the following year. That pattern sits alongside recurring program support for organizations working with homeless, runaway, and high-risk youth, including $830,000 to Home for Little Wanderers in 2025 and $195,200 to Justice Resource Institute in the same year. The foundation’s support is rooted in services that help young people move toward self-sufficiency, with grants reaching shelter, transitional living, emergency assistance, counseling, education, and outreach. Several recipients appear across multiple years, suggesting ongoing relationships rather than isolated awards. Its largest recent commitments are tied not only to direct service delivery but also to the physical spaces and infrastructure that make those services possible. The grant list also includes youth-focused intermediaries and community providers in Boston, Cambridge, Needham, Waltham, and Somerville, reinforcing a local funding pattern centered on Massachusetts organizations serving vulnerable young people.
What Bridge Over Troubled Waters Funds
A clear theme in Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc’s grantmaking is housing and facility support for youth services. It gave $1,825,000 to Brunson House Inc for property purchase and $932,093 for property improvements, indicating a capital-oriented approach to building service capacity. The foundation also backs direct program work for youth providers: Home for Little Wanderers received $830,000 in program support in 2025, after a $630,000 award in 2024. Education and employment readiness also appear in the portfolio, including $65,000 to Y2y Network Inc for program support in 2024 and $64,999 in 2025. Another recurring area is basic support for community organizations serving homeless youth, such as $51,000 to Somerville Homeless Coalition Inc for program support in 2025.
How Bridge Over Troubled Waters Gives
Typical grant size sits at $45,500 at the 25th percentile, $65,000 at the median, and $180,355 at the 75th percentile, with a wide spread that reflects both operating support and larger capital awards. The recipient list shows repeat awards to the same organizations across 2023 to 2025, including multiple grants to Home for Little Wanderers, Justice Resource Institute, Y2y Network Inc, More Than Words, Somerville Homeless Coalition Inc, and United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley. Bridge Over Troubled Waters Inc is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals. The recent record also shows a mix of program support, grants, and restricted-purpose capital grants tied to property and facility work.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.4M
Total Assets
$20.8M
Total Revenue
$11.7M
Total Expenses
$12.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $46K and $180K, with a median of $65K.
25th Percentile
$46K
Median
$65K
75th Percentile
$180K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
ELISABETH JACKSON
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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