Cathedral Fund concentrates its giving in a small number of large awards, with a strong emphasis on supporting cultural institutions and intermediary grantmaking vehicles. A notable portion of its dollars go to a few repeat recipients—especially the LifeBox Foundation and the Fitchburg Art Museum—along with sizable gifts to healthcare and local social-service organizations in Massachusetts. The foundation also frequently donates in-kind securities rather than only cash, indicating a preference for using appreciated assets to fund its grants.
Concentrated giving: relatively few, large grants with multiple repeat awards to the same organizations; frequent gifts of securities in addition to cash; primarily focused geographically on Massachusetts though with occasional out-of-state cultural grants.
Cathedral Fund’s recent giving is defined by large general-support awards to a small set of repeat recipients, especially in Massachusetts and to intermediary grantmaking vehicles. The single largest listed grant is $1,000,000 to Lifebox Foundation in Brooklyn for general support, followed by $800,000 to Lowell House, now named Riverbend, in Lowell and $610,000 to Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg. That pattern points to a funder that favors flexible support rather than narrowly restricted project grants. The foundation also directs substantial funding to health and culture, including $480,000 to Massachusetts General Hospital and repeated support for Fitchburg Art Museum across multiple years. In the museum space, its grants are not limited to one institution type or one city: the recent list also includes Peabody Essex Museum in Salem and Denver Art Museum in Colorado. The foundation’s giving is concentrated in a small number of large awards, with several recipients appearing more than once.
One clear theme is museum support, especially for regional art institutions. Cathedral Fund gave $610,000 to Fitchburg Art Museum for general support in 2025, after earlier grants of $400,000 in 2024 and $100,000 in 2023. It also awarded $30,000 to Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, showing that its cultural funding extends beyond a single institution. A second area is healthcare and social services in Massachusetts. The foundation gave $480,000 to Massachusetts General Hospital for general support and $800,000 to Lowell House, now named Riverbend, also for general support. Those grants sit alongside the foundation’s broader pattern of flexible funding. Cathedral Fund also supports intermediary grantmaking vehicles. The recent list includes multiple general-support grants to Lifebox Foundation, including one award of $1,000,000 in 2025 and two sizable 2023 grants tied to investment-fund vehicles.
Cathedral Fund gives at a high ticket size: the recent grant list shows a 25th percentile of $98,388, a median of $250,000, and a 75th percentile of $469,626. The pattern is skewed toward a small number of large grants rather than many small ones. Several recipients appear across multiple years, including Fitchburg Art Museum and Lifebox Foundation, which points to recurring support rather than one-time awards. The foundation is a grantmaker, not an individual-funding program, and it does not make program-related investments. Recent grants are listed as general support, and the funder also appears to use appreciated securities in some awards, based on the grant descriptions.
$2M
$3.7M
$312K
$2M
Most grants fall between $98K and $470K, with a median of $250K.
25th Percentile
$98K
Median
$250K
75th Percentile
$470K
About 25% of grants go to recipients in MA.
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Notable grantees: LifeBox Foundation, Fitchburg Art Museum, Lowell House (Riverbend), Massachusetts General Hospital, Denver Art Museum
Cathedral Fund’s grants are regional and overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with 12 of 12 recent grants going to U.S. recipients. Massachusetts is its most frequent grant state by count, and 33% of grants go to recipients in New York, where the foundation itself is also based. Recent recipient cities include Fitchburg, Lowell, Boston, Salem, and Brooklyn. Outside the Northeast, the recent list includes Denver, Colorado, showing that the foundation’s reach is not limited entirely to one metro area.
Recent grants show support for museums, healthcare, local social services, and intermediary grantmaking vehicles. Examples include general-support awards to Fitchburg Art Museum, Massachusetts General Hospital, Lowell House, and Lifebox Foundation.
The recent grant list shows a 25th percentile of $98,388, a median of $250,000, and a 75th percentile of $469,626. That indicates a relatively high-dollar grantmaking pattern with a strong tilt toward larger awards.
Yes. Fitchburg Art Museum appears multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Lifebox Foundation also appears more than once. That suggests the funder often renews support for selected recipients.
Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, and recent recipient cities include Fitchburg, Lowell, Boston, and Salem. The list also includes Brooklyn, New York, and Denver, Colorado.
The recent grants are labeled general support, and the foundation’s philosophy tags include unrestricted/general operating support, core operating support, and flexible funding. That points to a preference for broad, non-project-specific grants.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIFEBOX FOUNDATION | BROOKLYN, NY | $1,000,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | BOSTON, MA | $480,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM | FITCHBURG, MA | $300,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DENVER ART MUSEUM | DENVER, CO | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| RIVERBEND (FORMERLY LOWELL HOUSE) | LOWELL, MA | $100,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| HIJAS DEL CAMPO | BRENTWOOD, CA | $4,000 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LIFEBOX FOUNDATION | BROOKLYN, NY | $1,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LOWELL HOUSE (NAME CHANGED TO RIVERBEND) | LOWELL, MA | $800,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM | FITCHBURG, MA | $610,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | BOSTON, MA | $480,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DENVER ART MUSEUM | DENVER, CO | $100,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM | SALEM, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-CASH | FITCHBURG, MA | $400,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LIFEBOX FOUNDATION-1236 SH VANGUARD 500 INDEX FUND ADMIRAL | BROOKLYN, NY | $495,006 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LIFEBOX FOUNDATION-4645 SH VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET INDEX FUND | BROOKLYN, NY | $492,835 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-CASH | FITCHBURG, MA | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-248 SH VANGUARD 500 INDEX FUND ADMIRAL | FITCHBURG, MA | $97,851 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-929 SH VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET INDEX FUND | FITCHBURG, MA | $96,876 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
$480,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM
$300,000GENERAL SUPPORT
RIVERBEND (FORMERLY LOWELL HOUSE)
$100,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GENERAL SUPPORT
LIFEBOX FOUNDATION
$1,000,000GENERAL SUPPORT
LOWELL HOUSE (NAME CHANGED TO RIVERBEND)
$800,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM
$610,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
$480,000GENERAL SUPPORT
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
$30,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-CASH
$400,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-CASH
$100,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-248 SH VANGUARD 500 INDEX FUND ADMIRAL
$97,851GENERAL SUPPORT
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM-929 SH VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET INDEX FUND
$96,876GENERAL SUPPORT