The Celes H. & William B. Rubin Family Fund concentrates its giving on large, unrestricted gifts to major academic medical centers and research universities, primarily supporting clinical medicine, medical research, and higher education institutions. While most grants are multi-six- or seven-figure gifts to elite hospitals and university medical schools, the foundation also makes sizable support to local social service causes addressing homelessness. Gifts are typically general/unrestricted, suggesting flexibility for institutional priorities rather than project-specific funding.
A defining feature of the Cele H & William B Rubin Family Fund is its repeated support for major academic medical centers and university medical schools, including seven-figure general grants to Harvard Medical School and the U of C School of Medicine in 2023. The fund also backs flagship Boston health institutions and selected social-service organizations, pairing medical giving with support for homelessness services in its home market. Across the recent grants list, the pattern is institutional and unrestricted: grants are made as general support rather than for tightly defined projects, allowing recipients to use funds for operating or strategic needs. That approach appears at both the high end and the lower end of the fund’s activity, from large gifts to research universities and hospitals to smaller awards for schools, civic, and community organizations. The result is a portfolio that centers clinical medicine, medical research, and higher education, while still reaching local safety-net and community-serving nonprofits. Major recipients in the file include Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Pine Street Inn.
In clinical medicine and research, the fund made large general grants to Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, reinforcing a strong hospital-and-research-center orientation. In higher education, it supported President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Commonwealth School, and Harvard College First Year Outdoor Leadership Program, showing that its university giving is not limited to medical schools. The fund also gives to homelessness services in Boston: Pine Street Inn received $1,000,000 in 2025, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital appears among the recent grants as well. Beyond medicine and education, the portfolio includes support for Partners in Health, Mspca-Angell, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and Taking Control of Your Diabetes, indicating a mix of health, animal welfare, environmental, and disease-management causes.
Typical awards cluster at a small-to-mid grant level, with p25 at $750, median at $5,000, and p75 at $15,000. Even so, the recent file also includes a much larger set of institutional gifts, including seven-figure and high six-figure grants, so the distribution is quite wide. The fund is a Pure DAF Provider, and the grants are overwhelmingly general support. Several recipients recur across years, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund, which points to ongoing relationships rather than isolated one-time awards.
$6M
$34.6M
$4.5M
$6.4M
Most grants fall between $750 and $15K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$750
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$15K
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Highly concentrated, small-number portfolio of very large, general-purpose grants; repeated support to a few flagship institutions (e.g., Mass General received multiple grants); occasional use of donor-advised/charitable gift funds to channel major gifts.
Notable grantees: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Pine Street Inn, Northwestern University
Giving is national, but the concentration is strongest in Massachusetts, which accounts for 30% of grants. Boston appears repeatedly as a recipient city, alongside nearby Cambridge, Brookline, and Charlestown. Outside Massachusetts, the file includes Chicago and Evanston in Illinois, Frederick in Maryland, Washington, DC, King of Prussia in Pennsylvania, Holderness in New Hampshire, and San Diego in California. All recent grants in the dataset went to US recipients.
The recent grants point to major academic medical centers, university medical schools, and research universities as core recipients. Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute all received general support in the recent file.
Yes. Pine Street Inn in Boston received $1,000,000 in 2025, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital also appears in the recent grants list. Those awards sit alongside the fund’s broader institutional giving in medicine and higher education.
The file shows a p25 of $750, a median of $5,000, and a p75 of $15,000. At the same time, the recent grants include much larger institutional gifts, so the fund’s giving ranges from modest awards to multi-hundred-thousand-dollar grants.
The recent grants are marked GENERAL, indicating general support. That pattern appears across hospitals, universities, and community organizations, including Harvard Medical School, Northwestern University, and Pine Street Inn.
Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, with 30% of grants going to recipients in the state. Boston is the most visible recipient city in the file, joined by Cambridge, Brookline, and Charlestown.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND | BOSTON, MA | $1,167,406 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PINE STREET INN | BOSTON, MA | $1,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY | EVANSTON, IL | $976,894 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | BOSTON, MA | $649,414 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL | BOSTON, MA | $500,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO | CHICAGO, IL | $305,399 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE | BROOKLINE, MA | $300,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION | CHICAGO, IL | $287,455 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE | BOSTON, MA | $250,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PARTNERS IN HEALTH | FREDERICK, MD | $92,457 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | BOSTON, MA | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE | BOSTON, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| COMMONWEALTH SCHOOL | BOSTON, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CLUBHOUSE | KING OF PRUSSIA, PA | $20,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| HARVARD SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE | BOSTON, MA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MSPCA-ANGELL | BOSTON, MA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR DIABETES | SAN DIEGO, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SQUAM LAKES NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER | HOLDERNESS, NH | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE | BOSTON, MA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL | CHARLESTOWN, MA | $15,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE GIFT FUND | BOSTON, MA | $11,882 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY | EVANSTON, IL | $11,827 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK | BOSTON, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| FEEDING AMERICA | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| DOMINICAN HIGH SCHOOL | WHITEFISH BAY, WI | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| LA JOLLA INSTITUTE FOR IMMUNOLOGY | LA JOLLA, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| CURECERVICALCANCER | BEVERLY HILLS, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY | CHICAGO, IL | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| TRUSTEES OF HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE | AMHERST, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| FENWICK HIGH SCHOOL | OAK PARK, IL | $9,250 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION | CHICAGO, IL | $9,232 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| PARTNERS IN HEALTH | FREDERICK, MD | $6,480 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| CITY UNION MISSION | KANSAS CITY, MO | $5,175 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| RODMAN RIDE FOR KIDS | HINGHAM, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| UNC - CH PUBLIC HEALTH FOUNDATION | CHAPEL HILL, NC | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SQUAM LAKES CONSERVATION SOCIETY | HOLDERNESS, NH | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| DIABETES RESEARCH CONNECTION | DEL MAR, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MORE THAN WORDS | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION | LA JOLLA, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION | SOMERVILLE, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| IMPACT | CHICAGO, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| OUR BODIES OURSELVES TODAY | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SUNFLOWER HOUSE | SHAWNEE, KS | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| THE WINSOR SCHOOL | BOSTON, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SPRUCE PEAK ARTS | STOWE, VT | $2,500 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| STOWE LAND TRUST | STOWE, VT | $2,500 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| JORDAN THOMAS FOUNDATION | BRENTWOOD, TN | $2,500 | 2025 | GENERAL |
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
$649,414GENERAL
BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
$500,000GENERAL
GENERAL
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
$287,455GENERAL
PARTNERS IN HEALTH
$92,457GENERAL
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
$50,000GENERAL
COMMONWEALTH SCHOOL
$25,000GENERAL
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CLUBHOUSE
$20,000GENERAL
HARVARD SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE
$15,000GENERAL
TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR DIABETES
$15,000GENERAL
SQUAM LAKES NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER
$15,000GENERAL
SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
$15,000GENERAL
DOMINICAN HIGH SCHOOL
$10,000GENERAL
CURECERVICALCANCER
$10,000GENERAL
TRUSTEES OF HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
$10,000GENERAL
FENWICK HIGH SCHOOL
$9,250GENERAL
NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
$9,232GENERAL
PARTNERS IN HEALTH
$6,480GENERAL
FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES
$5,000GENERAL
RODMAN RIDE FOR KIDS
$5,000GENERAL
UNC - CH PUBLIC HEALTH FOUNDATION
$5,000GENERAL
SQUAM LAKES CONSERVATION SOCIETY
$5,000GENERAL
SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION
$5,000GENERAL
IMPACT
$5,000GENERAL
OUR BODIES OURSELVES TODAY
$5,000GENERAL
THE WINSOR SCHOOL
$5,000GENERAL
SPRUCE PEAK ARTS
$2,500GENERAL