Lend A Hand Society appears to make a small number of unrestricted financial awards to public nonprofit organizations, likely focused on supporting general operating needs rather than project-specific initiatives. Grants are aggregated or recorded as going to “various public nonprofit organizations,” suggesting the foundation provides flexible, across-the-board financial assistance to community groups (probably in the Boston area).
Highly concentrated and selective: only three recorded grants totaling the foundation’s entire giving, all categorized as funding “various public nonprofit organizations,” indicating flexible, non-project-restricted support and a tendency to fund multiple recipients through omnibus or broadly described awards rather than many distinct, earmarked grants.
Various public nonprofit organizations (unspecified recipients — general operating support)
Lend a Hand Society’s recent grants are notable for their scale and consistency: three of the largest awards on file all went to the same Boston recipient label, "Various Public Non Profit Organizat," in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern points to a funder that gives flexible support rather than highly segmented project grants, with awards recorded as financial status support and directed to public nonprofit organizations in Boston. The foundation’s grantmaking also reaches beyond a single service model. Its active programs include partnerships with community agencies, camperships for low-income children and teens, emergency financial assistance, and book mission grants tied to literacy and access to books. Across those programs, the common thread is direct help for people in need through local nonprofits, schools, libraries, and other community-serving institutions. The grant record suggests a foundation working through recurring relationships with Boston-area organizations, while also maintaining a separate literacy-focused program that extends to educational institutions and libraries.
Emergency help is a clear part of the foundation’s work. Through its nonprofit agency emergency assistance grants, it supports qualified social service agencies in Greater Boston with help for rent, utilities, medical and dental costs, medical equipment, eyeglasses, and security deposits. The campership program is another distinct channel: nonprofit camping agencies receive grants to fund summer camp scholarships for low-income children and teens from the Greater Boston area. Literacy is also a defined area of giving. Under the Book Mission Grants program, schools, colleges, educational institutions, and libraries can receive support for purchasing books for lending libraries and educational programs that promote reading. Lend a Hand Society also lists grants to agencies and partnerships with local organizations such as Cambridge Camping and Boston Floating Hospital, showing that it funds through community-based intermediaries as well as direct program categories.
Grant size is tightly clustered around a quarter-million dollars: the p25 is $240,684, the median is $244,347, and the p75 is $248,010. The recent grants list shows a small number of large awards rather than many small ones, and the same Boston recipient label appears in multiple years, indicating recurring support. The foundation is a private grantmaker with no program-related investments and no individual grantmaking. Several active programs accept unsolicited requests, including grants to agencies and partnerships, camperships, emergency financial assistance, and book mission grants.
$278K
$3.2M
$578K
$366K
Most grants fall between $241K and $248K, with a median of $244K.
25th Percentile
$241K
Median
$244K
75th Percentile
$248K
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Giving is local and entirely within the United States in the recent grant record. Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, and 100% of grants went to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state. Recent recipient locations in the data are Boston, MA, which appears on each of the three largest grants. The active program descriptions also point to Greater Boston, Boston/Cambridge, and specific metro-Boston communities as the main service area.
The foundation supports emergency financial assistance, camperships for low-income children and teens, grants to community agencies and partnerships, and book mission grants for literacy. Its program descriptions also mention help for housing, utilities, medical and dental expenses, and book purchases for lending libraries and educational programs.
Typical grants are large and tightly grouped. The p25 is $240,684, the median is $244,347, and the p75 is $248,010.
The recent grant record is entirely Massachusetts-based, with 100% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. The active program descriptions also place giving in Greater Boston, Boston/Cambridge, and other local metro-Boston communities.
Yes. Several active programs explicitly accept unsolicited requests, including Grants to Agencies / Partnerships, Camperships, Emergency Financial Assistance, and Book Mission Grants.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals, and the grant record shown here is directed to public nonprofit organizations and partner agencies.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT | BOSTON, MA | $278,278 | 2026 | FIANNCIAL STATUS |
| VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT | BOSTON, MA | $258,949 | 2025 | FIANNCIAL STATUS |
| VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT | BOSTON, MA | $237,022 | 2024 | FIANNCIAL STATUS |
| VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT | BOSTON, MA | $251,672 | 2023 | FIANNCIAL STATUS |
VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT
$278,278FIANNCIAL STATUS
VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT
$258,949FIANNCIAL STATUS
VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT
$237,022FIANNCIAL STATUS
VARIOUS PUBLIC NON PROFIT ORGANIZAT
$251,672FIANNCIAL STATUS
Current and upcoming funding from Lend A Hand Society that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Nonprofit educational organizations or agencies with educational programs may apply for grants to purchase books for lending to low-income people. The book mission can make grants anywhere in the United States.
Deadline: Proposal submission deadline: October 15 annually; proposals must be received by mail by the deadline.
Who can apply: Nonprofit educational organizations or agencies with educational programs may apply for grants to purchase books for lending to low-income people. Proposals must follow the Book Mission Proposal Submission Guidelines.
Deadline: Proposal submission deadline: October 15 annually; proposals must be received by mail by the deadline date.
Who can apply: Nonprofit camping agencies may apply for grants supporting summer camp scholarships for low-income children and teens from the Greater Boston area.
Deadline: Proposal submission deadline: April 1 annually.
Who can apply: Nonprofit partner agencies such as hospitals, health clinics, legal aid programs, and community human service agencies can apply for a grant to help a client in need.
Deadline: Not specified; nonprofit partners are directed to use the grant application.
Who can apply: Not detailed in scraped content. Implied: nonprofit agencies and program partners serving LAH's mission populations.
Who can apply: Applications must be submitted by qualified nonprofit social service or human service agencies in the Greater Boston area on behalf of clients. Clients must be low-income, live in the Greater Boston area, and generally should be referred only once. Agencies should submit no more than three requests per month. Grants are not made directly to individuals or for agency operating expenses.
Deadline: Applications accepted at any time on a rolling basis.
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