The Elfers Foundation concentrates its giving on elite independent education and major medical institutions, primarily in New England. Most dollars go to a small group of repeat grantees—private prep/boarding schools and a prominent music conservatory—alongside sizable gifts to leading Boston-area hospitals. Its philanthropy favors general operating support to established institutions rather than grassroots or service-delivery nonprofits.
Concentrated, large grants to a small number of repeat, institutionally established grantees; predominantly unrestricted/general purpose funding across education and healthcare institutions.
Elfers Foundation Inc. gives large unrestricted grants to a small set of repeat recipients, with the biggest recent awards going to The Hotchkiss School and The Fessenden School. Those school grants are paired with substantial support for New England Conservatory of Music and several Boston-area medical institutions, showing a pattern that centers independent education, conservatory-level arts training, and major healthcare organizations. The foundation’s recent grant record is dominated by general-purpose funding rather than project-specific awards. The scale is material: recent gifts include multiple six-figure grants, including $300,000 awards to The Hotchkiss School in both 2024 and 2025. The Fessenden School also appears repeatedly with $190,000 grants across several years, indicating that the foundation often returns to the same institutions. Massachusetts recipients make up most of the activity, but the portfolio also reaches schools and institutions in Connecticut and Maine. The recurring pattern suggests a relationship-driven approach built around established nonprofits rather than one-time, issue-specific grants.
In independent education, Elfers Foundation Inc. has supported The Fessenden School in West Newton, Dana Hall Schools in Wellesley, Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, and The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, often with general-purpose support. The Hotchkiss School received $300,000 in both 2024 and 2025. Arts education is another clear thread. New England Conservatory of Music in Boston received $250,000 in 2023 and again in 2024, and 317 Main Street Community Music Center in Yarmouth received $13,750 in 2025 plus $5,000 in 2024. The foundation also gave $10,000 to Boston Athenaeum in 2025. On the medical side, the foundation supported Mass General Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton with $124,329 in both 2023 and 2024, and Mass General Hospital in Boston with $100,000 in both 2023 and 2024, plus a $10,000 grant in 2025.
Typical grants are concentrated in a fairly wide band: the 25th percentile is $10,000, the median is $20,000, and the 75th percentile is $124,329. The recent record also includes several much larger awards, which come alongside many smaller general-purpose grants. Recipients recur across years, especially major schools and hospitals, which points to ongoing institutional relationships rather than one-off gifts. Elfers Foundation Inc. does not fund individuals and is not making program-related investments, and the grants shown are all general-purpose awards.
$640K
$16M
$1.1M
$779K
Most grants fall between $10K and $124K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$124K
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Notable grantees: The Fessenden School, The Hotchkiss School, New England Conservatory of Music, Mass General Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Mass General Hospital (Mass General Brigham)
Giving is regional and heavily weighted toward Massachusetts, which accounts for 58% of grants and is the top recipient state by count. Boston appears repeatedly through grants to New England Conservatory of Music, Mass General Hospital, Boston Athenaeum, and Trinity Church. Outside Massachusetts, Lakeville, Connecticut appears through The Hotchkiss School, while Maine recipients include Yarmouth, Portland, and Falmouth. All recent grants in the dataset went to U.S. recipients.
The foundation’s recent grants go mainly to independent schools, conservatory-level music education, and major medical institutions. Examples in the data include The Fessenden School, New England Conservatory of Music, and Mass General Hospital, all funded with general-purpose support.
The recent grants are consistently listed as general-purpose awards. That pattern appears across schools, hospitals, and arts institutions, including repeated support to major recipients over multiple years.
The grant-size distribution shows a 25th percentile of $10,000, a median of $20,000, and a 75th percentile of $124,329. The recent list also includes larger six-figure grants, including $300,000 awards.
Massachusetts is the top state by grant count, with 58% of grants going to recipients there. Boston and its surrounding communities appear frequently, along with a smaller set of grants to Connecticut and Maine.
No. The profile indicates that Elfers Foundation Inc. does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hotchkiss School | Lakeville, CT | $300,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| The Fessenden School | West Newton, MA | $190,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Brooks School | North Andover, MA | $25,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Woodwell Climate Research Center | Falmouth, ME | $20,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| The Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 2026 | The Nature Conservancy of Maine chapter |
| Trinity Church | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Old Dartmouth Historical Society | New Bedford, MA | $10,000 | 2026 | New Bedford Whaling Museum |
| Boston Athenaeum | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| LISTEN Community Services | Lebanon, NH | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Maine Island Trail Association | Portland, ME | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | Santa Monica, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Holy Trinity Lutheran Church | Newark, OH | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Portland Community Squash | Portland, ME | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| The Refuge Inc | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| The Main Place | Newark, OH | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Sea Change Yoga | Portland, ME | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Hope Dealer Community | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| Alcohol and Drug Freedom Center of Knox County | Mount Vernon, OH | $2,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| St Vincent De Paul Center | Newark, OH | $2,500 | 2026 | General Purpose |
| The Hotchkiss School | Lakeville, CT | $300,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| The Fessenden School | West Newton, MA | $190,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Dana Hall Schools | Wellesley, MA | $50,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Walnut Hill School for the Arts | Natick, MA | $20,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Portland Community Squash | Portland, ME | $13,750 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| 317 Main Street Community Music Center | Yarmouth, ME | $13,750 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Woodwell Climate Research Center | Falmouth, ME | $10,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Trinity Church | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Mass General Hospital (aka Mass General Brigham) | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Billings Farm & Museum (aka Woodstock Foundation) | Woodstock, VT | $10,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Boston Athenaeum | Boston, MA | $10,000 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| Sea Change Yoga | Portlad, ME | $2,500 | 2025 | General Purpose |
| The Hotchkiss School | Lakeville, CT | $300,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| New England Conservatory of Music | Boston, MA | $250,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| The Fessenden School | West Newton, MA | $190,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| The Fessenden School | West Newton, MA | $190,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Mass General Newton-Wellesley Hospital | Newton, MA | $124,329 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Mass General Hospital (aka Mass General Brigham) | Boston, MA | $100,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Dana Hall Schools | Wellesley, MA | $50,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Dana Hall Schools | Wellesley, MA | $50,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Woodwell Climate Research Center | Falmouth, ME | $10,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| The Hotchkiss School | Lakeville, CT | $7,694 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| 317 Main Street Community Music Center | Yarmouth, ME | $5,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Joslin Diabetes Center Inc | Boston, MA | $5,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Portland Community Squash | Portland, ME | $5,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
| Sacred Sons Foundation | Paia, HI | $5,000 | 2024 | General Purpose |
The Hotchkiss School
$300,000General Purpose
Brooks School
$25,000General Purpose
Trinity Church
General Purpose
Old Dartmouth Historical Society
$10,000New Bedford Whaling Museum
Boston Athenaeum
$10,000General Purpose
LISTEN Community Services
$10,000General Purpose
Maine Island Trail Association
$10,000General Purpose
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
$5,000General Purpose
The Refuge Inc
$5,000General Purpose
The Main Place
$5,000General Purpose
Sea Change Yoga
$5,000General Purpose
Hope Dealer Community
$5,000General Purpose
Alcohol and Drug Freedom Center of Knox County
$2,500General Purpose
St Vincent De Paul Center
$2,500General Purpose
The Hotchkiss School
$300,000General Purpose
Ohio State University
$20,000General Purpose
Walnut Hill School for the Arts
$20,000General Purpose
317 Main Street Community Music Center
$13,750General Purpose
Trinity Church
$10,000General Purpose
Mass General Hospital (aka Mass General Brigham)
$10,000General Purpose
Billings Farm & Museum (aka Woodstock Foundation)
$10,000General Purpose
Boston Athenaeum
$10,000General Purpose
Sea Change Yoga
$2,500General Purpose
The Hotchkiss School
$300,000General Purpose
Mass General Newton-Wellesley Hospital
$124,329General Purpose
Mass General Hospital (aka Mass General Brigham)
$100,000General Purpose
The Hotchkiss School
$7,694General Purpose
317 Main Street Community Music Center
$5,000General Purpose
Sacred Sons Foundation
$5,000General Purpose