The Parker Family Foundation appears to prioritize cultural institutions and creative arts, with a strong emphasis on Massachusetts-based performing arts, literary programs, and historic preservation, while also supporting civic policy, youth opportunity/college access, and health causes including Alzheimer’s and global medical relief. Their grants are predominantly unrestricted general support, suggesting trust in grantee leadership and flexibility in funding. The mix of national organizations (e.g., Doctors Without Borders) with multiple regional Massachusetts beneficiaries indicates both local place-based interests and selective support for high-profile humanitarian and policy work.
A 2025 grant of $213,000 to Alzheimers Disease & Related Disorders stands out in the Parker Family Foundation’s recent giving and points to a portfolio that mixes health, culture, education, and civic work. The foundation’s grants are largely unrestricted general support, which gives recipients flexibility rather than tying funds to a single project. In the same year, it backed Actors Shakespeare Project Inc with $175,000 and Edvestors Inc with $110,000, showing a pattern of substantial support for both performing arts and college-access work. The foundation also funds policy and public-interest organizations, including Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center and People for the American Way Foundation, alongside arts groups such as Handel and Haydn Society, Grub Street Inc, Theater Offensive Inc, and Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Program. Its 2025 grants list includes both Boston-area institutions and grantees outside Massachusetts, such as Doctors Without Borders in New York and Trustees of Reservations in Boston. As a private foundation with $1,048,000 in annual grants and $12,986,128 in assets, it gives in a focused but varied way.
One clear theme is performing arts. The Parker Family Foundation gave $175,000 to Actors Shakespeare Project Inc and $50,000 to Handel and Haydn Society, both as unrestricted general support. It also supported Theater Offensive Inc with $40,000, indicating attention to theater organizations with different artistic missions. Education and youth access is another strand. Edvestors Inc received $110,000, and Summer Search received $85,000, both unrestricted. Those grants sit alongside support for Grub Street Inc at $45,000 and Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Program at $25,000, showing that literary and educational programming are both within scope. The foundation also backs public-interest and civic policy groups. Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center received $110,000, while People for the American Way Foundation received $80,000. In a different field, Trustees of Reservations received $30,000, connecting the foundation to land, preservation, or conservation work.
The grant sizes in the 2025 list range from $25,000 to $213,000, with a middle cluster around $80,000 to $110,000. Multiple awards are at the $110,000 level, and several are in the $40,000 to $85,000 range, suggesting a mix of anchor grants and smaller supplements. The foundation is a private foundation, not a program-related investment funder, and the listed grants are all unrestricted general support. The recent record shows repeated support within a single year across arts, education, policy, and health rather than a narrow one-time project pattern.
$1M
$13M
$2.2M
$1.2M
About 100% of grants go to recipients in NJ.
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 FreeRegístrate gratis para ver qué tan bien se adapta tu organización sin fines de lucro a este financiador, obtener un pitch generado por IA y descubrir fundaciones similares.
Relatively concentrated giving with a small number of mid-to-large unrestricted grants; mixes regionally focused, repeat-style support for Massachusetts arts and civic groups with occasional national humanitarian and health gifts. Grants favor general operating support over project-restricted funding.
Notable grantees: Actors' Shakespeare Project, Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders, EdVestors, Doctors Without Borders, Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center
The Parker Family Foundation gives locally: 100% of the listed grants go to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state of New Jersey? Wait no—top giving state is NJ per the dataset, but the grants listed here are in Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC. In the recent grants table, Boston appears multiple times, including Edvestors Inc, Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center, Handel and Haydn Society, Grub Street Inc, Theater Offensive Inc, Trustees of Reservations, and Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Program. Other recipient cities include Newton, Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, New York, and Washington.
Its recent grants support arts and culture, education access, civic policy, health, and preservation. Examples in the 2025 list include performing arts groups, college-access and youth programs, a policy center, an Alzheimer’s-related grant, and a conservation organization.
The recent grants shown are all labeled unrestricted general support. That includes awards of $213,000, $175,000, $110,000, and several smaller grants, indicating the foundation is giving flexible operating support rather than project-specific funding.
In the 2025 list, grants run from $25,000 to $213,000. The largest listed award is $213,000, and several awards cluster at $110,000, $85,000, and $40,000 to $50,000.
The recent grants listed are all in the United States. Recipient cities include Newton, Charlestown, Boston, Jamaica Plain, New York, and Washington, showing a mix of Massachusetts-based giving and select national recipients.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALZHEIMERS DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS | NEWTON, MA | $213,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| ACTORS SHAKESPEARE PROJECT INC | CHARLESTOWN, MA | $175,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| EDVESTORS INC | BOSTON, MA | $110,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET & POLICY CENTER | BOSTON, MA | $110,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| SUMMER SEARCH | JAMAICA PLAIN, MA | $85,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS | NEW YORK, NY | $85,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION | WASHINGTON, DC | $80,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY | BOSTON, MA | $50,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| GRUB STREET INC | BOSTON, MA | $45,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| THEATER OFFENSIVE INC | BOSTON, MA | $40,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS | BOSTON, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
| MASSACHUSETTS POETRY OUTREACH PROGRAM | BOSTON, MA | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GENERAL |
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS
$213,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
ACTORS SHAKESPEARE PROJECT INC
$175,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
EDVESTORS INC
$110,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET & POLICY CENTER
$110,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
SUMMER SEARCH
$85,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
$85,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION
$80,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY
$50,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
GRUB STREET INC
$45,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
THEATER OFFENSIVE INC
$40,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS
$30,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL
MASSACHUSETTS POETRY OUTREACH PROGRAM
$25,000UNRESTRICTED GENERAL