The Shapiro Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 04-3541595 · since 2001theshapirofoundation.org·California, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$5.2M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$500 to $300k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$25,000

Typical grant (median)

85 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

The Shapiro Foundation concentrates almost exclusively on refugees and immigration, so work outside lawful pathways, community sponsorship, refugee education, refugee employment, refugee basic needs or refugee travel is unlikely to fit.
The filing says it does not accept unsolicited requests and works by invitation only, so a small charity should not send a cold proposal and should approach it only where it has invited contact.
Most of its grants are modest: half of its 246 grants to organisations across its last three filings were $25,000 or less, and about 8 in 10 fall between $500 and $300,000, so a request in the low tens of thousands is the realistic scale.
Repeat giving is strong, with 61% of its grant dollars to organisations going to groups it had also funded in its earlier filings, so it tends to back a familiar set of partners.
The filing states no geographic focus, so its past grants in Massachusetts, New York, California, District of Columbia and Louisiana should not be read as a limit on who may apply.

Overview

The Shapiro Foundation is a US private foundation based in Needham, MA.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The Shapiro Foundation concentrates almost exclusively on refugees and immigration. It invests in NGO partners and identifies two core programmatic areas: expanding lawful pathways that lead to the arrival, welcome and integration of displaced people, and community-driven resettlement in which local groups sponsor newcomers. It also supports education and employment projects for refugees in countries of first asylum, particularly democratic countries with relatively stable governments, robust economies and refugee populations of about one per cent or less of the host population. Its approach combines financial support with close work alongside partner leaders and other philanthropists to identify service gaps and develop practical solutions. It may make multi-year grants to reduce partners’ funding uncertainty, and supports basic-needs responses where displacement creates critical service gaps.

Themes

Lawful pathways
Community sponsorship
Refugee education
Refugee employment
Refugee basic needs
Refugee travel

Geographic Focus

No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in Massachusetts, New York, California, District of Columbia and Louisiana.

How to apply

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 61% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 246 grants to organisations were $25,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The foundation invests in the NGO partners it regards as the best in the world.
It makes concentrated commitments to organisations and management teams it believes in.
It values deep, community-based, bottom-up support for successful refugee resettlement.
When appropriate, it makes multi-year grants to reduce partners’ long-term funding uncertainty.
It works with partner leadership and fellow philanthropists to identify gaps and develop realistic solutions.
For education and employment projects in countries of first asylum, it focuses on democratic countries with relatively stable governments, robust economies and refugee populations of approximately one per cent or less of the host population.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

Massachusetts31%

New York24%

California10%

District of Columbia8%

Louisiana7%

Minnesota6%

6 other states: 10%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 4%

The largest single recipient received 8% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 61% of grant dollars went to organisations The Shapiro Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
<1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Japan).
6% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

85 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $25,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 85 grants in tax year 2024 by size

Under $1k9%

$1k–$2.5k4%

$2.5k–$5k8%

$5k–$10k13%

$10k–$25k14%

$25k–$50k18%

$50k–$100k15%

$100k–$250k12%

$250k–$500k6%

$500k–$1M1%

Median $25,000 (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

International Refugee Assistance Project · International relief
$500,0002024 tax year
Alight · International relief
$405,4292024 tax year
World Learning · Education
$363,2582024 tax year
Boston Medical Center · Medical research
$350,0002024 tax year
Horizons for Homeless Children · Domestic needs
$303,5372024 tax year
Pathways International US · International relief
$295,0002024 tax year
Labor Mobility Partnerships · Domestic needs
$200,0002024 tax year
Focusing Philanthropy · Domestic needs
$200,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Barbara J Shapiro — Trustee
Edward L Shapiro — Trustee

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$11,493,755	$8,533,687	$138,476,829	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$14,611,542	$11,094,363	$132,903,628	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$8,385,011	$5,181,775	$139,084,513	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.