Barr Foundation

• Barr Foundation is based in Boston, MA and its stated geographic focus is New England, so organisations working outside that area are unlikely to fit.
• Its themes cover climate, arts and creativity, public high school education, sector effectiveness and racial wealth equity, so a proposal should sit clearly within one of these.
• Grants to organisations typically range from $300 to $325,000, with about 8 in 10 falling in that band and the median grant around $68,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic for a first approach, though the largest grant recorded was about $3,450,000.
• The foundation does not fund individuals or scholarships.
• Barr says it prioritises long-term relationships with organisations that share its vision and demonstrate clear impact, and 88% of its grant dollars to organisations in the latest filing went to organisations it had already funded in the prior two filings, so this looks relationship-led rather than a simple open competition; it encourages potential partners to review its programme pages and goals, introduce themselves to relevant team members, and submit inquiries through the forms on those pages, noting that conversations with community leaders, residents and experts can lead to an invitation to submit a proposal, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

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

• United States Energy Foundation · To accelerate the transition to clean energy in the northeast
  $3,275,0002024 tax year
• Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts · To support the valley creates initiative
  $2,900,0002024 tax year
• National Center for Civic Innovation · To continue to lead the technical assistance for the schools in the beyond ene (engage new england) cohort
  $1,550,0002024 tax year
• Boston Ujima Project · To provide core support
  $1,200,0002024 tax year
• National Center for Civic Innovation · To build organizational capacity to scale school observation visits and to provide capacity-building support for barr grantee school leaders
  $1,180,0002024 tax year
• SRI International · To continue the developmental evaluation and conduct an efficacy study of the beyond engage new england initiative
  $1,100,0002024 tax year
• Conservation Law Foundation · To provide core support for the transportation for massachusetts coalition
  $1,100,0002024 tax year
• Double Edge Theatre Productions · To participate in barr's cultural evolution grants program
  $1,000,0002024 tax year

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

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.