The Yawkey Foundation

The Yawkey Foundation is a US private foundation based in Westwood, MA.

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 Yawkey Foundation supports tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisations, including fiscal sponsors, whose direct programmes and services make a meaningful difference to individuals, families and communities. Its six priority areas are health care, education, human services, youth and amateur athletics, arts and culture, and conservation and wildlife. Its mission locates this work in Eastern Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina. It prioritises established organisations with demonstrated capacity, financial stability, a track record of impact and meaningful scale of direct service. For programme and small-capital support, it backs discrete, timebound projects addressing an immediate need, and favours strong leadership and proven direct-service impact for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with its geographic priorities.

Themes

• Health care
• Education
• Human services
• Youth and amateur athletics
• Arts and culture
• Conservation and wildlife

Geographic Focus

Priority: Eastern Massachusetts: Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol and 4 more counties in Massachusetts; Georgetown County, South Carolina.

What They Don't Fund

• Organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities, including private operating foundations and 509(a)(3) Type III non-functionally integrated organizations
• Public entities (e.g., school districts, charter/public schools, libraries, government agencies) and nonprofits/quasi-public nonprofits whose core programming relies on access to or partnership with these entities
• Funding for specific staff positions, stipends, consultants, or recruitment efforts
• Emergency response efforts, events, conferences, sponsorships, advertisements, films, travel, or individual benefit requests
• Intermediaries, pass-through organizations, funder collaboratives, private foundations, or general endowments
• Sectarian activities of faith-based organizations
• Athletic and sports programs not primarily focused on baseball or softball
• Scholarships
• Early education, preschool, or elementary school programs
• Organizations whose direct services primarily benefit individuals or communities outside the United States
• Program & Small Capital Grants only: general or ongoing program operations; personnel expenses (Including stipends); consultants; programs specific to individual public or charter schools/districts, cities, towns, or counties

Nonprofits complete an online Eligibility Quiz; after completing it, they may submit an Initial Proposal for a specific grant type. Program & Small Capital and Strategic Investment proposals use submission periods; Transformational Capital proposals are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the calendar year.

Deadlines:

• Program & Small Capital Initial Proposals have four submission periods, divided by Areas of Giving categories.
• Strategic Investment Initial Proposals have two submission periods.

• Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 92% 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 74 grants to organisations were $25,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

• The Foundation prioritises established nonprofits with demonstrated organisational capacity, financial stability, a track record of impact and meaningful direct-service scale.
• The Foundation considers the organisation’s annual budget, service reach and scale, impact history, and request size relative to its overall operations.
• New applicants generally should have an annual operating budget of at least $500,000.
• Initial Proposals should demonstrate awareness of and alignment with the Foundation’s mission and Areas of Giving.
• The most competitive proposals reflect strong leadership and proven impact delivering direct services for unmet needs in underserved regions aligned with the Foundation’s geographic priorities.