Manton Foundation

• Manton Foundation gives by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold application is not the way in; focus instead on building a relationship, as the foundation says it works alongside nonprofit partners beforehand to evaluate how it can be most helpful.
• Its geographic focus is given as a priority on New England, so nonprofits working there fit the stated focus best.
• Typical grants to organisations range from $20,000 to $1,450,000, with a median of $150,000, so a request in that range is realistic for most applicants, though the largest grant recorded was $5,000,000.
• A majority of its grant dollars (63%) go to organisations it has already funded in recent filings, suggesting it leans toward ongoing relationships with existing partners rather than one-off support, so new applicants should be patient and focus on getting known to the foundation rather than expecting a quick yes.
• Work in education, arts and culture, medical research, community preservation, or historic preservation and conservation aligns with its stated themes, though it notes that not every project fits neatly into them.

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

• Saint Mark's School of Southborough · For the john c. warren '74 and laura p. appell-warren financial aid fund
  $3,000,0002024 tax year
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · For the center for gynepathology research
  $2,614,5172024 tax year
• Tufts University · For the qalibra ct system
  $2,300,0002024 tax year
• Boston Children's Hospital · For the cell discovery network
  $2,000,0002024 tax year
• Trustees of Reservations · For the millborn farm conservation project
  $1,500,0002024 tax year
• Mount Desert Island Hospital · For the central utility plant
  $1,500,0002024 tax year
• Broad Institute · For scad-related research and investments
  $1,400,3092024 tax year
• Nature Conservancy · For tree species in peril
  $1,254,2872024 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.