← Back to US Funders Directory

Barr Foundation

Annual Giving
$130.0M
Grant Range
$1K - $1.0M
Success Rate
22%

Barr Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $130 million (2025 budget)
  • Total Assets: Nearly $2.5 billion
  • Success Rate: 15-30% of grants go to new organizations
  • Grant Range: Few thousand to over $1 million (most under $150,000)
  • Geographic Focus: Massachusetts and New England, with primary focus on Boston area
  • Application Method: Primarily invitation-based with occasional open RFPs

Contact Details

Address: Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 854-3500
Website: https://www.barrfoundation.org/
General Inquiries: learning@barrfoundation.org
Education Program: education@barrfoundation.org

For program-specific inquiries, visit the relevant program page and submit an inquiry via their online forms.

Overview

Founded in 1987 by telecommunications entrepreneur Amos Barr Hostetter, Jr., the Barr Foundation was largely endowed from the proceeds of the $10.8 billion sale of Continental Cablevision to US West in 1996. Originally called the Hostetter Foundation, it was renamed Barr (after Amos Hostetter's middle name) in 1999. With assets of nearly $2.5 billion, Barr is among the largest private foundations in New England and has contributed more than $1 billion to charitable causes since its inception. The foundation makes targeted, long-term investments in organizations and leaders primarily in Massachusetts and New England, with grantmaking focused on three core areas: Arts & Creativity, Climate, and Education. Annual grantmaking has tripled under outgoing President Jim Canales' tenure (2014-2025), with Ali Noorani becoming president effective December 1, 2025.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Arts & Creativity

  • Multi-year operating grants: Large, multi-year support for arts organizations, particularly BIPOC-led, -serving, and/or -rooted organizations
  • ArtsAmplified: $30 million over six years to 15 accomplished arts organizations across Massachusetts
  • Catalyzing Vitality: Three-year general operating support grants for BIPOC arts organizations
  • Cultural Evolution: $3.3 million over three years to eight leading arts organizations (flexible, multi-year operating grants plus technical assistance)
  • Note: The Arts + Creativity program is currently not accepting inquiries for new grant proposals as they focus on supporting current grantees during a strategic refresh

Climate

  • Climate Resilience: Grants supporting community leadership development, professional networks (real estate developers, architects, engineers, planners), and advocacy organizations advancing local and state-level resilience policies
  • Clean Energy: Support for renewable energy adoption and carbon emissions reduction
  • Grant example: $1.4 million to Metropolitan Area Planning Council for Accelerating Climate Resilience mini-grants program

Education

  • Engage New England: Doing High School Differently: $30 million over five years to build innovative school models for students off track to graduate
  • Grant amounts: Up to $100,000 plus technical assistance
  • Geographic focus: Public high schools across New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine)
  • Approach: Cohort-based support with technical assistance partner Springpoint

Sector Effectiveness

  • Capacity building and infrastructure investments in the nonprofit sector

Priority Areas

Arts & Creativity: Organizations centering racial equity, providing field leadership with innovative models, and integrating arts in other sectors; focus on mid-sized arts and cultural institutions (annual budgets $1-25 million) and youth arts excellence programs

Climate: Strengthening Massachusetts' resilience to climate impacts; building awareness of climate risks; mobilizing constituencies for policy advancement; supporting demonstration projects integrating resilience into cities

Education: Catalyzing new models, investing in educators, and building public will to advance excellence and equity for young people in public high schools across New England

Cross-cutting: Racial equity, long-term partnerships, breakthrough ideas, and willingness to embrace risk

What They Don't Fund

  • Grants to individuals
  • Scholarships
  • Capital projects (rare exceptions for longstanding partners)
  • Event sponsorships (rare exceptions for longstanding partners)

Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees (9 members total, expanding to 8-12 with majority non-family members):

  • Jim Canales: Transitioning from President to Board Chair (effective end of 2025)
  • Barbara Hostetter: Co-founder and former Board Chair, now trustee
  • Caroline Hostetter Walsh: Trustee, eldest child of Barbara and Amos Hostetter
  • Vanessa Calderón-Rosado: Trustee
  • Mark Edwards: Trustee
  • Tracy Palandjian: Trustee

Key Leadership:

  • Ali Noorani: President (effective December 1, 2025). Previously program director of US Democracy Program at Hewlett Foundation and president of National Immigration Forum. Former executive director of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (2003-2008).
  • Jim Canales: Outgoing President (2014-2025), becoming Board Chair. Previously president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation in California (2003-2014). Under his leadership, annual grantmaking tripled and staff more than doubled.

Quote from Jim Canales: The foundation values organizations that "as stewards, bring an abiding commitment to stick with complex challenges over the long term and a willingness to double down on progress, and as catalysts, embrace risk and opportunities to invest in breakthrough ideas."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Barr Foundation operates through multiple pathways:

  1. Invitation-Based Proposals (Primary pathway): The team spends time in communities engaging with leaders, residents, and experts. These conversations can lead to invitations by staff to submit a grant proposal. In most years, the majority of grants support organizations they've previously funded.

  2. Open Requests for Proposals (RFPs): Occasionally issued to provide broad access to opportunities and to discover new ideas. To learn about RFP opportunities, subscribe to the foundation's newsletter at their website.

  3. Direct Inquiries: The foundation welcomes inquiries from those who have reviewed their goals and strategies. Review the program pages on their website and submit inquiries via program-specific forms.

Important Note: 15-30% of Barr grants support organizations they've never funded before, demonstrating openness to new partnerships despite the primarily invitation-based approach.

Decision Timeline

Specific decision timelines are not publicly disclosed. The foundation makes grant announcements quarterly, typically publishing grants awarded by quarter on their website and through their newsletter.

Success Rates

  • 15-30% of grants each year go to organizations they have never supported before
  • Majority of grants support previously funded organizations
  • No specific application-to-award ratio is publicly disclosed

Reapplication Policy

  • There is no appeal process at the board level for declined proposals
  • Even when the foundation doesn't renew a grant, they remain in close contact and look for new opportunities to continue partnerships in the future
  • No specific waiting period for reapplication is documented

Application Success Factors

Deep Partnership Approach: The foundation considers deep partnerships essential to making positive difference and prioritizes long-term relationships with organizations that share their vision and make a clear impact year-to-year. As stated on their website, they value organizations demonstrating commitment to "stick with complex challenges over the long term."

Alignment with Strategic Priorities: Successful applicants demonstrate clear alignment with Barr's focus areas and strategic approaches. For education grants, organizations must have "a student need that warrants a substantial level of investment to transform for equity."

Clear Outputs and Outcomes: The foundation developed a guide for grant seekers on writing outputs and outcomes that are "simple, clear, and meaningful measures of progress and impact." This indicates they value concrete, measurable results over vague aspirations.

Racial Equity Commitment: Particularly in the Arts & Creativity program, the foundation explicitly seeks organizations "pursuing opportunities to center racial equity." This is a clear priority across programs.

Innovation and Risk-Taking: The foundation values organizations willing to embrace risk and invest in breakthrough ideas. They see themselves as both "stewards" (long-term commitment) and "catalysts" (breakthrough ideas).

Geographic Focus: Strong preference for organizations based in or primarily serving Massachusetts and New England, with particular emphasis on the Boston area and surrounding communities.

Multi-Year Thinking: Many of the foundation's most significant investments are multi-year commitments (3-6 years), suggesting they favor organizations with long-term vision and capacity for sustained impact rather than short-term projects.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Relationship-building is essential: With invitation-based proposals as the primary pathway, invest time in engaging with foundation staff and attending events where they might be present. Subscribe to their newsletter to learn about RFPs.

  • Focus on long-term partnership potential: The foundation values sustained relationships and multi-year commitments. Position your organization as a long-term partner, not a one-time grantee.

  • Demonstrate racial equity commitment: Particularly for arts and education grants, explicit commitment to centering racial equity in your work is critical for alignment.

  • Be prepared for substantial multi-year grants: Many significant grants are 3-6 year commitments. Show you have the organizational capacity and strategic vision for long-term work.

  • Emphasize measurable outcomes: Use the foundation's guidance on outputs and outcomes to craft clear, simple, meaningful measures of your impact.

  • Show willingness to embrace risk and innovation: The foundation values breakthrough ideas and organizations willing to try new approaches to complex problems.

  • Geographic alignment matters: Unless you have a compelling reason otherwise, demonstrate strong ties to Massachusetts and New England, particularly the Boston area.

  • Even if declined, stay engaged: The foundation explicitly states they look for new opportunities to continue partnerships even after not renewing grants, suggesting persistence and relationship maintenance can pay off.

References

← Back to US Funders Directory