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Michael E Porter Family Foundation

Annual Giving
$0.4M
Grant Range
$50K - $0.2M
Success Rate
12%

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $350,000 - $700,000
  • Success Rate: 12% of new applicants funded
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: $50,000 - $203,000
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily Massachusetts and New Jersey; based in Albany, NY
  • Total Assets: $15.7 million (2024)

Contact Details

No public website, email, or phone number available.

The foundation is based in Albany, NY and files Form 990-PF annually, which can be accessed through ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer (EIN: 47-6693100).

Overview

The Michael E Porter Family Foundation was established in 2016 as a private grantmaking foundation. With total assets of $15.7 million as of 2024, the foundation has demonstrated consistent growth from its initial $1.7 million in 2015. The foundation distributed approximately $350,760 in charitable grants in 2024. Founded by Professor Michael E. Porter, the renowned Harvard Business School strategist known for his work on competitive strategy and value-based healthcare, the foundation is now managed by his daughters, Ilana Z Porter and Sonia T Smyth, who serve as trustees without compensation. The foundation's grantmaking reflects the founder's professional interests and legacy, particularly supporting organizations he founded or co-founded, including the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM).

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate formal grant programs with specific application cycles. Grants are awarded on a trustee-discretion basis and typically categorized as "General Charitable Needs."

Recent grants (2024):

  • Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC): $203,312
  • Boston Book Festival: $99,793
  • International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM): $50,000

Priority Areas

Based on recent grantmaking patterns, the foundation supports:

  • Economic development and inner city revitalization: Through support of ICIC, which focuses on market-based approaches to economic development in under-resourced urban communities
  • Healthcare outcomes and value-based care: Through support of ICHOM, which develops patient-centered outcome measure sets
  • Literacy and literary culture: Through support of the Boston Book Festival, New England's largest literary event
  • Education and intellectual advancement: Organizations promoting reading, ideas, and cultural vibrancy

Geographic focus centers on Massachusetts and New Jersey, with grants supporting work in Boston, Cambridge, Princeton, and Roxbury.

What They Don't Fund

The foundation has not published explicit exclusions. However, based on grantmaking patterns, the foundation appears to focus on organizations aligned with Professor Porter's professional legacy and intellectual interests rather than broad charitable causes.

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • Ilana Z Porter: Daughter of Professor Michael E. Porter; serves without compensation
  • Sonia T Smyth: Daughter of Professor Michael E. Porter; serves without compensation

Founder:

  • Michael E. Porter: Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School, renowned for developing competitive strategy frameworks. Professor Porter founded four nonprofit organizations, including ICIC (1994) and co-founded ICHOM (2012). He is also co-founder of FSG (a social impact consultancy) and the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Porter has authored influential works on philanthropy including "The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy" and "Philanthropy's New Agenda: Creating Value," arguing that foundations should focus on creating social value rather than simply funding worthy causes.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process. Grants appear to be awarded through trustee discretion, with significant support directed to organizations founded by or closely associated with Professor Michael E. Porter. The foundation does not maintain a public website, published guidelines, or application procedures.

Based on the grantmaking pattern, the foundation primarily supports:

  • Organizations founded by Professor Porter (ICIC, ICHOM)
  • Boston-area cultural and educational institutions
  • Organizations aligned with Porter's research areas and intellectual interests

While data suggests the foundation is "open to new applicants" with a 12% funding rate for new applicants, there is no documented pathway for submitting unsolicited proposals.

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines are not publicly disclosed. The foundation appears to make grant decisions on a rolling basis throughout the year rather than following fixed deadlines.

Success Rates

According to available data, approximately 12% of new applicants receive funding. In 2024, the foundation awarded 3 grants totaling $353,105.

Reapplication Policy

No public information available regarding reapplication policies.

Application Success Factors

Given the foundation's structure and grantmaking patterns, the following factors appear relevant:

Connection to Professor Porter's work: The largest grants support organizations that Professor Porter founded (ICIC, ICHOM), suggesting that alignment with his intellectual legacy and professional interests is central to funding decisions.

Focus on measurable impact and value creation: Reflecting Porter's published views on philanthropy, the foundation supports organizations that emphasize creating social value and measurable outcomes. Porter has written: "Foundations create value in four ways: selecting better grantees, signaling other funders, improving the performance of grantees, and improving knowledge about social problems."

Market-based approaches to social challenges: ICIC, the foundation's largest grantee, exemplifies Porter's belief in market-based solutions. As Porter stated regarding ICIC's approach: "We must stop trying to cure the inner city's problems by perpetually increasing social investment and hoping for economic activity to follow. Instead, we need to identify and leverage the competitive advantages of inner cities."

Boston/Cambridge area presence: All recent grant recipients have strong connections to the Boston-Cambridge area, suggesting geographic proximity may be a factor.

Cultural and intellectual advancement: Support for the Boston Book Festival (founded by Deborah Z Porter) indicates interest in organizations promoting literacy, ideas, and cultural vibrancy.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • The foundation operates on a trustee-discretion model without a public application process; unsolicited proposals are unlikely to be successful unless there is a strong connection to Professor Porter's work or the trustees' interests
  • Funding priorities clearly align with Professor Michael E. Porter's professional legacy, particularly organizations he founded (ICIC, ICHOM)
  • Geographic focus centers on Massachusetts and New Jersey, particularly the Boston-Cambridge area
  • The foundation values market-based approaches to social problems and organizations that emphasize measurable outcomes and value creation
  • Grant sizes range from $50,000 to over $200,000, with larger grants supporting Porter's founded organizations
  • The foundation's small annual grant count (3 grants in 2024) suggests highly selective grantmaking focused on specific organizations of interest to the trustees
  • Organizations seeking support would likely need a pre-existing relationship with the trustees or a strong connection to Professor Porter's intellectual work in competitive strategy, economic development, or value-based healthcare

References

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