The Vertex Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The foundation accepts requests by invitation only and does not take unsolicited requests, so a charity without an invitation should not send it a proposal.
- If you already have a connection, your work fits best if it falls within its education (including STEAM), social innovation or health themes, as the filing says its funded programmes align with education, innovation and health in communities where Vertex is located.
- Requests around the median of $10,000 match its pattern, since across its recent filings half of its 62 grants to organisations were $10,000 or less, though its typical band runs from $2,000 to $260,000 and its largest grant was about $6,150,000, to Charities Aid Foundation of America.
- Relationships appear to matter: in its latest filing, 99% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in earlier filings.
Overview
The Vertex Foundation is a US private foundation based in Boston, MA.
What they fund
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 Vertex Foundation seeks to improve the lives of people with serious diseases and contribute to communities where Vertex is located through education, innovation and health. Its STEAM education partnerships aim to increase interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, strengthen innovation skills, and support young women and under-resourced students in those fields. Through social innovation, it invests in organisations developing effective solutions to community challenges. Its healthy-families work partners with organisations to support patients and families affected by serious illness, including through mental-health services, convenient housing, nutritious food and programmes improving quality of life for families with children living with serious diseases. It also supports employees’ giving and community volunteering, with donations during disasters.
Themes
- Education
- Social innovation
- Health
Geographic Focus
U.S.; outside the U.S.
How to apply
The filing reports that contributions go only to preselected charitable organisations and gives no public application steps.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 99% 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 62 grants to organisations were $10,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Funded programmes align with education, innovation and health in communities where Vertex is located.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 8%
- The largest single recipient received 62% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 99% of grant dollars went to organisations The Vertex Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 4% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (United Kingdom, Australia).
- 95% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 21 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $24,100 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Charities Aid Foundation of America · Donor advised fund grants$5,664,2712024 tax year
- American Online Giving Foundation · Donor advised fund matching gifts$3,099,5852024 tax year
- Enthuse Charitable Trust · General support$259,5202024 tax year
- Trussell Trust · General support$204,5002024 tax year
- Charitable Giving · Donor advised fund matching gifts$84,1932024 tax year
- UK Online Giving Foundation · Donor advised fund matching gifts$77,6162024 tax year
- Together We Rise · General support$36,3382024 tax year
- Canadian Online Giving Foundation · Donor advised fund matching gifts$28,2792024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Kimberly Roessiger — Secretary
- Susan Grieco — Treasurer
- Sabine Hadida — Director
- Ana Carolina Santos — Director
- Katharine Jensen — Director
- Eustacia MacNaught — Director
- Melodie Knowlton — Executive Director and Director
- Nina Devlin — Vice Chair and Director
- Amit Sachdev — Chairman and Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $8,359,984 | $7,325,544 | $8,022,259 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $9,413,570 | $9,353,813 | $3,179,591 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $10,233,790 | $10,005,261 | $2,552,320 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
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.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Vertex Foundation?
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Applying to The Vertex Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required