OVERVIEW: The Lynch Foundation has a particular interest in education in Boston but also supports cultural and historic preservation, healthcare, medical research, and the religious and education efforts of the Catholic Church.
IP TAKE: The Lynch Foundation views philanthropy as more than “just about numbers;” for them, “it’s about believing in potential when it’s still in its infancy.” This funder believes in taking reasonable risks on unproven organizations and cites its early investment in Teach for America as an example. While it is not the most transparent funder, it is approachable and will consider unsolicited applications any time throughout the year. Public education in Boston is a huge cause for this funder and it directs more funding there than to any other cause. However, regardless of what program area your nonprofit works in, make sure to craft a pitch centered on creating sustainable social change for the long-term.
PROFILE: Established in 1988, the Lynch Foundation is the foundation of Carolyn and Peter Lynch, who had educators as parents, attended public schools, and went to college on scholarships. They have always had a passion for education, which is where a significant portion of the foundation’s grantmaking strategy lies as well. Carolyn Lynch passed away in 2015 from complications with leukemia at the age of 69. The foundation supports “a range of organizations, primarily in Massachusetts,” and its “tenants are education, health care and wellness including social determinants of health, preservation and access to cultural and historic assets and open space for all, the religious and educational efforts of the Roman Catholic Church, and housing and homelessness.” It lists healthcare, religion, education, housing security, and culture as grantmaking focus areas.
This foundation views its grantees as partners and values networking with organizations that impact the most people. Overall, the Lynch Foundation supports organizations that promise long-term benefits, rather than addressing shorter-term needs. Multi-year grants are common because Lynch believes in strengthening nonprofits for the long-term, and the foundation has partnered with some of its grantees for more than 30 years. Common types of awards address: seed funding, student scholarships, endowment funds, challenge grants, multi-year grants, capacity-building grants, program grants and operating grants.
Grants for K-12 and Early Childhood Education
K-12 Education is one of the foundation’s key priority areas and it awards more grants in this area than any other.
- Teach for America, City Year, Urban Catholic Teacher Corps, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston have all been consistent grantees for around 30 years.
- Other grantees include Catholic Schools Foundation, Cathedral High School, Thrive Scholars, Sacred Heart School System, and Cambridge College.
Early childhood education is another of Lynch’s priorities and it created the Early Education Initiative in 2006 to support early education for students between three months to five years old at catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Boston.
- The program’s key pillars are: expanding and redesigning programs, developing high quality curricula, professional development for educators, and access to continuing education opportunities and scholarships for teachers.
Grants for Public Health and Access
After education, health is Lynch’s largest funding area. Support here is split between community healthcare organizations that provide basic services and larger organizations that serve a bigger portion of the population.
- Its longtime partners include Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners in Health, and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, which the Lynch Foundation helped establish.
- Other grantees include Fathers’ UpLift, Children’s Hospital Corporation, Mass General Brigham, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Pan Massachusetts Challenge, another cancer charity.
Grants for Housing and Homelessness
The Lynch Foundation’s funding for homelessness and affordable housing is not as robust as some of its other focus areas, but 990s show that it still receives considerable support.
- It has partnered with Pine Street Inn for over 30 years.
- Other grantees include Saint Francis House, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, and Homestart Inc.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Most of the foundation’s culture grantmaking goes to performing arts organizations, museums, and cultural centers.
- Longterm grantees include Historic New England, Artists for Humanity, and Historic Boston Incorporated’s Steeples program.
- Other grantees include Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Community Music Center of Boston, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Peabody Essex Museum, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, The Children’s Museum, and Boston Parks and Recreation Department.
Important Grant Details
Grant amounts typically range between $1,000 and $500,000, although they can reach into the millions from time to time. The foundation awarded over $7.7 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $130 million in assets.
- Most grant recipients are based in Boston, as the foundation prefers to keep funding local. It has also awarded grants in the Massachusetts communities of Beverly, Peabody, Salem, Dorchester and Westwood.
- Nonprofits can apply for a Lynch Foundation grant at any time, as it has a rolling application process that welcomes concept papers from nonprofits through its website throughout the year.
- Grants are usually awarded for less than five percent of a nonprofit’s total budget.
- The first step as a grantseeker is to submit an electronic concept paper through Lynch’s website, and the foundation will respond with an invitation to submit a full application or with a rejection.
- This response typically takes one to three months.
- Site visits are common at this point as well.
- If an organization’s full application is rejected or if it is awarded a Lynch grant, it must wait at least five years to try again for another grant.
- Direct general questions to the foundation’s operations manager, Victoria Prudden, at victoria@thelynchfoundation.com or (617) 639-1282.
PEOPLE:
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LINKS:
CONTACT:
109 State Street • Suite 404
Boston, MA 02109-2909 U.S.
(617) 639-1280
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