Linde Family Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Linde Foundation was built upon the fortune of Edward Linde's Boston Properties real estate investment firm. Today, the foundation awards grants to art, education, and youth services programs in the Boston metropolitan area.

FUNDING AREAS: Children's services, education, art

IP TAKE: To reach the Linde Foundation, pitch a program that gets the youth of Boston interested in the arts. Contact with the foundation's philanthropic advisor at Mott Philanthropic to get involved.

PROFILE: Established in 2000, the Linde Family Foundation is the grantmaking legacy of Edward Linde. Linde made his fortune in the real estate investment market with Boston Properties, and he was responsible for developing the city's Prudential Center, One Boston Place, and 28 State Street properties. Linde and his business partner redeveloped the East Cambridge area, which was transformed into the technology hub of Harvard and MIT. During his lifetime, Linde split his spare time between art, employment, and medical charitable causes. He started his own foundation, the Linde Family Foundation, to keep his donations flowing on a regular basis. Since his death in 2010, his wife, Joyce, has managed the foundation's grant awards, with a focus on children's services, education, and the arts.

The Linde Foundation does not have a website and it does not publish grantmaking guidelines. However, after a $12.5 million donation to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, the museum named a contemporary art wing was named after the couple. Joyce Linde has served on the boards of the Museum of Fine Arts, as well as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the DeCordova Sculpture Park & Museum. Despite Edward's involvement in the medical and technological fields, foundation money does not regularly make its way to these types of organizations. Instead, youth groups, arts groups, and schools are the regular recipients of Linde funds. Past Linde grants in the Boston area include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.

Most Linde grants are between $2,000 and $750,000. Learn more about local giving by examining this funder’s recent tax records. Almost all Linde grants stay in Massachusetts, and the foundation gives preferential treatment to the Boston metropolitan area. Linde awards grants for everything from annual campaigns to capital campaigns, building renovations, scholarships, endowments, curriculum development, and program support.

However, the foundation does not often accept unsolicited requests for funds. Linde uses a philanthropic advisor service to carry out the day-to-day operations. Linde works with Mott Philanthropic, LLC to decide where to invest the family fortune and what organizations receive support. Grantseekers should contact Mott Philanthropic at info@mottphilanthropic.com or 617-927-5700 with general or grant-related questions.

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