Anna B Stearns Charitable Foundation Inc
The Anna B. Stearns Charitable Foundation is a private foundation established in 1966 and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting nonprofit initiatives that advance gender equity, education, and environmental conservation.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$10.3M
-1.8% YoY
Annual Giving
$812K
+8.4% YoY
Grant Count
54
+10.2% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$15K
-1.7% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
Mission
The Anna B. Stearns Charitable Foundation supports women+ and girls+. The foundation focuses its grantmaking on projects designed to strengthen the education, independence, and socioeconomic stability of women+, children, and youth, especially girls+. The foundation also supports efforts to protect and preserve the natural environment.
Vision
The foundation envisions a world of equality and opportunity where all those who identify as girls+ or women+ can participate fully in their communities, make choices about their lives to reach their full potential, and contribute to justice in the world.
Core Values
The foundation operates according to two primary values:
Gender Equity: The foundation believes in gender equity in society and commits to engaging communities in taking action to eliminate inequities facing women+ and girls+. It supports organizations and projects focused on meeting the specific needs and challenges of women+ and girls+, including transgender, nonbinary, and gender queer individuals.
Diversity: The foundation respects, celebrates, and learns from differences and commonalities based on age, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, religion, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and marital status. It recognizes the intersectionality of identity and understands that confronting racism and systemic oppression requires intentionality.
Funding Priorities
The foundation supports projects and organizations addressing one or more of these major interests:
- Strengthening the education, independence, and capabilities of young people, especially girls, and of women+ and their children
- Supporting the healthy development of girls+ as the foundation for their adult lives
- Protecting and preserving the natural environment
The foundation is particularly interested in funding:
- All-girls+ programs in education, enrichment, mentoring, peer leadership, sports and fitness, civic participation, teen pregnancy prevention, and avoidance of domestic violence
- Mixed-gender youth programs that demonstrate understanding of and ability to meet girls' needs
- Programs in education, job training, social services, economic self-sufficiency, and community organizing that enable women+ to provide for themselves and their children
- Organizations that can demonstrate through clear program evaluation significant impact on the lives of women+ and children in a cost-effective manner
- Environmental or arts projects that also include other foundation priorities, such as opportunities for girls+, education, employment, or community service opportunities
The foundation emphasizes prevention rather than remediation.
Grantmaking
Typical grant awards range from $5,000 to $45,000. The median grant amount is $15,000.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grantmaking is limited to the Massachusetts cities of Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Somerville. The foundation also makes grants to environmental organizations in geographic areas supported by the foundation's benefactor. Additionally, the foundation's grantmaking in New Hampshire is made through the Anna B. Stearns Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Assets and Giving
- Total assets: $10,314,566 (as of 2024)
- Total giving: $812,300 (2024)
- Total revenues: $777,226 (2023)
- Total expenses: $945,072 (2023)
- Total assets: $10,503,584 (2023)
Grant Distribution
In 2023, the foundation made 49 grants totaling $639,900 in documented awards. Notable 2023 grantees included La Alianza Hispana ($35,000), Philanthropy Massachusetts ($30,200), and Justice Resource Institute ($30,000).
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $10,314,566 | $10,503,584 | $10,722,188 |
| Revenue | $830,103 | $777,226 | $975,831 |
| Expenses | $1,019,027 | $945,072 | $1,292,402 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $944,534 | $880,347 | $1,164,356 |
| Net Investment Income | $796,898 | $751,512 | $853,733 |
| Distributable Amount | $962,941 | $896,345 | $902,067 |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
Grant Size Distribution
249 grants across all recorded years
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Anna B Stearns Charitable Foundation Inc
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation is governed by a board of trustees with limited paid staffing:
- Jennifer Collins, President & Clerk
- Paige Johnson Roth, Treasurer
- Sylvia Simmons, Trustee
- Kathryn A Wheeler, Trustee
- Katie Smith Milway, Trustee
- Alexandra Oliver-Davila, Trustee
- Alison Simmons, Trustee
- Andrea Zayas, Trustee
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
From 2024 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SYLVIA SIMMONS | TRUSTEE | — | — |
| PAIGE JOHNSON ROTH | TREASURER | — | $150 |
| JENNIFER COLLINS | PRESIDENT & CLERK | — | — |
| KATHRYN A WHEELER | TRUSTEE | — | $150 |
| KATIE SMITH MILWAY | TRUSTEE | — | — |
| ALEXANDRA OLIVER-DAVILA | TRUSTEE | — | $400 |
| ALISON SIMMONS | TRUSTEE | — | $150 |
| ANDREA ZAYAS | TRUSTEE | — | — |
Contact Information
Mailing Address
C/O Fiduciary Trust Co PO Box 5 Boston, MA 02205-5806
Telephone
617-482-5270
EIN
04-6144732
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Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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