James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation
The James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Weston, Massachusetts. In filing year 2024, it reported 15 grants totaling $499,202, all to recipients in Massachusetts.
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation at a glance
In short: James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation gave $499K across 15 grants in 2024 (avg $33K), mostly in Massachusetts. 0% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $499,202
- -9.8% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 15
- -55.9% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $33,280
- +104.5% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $14,552
- Total assets
- $9,056,824
- +0.7% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 15, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (100% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.
- Contact
Mailing address: 10 Possum Road, Weston, MA 02493-2318
Phone: (781) 899-4445
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Museum of Fine Arts ($241K). Together the top 10 received $496K.
Grant Size Distribution
115 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 97 grants of 115 (84%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All reported 2024 grant dollars went to recipients in Massachusetts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.
Cities
Is James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 0 of 15 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. How we count
- 93% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+16%). Method
- In 2024 it paid out 90% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $416K (2020) to $555K (2019). In 2024 it made 15 grants totaling $499K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA | Charity | $241,000 |
| Combined Jewish Philanthropies Boston, MA | Charity | $75,000 |
| WGBH Boston, MA | Charity | $50,000 |
| Boston Symphony Orchestra Boston, MA | Charity | $28,000 |
| Celebrity Series Boston, MA | Charity | $27,500 |
| Boston Ballet Boston, MA | Charity | $22,600 |
| Boston Lyric Opera Boston, MA | Charity | $15,000 |
| Temple Emanuel Newton, MA | Charity | $14,552 |
| Chron's & Colitis Foundation Needham, MA | Charity | $12,000 |
| Phillips Academy Andover, MA | Charity | $10,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $9,056,824 | $638,587 | $583,749 | $499,202 | 15 | $516,001 | $563,898 | $573,158 |
| 2023 | $8,996,986 | $435,365 | $622,249 | $553,296 | 34 | $564,545 | $377,661 | $537,752 |
| 2022 | $9,183,870 | $286,340 | $617,249 | $545,900 | 15 | $560,058 | $244,464 | $548,124 |
| 2021 | $9,514,779 | $800,506 | $523,388 | $430,380 | 22 | $447,189 | $727,711 | $592,546 |
| 2020 | $9,237,661 | $429,094 | $503,537 | $416,052 | 29 | — | $353,786 | $492,629 |
| 2019 | $9,312,104 | $488,502 | $633,571 | $554,846 | 37 | — | $436,837 | $497,857 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $573K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, and Nantucket Historical Association. The Boston Symphony Orchestra describes its mission as fostering an organization dedicated to music and providing performances, education, and training programs. The Nantucket Historical Association says it preserves and interprets Nantucket’s history through its programs, collections, and properties.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2024, the foundation awarded 15 grants totaling $499,202. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $241,000, with a median of $14,552. Its largest reported grants included $241,000 to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, $75,000 to Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston, $50,000 to WGBH in Boston, and $28,000 to the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston. It also gave $22,600 to Boston Ballet and $150 to the Nantucket Historical Association.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Melinda A. Rabb was listed as a trustee on the 2024 filing.
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation is led by Melinda A. Rabb, Trustee on every filing since 2019 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Melinda A. Rabb
Trustee
On filings since 2019
0.3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation
How much does James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation give each year?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation gave $499K across 15 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $553K across 34 grants.
What is James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's typical grant size?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $14,552, and its average grant was $33,280, across 15 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation give grants?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation gives mostly in Massachusetts: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Boston, MA (8 grants) and Brookline, MA (2 grants).
Does James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 15 grants with a stated purpose on James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charity" (15 grants).
Who are James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's largest grantees?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Museum of Fine Arts ($241,000), Combined Jewish Philanthropies ($75,000) and WGBH ($50,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 73% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation reported $9.1M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $516K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $573K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, and Nantucket Historical Association. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's EIN?
James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 38-7032850. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2024.
Does James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 31, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 14, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS July 10, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 18, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/james-and-melinda-rabb-family-foundation-morg_c13702b27a654152b5c3510323b169f9
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_387032850_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{James \& Melinda Rabb Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/james-and-melinda-rabb-family-foundation-morg_c13702b27a654152b5c3510323b169f9},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-04. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from James & Melinda Rabb Family Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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