Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Boston, Massachusetts. It reported 22 grants totaling $163,255 in filing year 2025; the grants listed were primarily to Massachusetts organizations, with additional awards in Texas and Rhode Island.
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust at a glance
In short: Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust gave $163K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $7K), mostly in Massachusetts. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $163,255
- -13.1% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 22
- +46.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $7,421
- -40.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $11,819
- -2.2% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (93% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust
- How to Apply
-
The filing says to contact Thomas A. Kershaw and submit a letter describing the organization and its needs. It states that the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations and that there are no restrictions on awards.
- Review Cycle
- None stated.
- Deadline
- None stated.
- Contact
Application contact: Thomas A Kershaw
Mailing address: 84 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 227-9600
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Sail Boston ($45K). Together the top 10 received $141K.
Grant Size Distribution
64 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 63 grants of 64 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 93% of grant dollars went to recipients in Massachusetts, 6% to Texas, and 1% to Rhode Island. New York and Indiana each accounted for 0% as reported in the filing. The listed grants included recipients in Boston and other Massachusetts communities, as well as a Texas recipient.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.
Cities
How Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust gives
- 32% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 220% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1K (2020) to $188K (2024). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $163K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sail Boston Boston, MA | General Support | $45,000 |
| Esplanade Association Inc Boston, MA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Trustees of Reservations Boston, MA | General Support | $16,000 |
| Boy Scouts of America Irving, TX | General Support | $10,000 |
| Globe Santa Taunton, MA | General Support | $10,000 |
| Nourish Nantucket Nantucketm, MA | General Support | $10,000 |
| Old North Illuminated Boston, MA | General Support | $7,500 |
| Nantucket Cottage Hospital Nantucket, MA | General Support | $7,000 |
| Beacon Hill Village Boston, MA | General Support | $5,355 |
| USS Constitution Museum Charlestown, MA | General Support | $5,100 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $11,819 | $173,600 | $173,865 | $163,255 | 22 | $173,865 | $948 |
| 2024 | $12,084 | $182,300 | $199,458 | $187,811 | 15 | $187,811 | $1,141 |
| 2023 | $29,242 | $79,825 | $95,503 | $91,583 | 16 | $91,583 | $2,107 |
| 2022 | $44,920 | $56,900 | $53,018 | $51,000 | 8 | $51,000 | $2,410 |
| 2021 | $41,038 | $52,065 | $16,650 | $16,000 | 3 | $16,000 | $1,097 |
| 2020 | $5,623 | $2,050 | $1,959 | $1,000 | 1 | — | $277 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $948 for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations working in areas such as maritime events, parks and public spaces, scouting, historic preservation, elder services, and museums. For example, Sail Boston says its mission is to organize events celebrating visiting tall ships, while the Esplanade Association says it works to enhance the Charles River Esplanade and provide educational, cultural, and recreational programs. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not a stated mission of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation gave 22 grants totaling $163,255. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $45,000, with a median of $5,000. The largest awards included Sail Boston ($45,000), Esplanade Association ($25,000), Trustees of Reservations ($16,000), Boy Scouts of America ($10,000), Globe Santa ($10,000), and Nourish Nantucket ($10,000). The listed purposes for these largest grants were general support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Thomas A. Kershaw, John F. Bradley, Paul George, and Markus Ripperger as trustees.
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
John F. Bradley
Trustee
On filings since 2020
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Paul George
Trustee
On filings since 2020
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Thomas A. Kershaw
Trustee
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Markus Ripperger
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Doris Gupa (2020–2024) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust
How much does Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust give each year?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust gave $163K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $188K across 15 grants.
What is Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's typical grant size?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,421, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust give grants?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust gives mostly in Massachusetts: 93% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Texas (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Boston, MA (11 grants) and Nantucket, MA (2 grants).
Does Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (22 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's largest grantees?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Sail Boston ($45,000), Esplanade Association Inc ($25,000) and Trustees of Reservations ($16,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 53% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust reported $12K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $174K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $948 (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations working in areas such as maritime events, parks and public spaces, scouting, historic preservation, elder services, and museums. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust?
The filing says to contact Thomas A. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's EIN?
Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 04-6744975. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 7, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 24, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 8, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
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Browse active grant opportunities in Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/kershaw-foundation-charitable-trust-morg_615b8f47424f4f1797ace0e290d109b0
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_046744975_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/kershaw-foundation-charitable-trust-morg_615b8f47424f4f1797ace0e290d109b0},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. 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 Kershaw Foundation Charitable Trust'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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