Thomas Thompson Trust
The Thomas Thompson Trust is a private foundation based in Boston, Massachusetts. It makes grants for capacity building, program support, capital campaigns, multi-year projects, start-up support, and general operating support.
Thomas Thompson Trust at a glance
In short: Thomas Thompson Trust gave $1.0M across 45 grants in 2025 (avg $22K), mostly in Vermont. 43% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,001,000
- +9.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 45
- +12.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,244
- -2.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $15,000
- Total assets
- $17,394,416
- +69.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 43% first-time grantees (18 of 42, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Vermont (66% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Thomas Thompson Trust
- How to Apply
-
The Trust’s guidelines direct applicants to submit applications through its application portal. Its 2024 filing says initial contact should be by phone and lists Susan T. Monahan as the contact; the filing states there are no deadlines.
- Contact
Application contact: Susan T Monahan
Mailing address: One Federal St 20Th Fl, Boston, MA 02110
Phone: (978) 500-0786
Website: https://thomasthompsontrust.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Thomas Thompson Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Brattleboro Memorial Hospital ($218K across 3 grants). Together the top 10 received $613K.
Grant Size Distribution
220 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 191 grants of 220 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Trust’s 2024 filing says grants are strictly limited to Brattleboro, Vermont; Rhinebeck, New York; and their surrounding areas. In 2025, 66% of grant dollars went to recipients in Vermont and 33% to recipients in New York.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 45 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Thomas Thompson Trust open to new grantees?
43%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 18 of 42 grantees (43%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $14K; repeat grants $31K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $15K repeat.
- 24% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+11%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% 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 (2021–2025). 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 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $861K (2021) to $1.1M (2023). In 2025 it made 45 grants totaling $1.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Duchess Hospital Foundation Rhinebeck, NY | For Emergency Department Expansion at Northern Dutchess Hospital | $125,000 |
| Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Brattleboro, VT | For Healthworks Act | $100,000 |
| Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Brattleboro, VT | For BMH Clinical Workforce Development Program | $68,000 |
| Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Brattleboro, VT | For Windham Aging Project | $50,000 |
| Groundworks Collaborative Brattleboro, VT | For Capital Campaign for Foodworks & New Shelter | $50,000 |
| Rescue Inc Brattleboro, VT | For Mobile Simulation/Operation Trailer | $50,000 |
| Windham County Dental Center Brattleboro, VT | For Launching WCDC Dental Assistant Training Program | $40,000 |
| Starr Institute Rhinebeck, NY | For Expansion Feasibility Study for Starr Library | $25,000 |
| Upstate Films Rhinebeck, NY | For shine the starr campaign: improvements to a cultural asset | $25,000 |
| Wilderstein Preservation Rhinebeck, NY | For Carriage House Project Phase 2A | $25,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $17,394,416 | $8,350,545 | $1,195,476 | $1,001,000 | 45 | $1,116,512 | $8,271,581 | $1,190,902 |
| 2024 | $10,246,762 | $514,297 | $1,087,797 | $912,000 | 40 | $1,022,416 | $448,916 | $1,111,249 |
| 2023 | $11,020,599 | $600,647 | $1,260,113 | $1,098,450 | 41 | $1,204,381 | $544,915 | $1,013,064 |
| 2022 | $11,683,289 | $1,090,125 | $1,092,685 | $900,000 | 48 | $1,002,887 | $1,000,327 | $1,172,055 |
| 2021 | $11,687,142 | $2,303,938 | $1,061,722 | $861,420 | 46 | — | $2,199,446 | $1,025,451 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Thomas Thompson Trust reported a distributable amount of $1.2M 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
The Trust’s guidelines describe the types of support it considers but do not state a specific mission. Its 2025 grants included support for hospital services and workforce development, emergency shelter and food assistance, emergency medical services, dental care, library services, and cultural projects.
These grants went to organizations with varied missions. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital says it provides community-based quality health services with compassion and respect. Groundworks Collaborative says it provides emergency shelter, housing assistance, and a food shelf for homeless people. Rescue Inc describes its role as providing emergency medical care and transportation in its region. Windham County Dental Center says it serves people who customarily cannot access good-quality dental care. Rhinebeck grantees included Upstate Films, which connects the Hudson Valley with cinematic experiences, and Starr Library, which provides library services and programming.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the Trust awarded 45 grants totaling $1,001,000. Awards ranged from $5,000 to $125,000, with a median of $15,000.
The largest listed grant was $125,000 to Northern Dutchess Hospital Foundation for emergency department expansion. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital received grants of $100,000 for the Healthworks Act, $68,000 for its clinical workforce development program, and $50,000 for the Windham Aging Project. Other notable awards included $50,000 to Groundworks Collaborative for a capital campaign for Foodworks and a new shelter; $50,000 to Rescue Inc for a mobile simulation/operation trailer; and $40,000 to Windham County Dental Center for a dental assistant training program. In Rhinebeck, Starr Institute and Upstate Films each received $25,000 for projects, as did Wilderstein Preservation for its Carriage House project.
The Trust’s guidelines say proposals should be brief and concise. They state that Trustees consider organizations’ governing-board composition, collaboration among local organizations, management’s ability to maintain a balanced budget and expand community support, and whether the applicant has submitted final reports for previous Trust-supported programs. Organizations generally must have served the community continuously for the three years immediately before applying. The Trust says it may require matching funds. Assistance to individuals is limited to women from an occupation mentioned in Thomas Thompson’s 1867 will.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Michael F. O’Connell, Susan T. Monahan, and Ellen M. Harrington as trustees. The Trust’s staff listing identifies Alex Breakstone as grants coordinator.
Thomas Thompson Trust's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; 1 of 3 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Susan T. Monahan
Trustee
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
$43K (2021) → $47K (2025)
Michael F. O'Connell
Trustee
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ellen M. Harrington
Trustee
On filings since 2023
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Maura E. Murphy (2021–2022) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $47K, to Susan T Monahan (Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about Thomas Thompson Trust
How much does Thomas Thompson Trust give each year?
Thomas Thompson Trust gave $1.0M across 45 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $912K across 40 grants.
What is Thomas Thompson Trust's typical grant size?
Thomas Thompson Trust's median grant in 2025 was $15,000, and its average grant was $22,244, across 45 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Thomas Thompson Trust that year got $14K on average.
Where does Thomas Thompson Trust give grants?
Thomas Thompson Trust gives mostly in Vermont: 66% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (33%). The most frequent recipient cities were Brattleboro, VT (22 grants), Rhinebeck, NY (10 grants), Poughkeepsie, NY (3 grants) and Red Hook, NY (2 grants).
Does Thomas Thompson Trust give general operating support?
Occasionally: 4% of Thomas Thompson Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (2 of 45) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Thomas Thompson Trust's largest grantees?
Thomas Thompson Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Brattleboro Memorial Hospital ($218,000 across 3 grants), Northern Duchess Hospital Foundation ($125,000) and Groundworks Collaborative ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 39% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Thomas Thompson Trust?
Thomas Thompson Trust reported $17.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.1M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.2M (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 Thomas Thompson Trust fund?
The Trust’s guidelines describe the types of support it considers but do not state a specific mission. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Thomas Thompson Trust?
The Trust’s guidelines direct applicants to submit applications through its application portal. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Thomas Thompson Trust's EIN?
Thomas Thompson Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 03-0179429. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Thomas Thompson Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/thomas-thompson-trust-morg_7400e7075b264a1c80d437df714478cd
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_030179429_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Thomas Thompson Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/thomas-thompson-trust-morg_7400e7075b264a1c80d437df714478cd},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. 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 Thomas Thompson 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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