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Helping to close the opportunity gap in education

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Created in 1992, the Wellington Management Foundation donates money and volunteer time to more than 125 nonprofit community organizations that support youth in under-resourced communities in the North American and Asia-Pacific cities where we have offices. These organizations provide access to best-in-class educational programs and services, enhancing opportunities for future success.

In 2016, the Wellington Management UK Foundation was created to support organizations in both the UK and Europe.

Wellington Management Foundation

The Wellington Management Foundation is an independent corporate foundation funded by Wellington, as well as current and former employees, who give generously to support a portfolio of nonprofit educational organizations. The Foundation is run by an advisory board which includes a chair and vice chair. All members of the advisory board are current or former Wellington employees. In addition, the Foundation relies on employee volunteers each year to conduct due diligence on grant applications and build long-term relationships with the community organizations funded.

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Our belief

We believe education is a critical lever in creating opportunities for equitable outcomes, including social and economic mobility.

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Our mission

We support best-in-class programs and organizations in our communities that are improving education and educational opportunities for youth from traditionally underserved and historically marginalized communities.

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Our portfolio

We support organizations across the full educational life-cycle of a student, from early education to career readiness programs, independent and charter schools, district-wide school-based programs, and after-school and summer programs, as well as college access and persistence programs.

OUR DONATIONS - 2023

Teacher and students in the classroom

$8.3m

total giving in 2023

$4.1million

to 72 North American organizations in annual grants

$1.3million

to 5 North American organizations in catalyst gifts

$720k

to 14 Asia Pacific organizations in annual grants

$800k

to 6 North American organizations in strategic partnerships

$420k

to 9 organizations in financial literacy partnership grants

How the foundation works

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Annual grants

Every year we award grants to growth orientated small to medium organizations working to close the opportunity and achievement gaps for youth in traditionally underserved communities in North America and Asia-Pacific cities where Wellington has offices.

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Catalyst gifts

Our major gifts initiative helps advance the mission of organizations that show meaningful and sustainable academic outcomes.

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Strategic partnerships

We partner with organizations for long term impact, in order to work towards systemic change. Our current partnerships include: Bottom Line, City Year, Duet, Institute for Nonprofit Practice, Social Innovation Forum, and Year Up.

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FinLitPAC

Our goal is to partner with organizations that have proven curricula and strong connections with underserved local communities to aid in financial literacy education.

Our alumni are about 18 times more likely to graduate from college than students attending neighborhood public schools! We’re so grateful for Wellington Management’s support.

Haley Fischer, Development Officer, Chicago Jesuit Academy

2023 recipients

The Wellington Management Foundation supports organizations that span the full-cycle of educational programs. 2023 recipients include:

Eastern Massachusetts

  • African Community Education Program
  • Alexander Twilight Academy
  • Alma del Mar Charter School
  • Artists for Humanity
  • Atlantis Charter School
  • Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
  • Boston Collegiate Charter School
  • Boston HERC
  • Boston Preparatory Charter School
  • Boston Scores
  • Bridge Boston Charter School
  • Brookview House
  • BUILD
  • Chica Project
  • Conservatory Lab Charter School
  • Crispus Attucks Children’s Center
  • Cristo Rey Boston High School
  • Discovering Justice
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services
  • Ellis Memorial
  • Enroot
  • Esperanza Academy
  • EV Kids
  • Excel Academy Charter School
  • Families First
  • Family Nurturing Center
  • Father’s Uplift
  • First Teacher
  • Freedom House
  • Generation Citizen
  • Girls Inc., Worcester
  • Harlem Lacrosse
  • Immigrant Family Services
  • Invest in Girls
  • Jeremiah Program
  • Julie’s Family Learning Program
  • Kids in Tech
  • Latinos for Education
  • La Vida Scholars
  • LEAP for Education
  • Level Ground MMA
  • Literations
  • Lowell Community Charter School
  • OneGoal
  • Open Door Arts
  • Paige Academy
  • RAW Art Works
  • Silver Lining Mentoring
  • Soccer Without Borders
  • Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Centre
  • Strong Women, Strong Girls 
  • St. Stephen’s Youth Program–Parent Mentor Program
  • The Loop Lab
  • The Wily Network
  • The Young People’s Project
  • Thrive Scholars
  • United Nations Association of Greater Boston
  • UP Education
  • Write Boston
  • Youth Development Organization
  • Youth Guidance
  • Y2Y Network

Asia/Pacific

  • Autism Partnership (Hong Kong)
  • Back Track Youth Works (Sydney)
  • Beyond Social Services (Singapore)
  • Child at Street 11 (Singapore)
  • Girls and Boys Brigade (Sydney)
  • Katariba (Tokyo)
  • Kids Door (Tokyo)
  • Learning for All (Tokyo)
  • Marymount Center (Singapore)
  • Multi Cultural Center (Tokyo)
  • Principal Chan Free Tutorial World (Hong Kong)
  • Stewart House (Sydney)
  • Story Factory (Sydney)
  • Teach Unlimited Foundation (Hong Kong)

New York

  • Apex for Youth
  • Oliver Scholars

Chicago

  • Chicago Jesuit Academy
  • Chicago Scholars
  • Greenwood Project
  • Tutoring Chicago

Philadelphia

  • Horizons at The Episcopal Academy
  • Philadelphia Academies
  • Teen SHARP

San Francisco

  • 10,000 Degrees
  • Aim High
  • First Graduate

Toronto

  • Jessie’s Centre

  • Boston Scores
  • Esperanza Academy
  • Literations
  • Nativity School of Worcester
  • Smart from the Start

  • Bottom Line
  • City Year
  • Duet
  • Institute for Nonprofit Practice
  • Social Innovation Forum
  • Year Up

  • Aidha (Singapore)
  • Enrich (Hong Kong)
  • Build Boston
  • Council for Economic Education
  • FitMoney
  • Invest in Girls 
  • Jonk Entrepreneur (Luxembourg)
  • Junior Achievement (JA)
  • Red Start (London)

Application process

Our US Foundation funds programs that provide youth from traditionally under-resourced communities with access to high-quality academic programs and educational opportunities. We believe a strong academic foundation can provide a clear and positive path for the lives of young people. Accordingly, the US Foundation primarily aims to select organizations and programs that support:

Academic improvement

  • Educational tutoring and mentoring
  • Study skills programs
  • Technology-based initiatives
  • Mental health support


Educational transitions

  • School readiness programs
  • High school access and success programs
  • College access and success programs


Extended learning time

  • Out-of-school-time programs
  • Schools that operate extended hours
  • Programs that operate within schools to enhance curricula


Career readiness

  • Career and technical training models for linked learning
  • Workforce development programs
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We recognize that economic privilege greatly increases educational opportunities. Therefore, we fund organizations that provide access for all youth in our communities to educational experiences that will enhance their chances for future success.

  • Eligible not-for-profit organizations must be within the greater metropolitan area of one of our North American or Asia/Pacific offices, and approximately 70% of program participants must qualify as low income and be under the age of 26. (Organizations in the UK and Europe should refer to the firm’s UK Foundation.)
  • We fund organizations of various sizes but are primarily interested in those with budgets under US$3 million. We want to support organizations where our grants have a meaningful impact on youth, as well as the organization itself.
  • We fund newer and more established organizations. We prefer to fund organizations that can demonstrate the strength of their leadership, have a measurable track record of success, and can exhibit an upward organizational trajectory.
  • We fund religiously affiliated organizations that are inclusive of all participants regardless of religious background and beliefs.
  • Organizations that receive funding must affirm and agree that it does not discriminate in its recruiting, hiring, training or promotion practices or in any other of the recipient’s employment or operational policies or practices on the basis of any person’s protected characteristic or attribute, including but not limited to, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion (observations, beliefs and practices), creed, national origin, age, ancestry, disability (physical or mental), medical condition, citizenship, political affiliation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information or any other characteristic or attribute protected by applicable law.
  • Scholarship programs are not eligible for funding.
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The US-based Wellington Management Foundation gives annual grants to programs that improve the educational opportunities for youth in traditionally underserved and economically challenged communities in eastern Massachusetts, the greater Philadelphia area, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay area, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney. The Grant Recommendation Committee (GRC), which engages employee volunteers to conduct a review of each new applicant and long-term grantee we fund, begins each year in September. Grants are made each December.

The US Foundation accepts a limited number of new applications for Annual Grants each year and has recently implemented a grant-making strategy that allows it to keep the pipeline open to fund new organizations and support new initiatives that seek to close opportunity and achievement gaps in the education of youth from traditionally under-resourced historically low-income communities. This plan sets an expectation for long-term support to organizations and provides more transparency to aid them in their planning for fundraising and outreach.

The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for catalyst gifts or strategic partnerships.

The Foundation will not be considering new organizations for Annual Grants in 2024. If your not-for-profit organization is interested in applying for an Annual Grant, please check back in May 2025 for more information.

For more information on the grant application process, contact:

Angela McIntosh
GMA Foundations
amcIntosh@gmafoundations.com / 617-391-3082

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Wellington foundation leadership

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Karen Pfefferle

Wellington Management Foundation Executive Director
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Beth Piskorowski

Wellington Management Foundation Chair
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Danielle Williams

Wellington Management Foundation Vice-Chair

Contact the foundation team

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