At Wellington Management, we believe in actively investing in the communities in which we live and work.
We seek to actively support and positively impact the communities in which our employees live and work. The following are just some of the ways we engage:
The Wellington Management Foundation was founded in 1992 as the Wellington Management Company Charitable Fund. Since its inception, the US Foundation has shared our firm’s culture and values. It relies on Wellington Management employees who volunteer their time and talent through service on the Foundation's Advisory Board, Nonprofit Relationship teams, and the Grant Recommendation Committee. Through the combined generosity of the firm and these individuals, the Foundation is able to direct 100% of donations to organizations that meet its educational mission.
The Wellington Management UK Foundation was established in 2016 to continue in this tradition, making grants to organizations in the UK and Europe. For details specific to its mission and guidelines, please click here.
The mission of the US Foundation is to support best-in-class programs and organizations in our communities that improve education and educational opportunities for underserved youth.
Click here for the Foundation’s Annual Report.
Featured video: Listen to some inspiring individuals who have been supported by organizations funded by our foundation.
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 transitions
Extended learning time
Career readiness
Whom do we fund?
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.
In 2018, the US Foundation awarded a record US$3.278million in Annual Grants to 74 nonprofit organizations in the communities of eastern Massachusetts, greater Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. Annual Grants are fixed at $25,000 for new organizations and $50,000 for returning grantees. Grants to organizations in UK and Europe were made through the firm’s UK Foundation.
Each of these organizations fulfills a vital role it its community, improving education and educational opportunities for youth from marginalized populations. See below for a list of this year’s Annual Grant recipients, or view our annual report.
After school & summer
After-school sports & arts hook
Career readiness
College access & success
Early childhood education
Enrichment
Schools
Teacher Training
Asia/Pacific
Chicago
Radnor
San Francisco
Toronto
In August 2015, the US Foundation's Advisory Board announced the launch of a new Catalyst Gift Initiative intended to help organizations already familiar to the Foundation that are showing meaningful and sustainable academic outcomes to move forward in a significant way toward their strategic vision.
The Initiative's goals are to:
Since the Initiative launched, the Foundation has awarded 25 major gifts totaling over US$6.9 million to organizations in eastern Massachusetts, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. These one-time gifts ranged from US$200,000 to US$500,000 and were awarded to:
2018
2017
2016
2015
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for Catalyst Gifts — please see below for how to apply for our Annual Grant Program.
The US Foundation has established a third tier of grant making that will allow for the cultivation of relationships with nonprofit organizations on partnerships that are:
In 2018, the US Foundation extended its six-year relationship with City Year Boston under this rubric, by continuing our sponsorship of the Trotter School in Dorchester and adding support to East Boston High School. This partnership provides a multitude of community engagement, volunteer, and mentoring opportunities for dozens of employees of the firm under the auspices of our Wellington Young Professionals business network.
The Foundation is also pleased to announce ongoing support of Year Up Boston, a career development and workforce training program through which Wellington has hired numerous interns, consultants, and full-time employees over the last many years.
Additionally, the Foundation in 2018 is sponsoring a track in early childhood through the Social Innovation Forum’s (SIF’s) Nonprofit Accelerator Program. This track will offer two years of focused support from SIF and its partners to a selected nonprofit in eastern Massachusetts implementing solutions for children from birth through third grade to close the achievement gap in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for our Strategic Partnerships.
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, greater Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco Bay area, 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 June, and grants are made each December.
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for our Catalyst Gifts or Strategic Partnerships.
The US Foundation does accept a limited number of new applications for Annual Grants each year and has recently implemented a grant-making strategy that allows us to keep the pipeline open to fund new organizations and support new initiatives that seek to close the 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.
New applicants for Annual Grants will only be considered for participation in the US Foundation’s grant review process if they have submitted a letter of inquiry (LOI) by our June 1 deadline. Organizations that have submitted an LOI will be prescreened by GMA Foundations, and those that best meet the Foundation’s mission and guidelines will be invited to fill out a complete grant application in July and be reviewed as part of the Foundation’s GRC process in September and October. Grants decisions are made and communicated in mid-December and funds are transferred at the end of January.
Grants to new organizations will be awarded with a three-year expectation for grant making, with funding in year one set at US$25,000 and in years two and three at US$50,000, pending successful annual check-ins. After year three, new organizations will undergo a critical review to determine continued funding, contingent on achievement of mutually agreed-upon objectives, goals, and outcomes. Those that are successful can anticipate an additional seven years of funding (10 years total) set at US$50,000 per year, pending successful annual check-ins. After 10 years, organizations must take a meaningful pause before reapplying. Funding decisions are independent of all other Wellington relationships, including private donations, Board placements, volunteer engagement, etc.
Please click here tto be taken to the letter of inquiry online form. All forms must be received electronically by June 1 for consideration. Please contact Phil Cappello at GMA Foundations for more information: pcappello@gmafoundations.com or (617) 399-1852.
*last grant
**new grantees
The US Wellington Management Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) public charity and is not open to investors.
For general inquiries, please contact Karen Pfefferle, Art Curator and Manager of Philanthropy, at klpfefferle@wellington.com or (617) 790-7454.
For inquiries regarding grant applications please use the contact information provided in the “Application process” section above.
For general inquiries in the EMEA region, please contact the UK Foundation at wmukf@wellington.com or +44 20 7126 6700. Learn more about our UK Foundation.