Community engagement

At Wellington Management, we believe in actively investing in the communities in which we live and work.

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

Our firm and employees remain committed to supporting those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as organizations working towards racial equity and social justice. Here are a few of the ways we are responding.

Emergency grants and increased funding
In March 2020, our US-based Wellington Management Foundation offered Emergency Grants of US$25,000 to more than 100 of our global grantees working to improve educational opportunities for youth from traditionally underserved communities. Our Wellington Management UK Foundation adopted a program to increase funding to its 25 grantees by 50%.

The US Foundation continues to offer major gifts to organizations responding to the needs of families and schools to support remote learning, as well as schools and organizations beginning the difficult and long-term work for academic recovery. And to further its work for racial equity in education, the Foundation is deepening its support of community organizations and programs led by and focused on people and communities of color. In total, the US Foundation alone contributed more than US$9.5 million in 2020.

In May 2021, the US Foundation issued another round of Emergency Grants of US$15,000 to more than 66 of its current grantees. In addition, the Foundation is pledging and additional US$5 million for programs in summer 2021 and beyond that help with academic recovery and that provide additional mental and behavioral health support to both community organizations and schools themselves. This will bring total 2021 funding to over US$14 million. See below for a complete list of our US and UK Foundations’ Annual Grantees, Catalyst Gift Recipients, and strategic partners.

Front-line support
Wellington has donated to the following essential charities on the front lines of the COVID-19 response.

Front-line COVID-19 organizations we support
  • Akai Hane: One of Japan’s largest nonprofits contributing to new coronavirus infectious disease measures as well as individual families and children.
  • Bahnhofsmission: A charity in Frankfurt that is taking protective measures for the homeless by providing housing accommodations, basic care services, food and clothing to those in need amid COVID-19.
  • Boston Resiliency Fund: A fund set up by the city of Boston to support Boston residents affected by COVID-19.
  • Caritas: This charity in Luxembourg is taking measures to stop the spread of the Coronavirus and to protect those most vulnerable, such as the homeless, refugees, children and young people.
  • Chaine Du Bonheur: Based out of Zurich, this charity is assisting in home deliveries, transport services, meals at home, special care, food aid and initiatives that allow and promote solidarity within society.
  • Child at Street 11: A recognized foundation in Singapore with a mission to educate and help young children from low-income and dysfunctional families break out of the poverty.
  • Direct Relief: Delivered more than 30,000 lbs. of protective gear to China to aid front line health workers
  • International Medical Corps: A global, nonprofit, humanitarian aid organization dedicated to providing lifesaving emergency health services and relieving suffering through health care training, relief, and development programs.
  • National Emergencies Trust: Collaborates with local grassroots charities and community foundations to provide care and support for vulnerable people hit by the social and economic impact of coronavirus.
  • Philabundance: An organization in Philadelphia that is adapting its efforts to ensure that individuals and families have access to the food and supplies they need while preventing the spread of the virus.
  • San Francisco Unified School District: San Francisco’s public school system is dedicated to helping young students amid COVID-19 by providing students with free grab-and-go meals and helping parents find appropriate childcare and other resources.
  • The Night Ministry: An organization in Chicago with a mission to provide housing, health care and human connection to the poor and homeless. Their work is particularly important in the time of COVID-19.
  • Westmead Hospital, Sydney: Westmead Hospital is the principal referral hospital for western Sydney, renowned for its comprehensive, highly specialized and complex services provided to its community, statewide and nationally.
  • William Osler Foundation: The Osler Foundation works to get hospitals in Canada the funds they need to provide the best possible care so they can provide life-changing health care to more than 1.3 million people in the Ontario area.
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In June 2020, the Managing Partners of the firm — Jean Hynes, Steve Klar, and Brendan Swords — issued  this statement along with both personal and firmwide commitments to supporting the following organizations.

Front-line racial justice organizations we support

Partnering with community organizations
Our critical relationships with community organizations continue, aided by Wellington employees globally who are giving their time, talent, or treasure to support their communities while balancing the changes and challenges that come with working from home.

Our colleagues:

  • Participated in a fitness challenge to benefit UNCF — over 40 Partners sponsored more than 600 global employees
  • Participated in a fitness challenge to benefit the firm’s own Wellington Management Foundation
  • Hosted a virtual Community Engagement Fair to highlight employee volunteer opportunities with community organizations
  • Hosted virtual Industry Night sessions with nonprofits focused on helping students transition from college to careers
  • Held “Intro to Asset Management” sessions with middle and high school students to help them plan their education pathways
  • Are helping graduating students with resumes and mock interviews virtually
  • Joined sewing clubs to craft and donate masks to critical workers
  • Provided website assistance to help a nonprofit communicate vital information to its beneficiaries
  • Are fundraising and community organizing in countless ways

We applaud all of these employee efforts! It fits with our firm’s humanistic culture that so much is being done for so many, and we hope we can inspire others.

INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITIES

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 and the Wellington Management UK Foundation support programs and organizations that improve educational opportunities for youth from traditionally underserved and economically challenged communities.
  • Our Annual Appeal provides employees with a convenient and meaningful way to provide financial support to global and regional nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations.
  • The Matching Gift Program matches employee donations to registered nonprofit organizations.
  • The Volunteer Program allows each of our employees to give two business days a year to volunteer at nonprofit organizations.

Our foundations

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.

OUR MISSION

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.

Grant-making focus

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

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 school to enhance curriculum

Career readiness

  • career and technical training models for linked learning
  • workforce development programs

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.

  • Eligible organizations must be within the greater metropolitan area of one of our US 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$2.5 million. We want to support organizations where our grants have a meaningful impact on youth, as well as the organization itself.
  • We fund newer as well as 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.
  • Scholarship programs are not eligible for funding.
Annual grants
In 2020, the US Foundation awarded a record US$3.725million in Annual Grants to 79 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.

After school & summer After-school sports & arts hook College and Career Access & Success Early childhood education Enrichment Schools Social Emotional Learning Teacher Training Asia/Pacific Chicago Radnor San Francisco Toronto
Catalyst gifts
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:
  • Advance educational opportunities for youth from traditionally underserved communities
  • Provide leadership support of nonprofits’ strategic plans and institutional priorities
  • Seek innovative and creative solutions to address education needs in the community


Since the initiative was founded, the Foundation has award 31 major gifts totaling over US$8 million to organizations in eastern Massachusetts, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. These one-time gifts range from US$100,000 to US$500,000 and were awarded to:

2020 2019 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.
Strategic partnerships

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:

  • Long term and far reaching
  • Multifaceted with multiple touch points
  • Targeting systemic impact
  • Mutually beneficial

Bottom Line

Ongoing support of Bottom Line’s Success program to deepen impact and fuel economic mobility. Wellington hosts several events for Bottom Line students each year as part of its efforts to broaden the pipeline for prospective interns and full-time employees.

City Year

The Foundation is currently in its eighth year of dual team sponsorship for the Trotter K-8 School in Dorchester and Boston Green Academy. 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.

Institute for Nonprofit Practice

To support the professional growth and leadership development of people of color from among the educational nonprofit organizations in our grant portfolio, we again sponsor 10 Fellows in INP’s year-long program equipping the most promising nonprofit leaders with the skills, confidence, and resources they need to make their organizations effective, innovative, and sustainable.

Social Innovation Forum

We’re in our third year sponsoring a track through the Social Innovation Forum’s (SIF’s) Nonprofit Accelerator Program. This year’s track focusing on advancing education and career opportunities for immigrant youth will offer two years of focused support from SIF and its partners to a selected nonprofit in eastern Massachusetts.

UNCF

The Foundation is proud to expand its efforts to support college completion nationally with the establishment of a scholarship for juniors and seniors enrolled in Historically Black College and Universities through a partnership with UNCF.

Year Up

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.

The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for our Strategic Partnerships.

Application process

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 August 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.

A brief Letter of Inquiry is required of all new grant applicants and must be submitted by August 1.  The form is available on GMA Foundation’s online platform, found here. Once you have logged in, click apply. The access code for the LOI is wmf20.

Please note that in 2020 the Foundation plans to limit the number of new applications to review and potentially fund. The Foundation hopes to focus on building out its portfolio of programs within the social-emotional learning space and will continue to look at ways to have a greater impact on smaller organizations. Please contact Jake Mellen at GMA Foundations for more information: [email protected] 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.

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General inquiries

For general inquiries, please contact Karen Pfefferle, Art Curator and Foundation Executive Director, at  [email protected] 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 [email protected] or +44 20 7126 6700. Learn more about our UK Foundation.

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