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Karen Pfefferle
- Wellington Management Foundation Executive Director
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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.
We believe education is a critical lever in creating opportunities for equitable outcomes, including social and economic mobility.
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.
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
$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
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.
Our major gifts initiative helps advance the mission of organizations that show meaningful and sustainable academic outcomes.
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.
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.
2023 recipients
The Wellington Management Foundation supports organizations that span the full-cycle of educational programs. 2023 recipients include:
Eastern Massachusetts
Asia/Pacific
New York
Chicago
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Toronto
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 transitions
Extended learning time
Career readiness
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.
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
Wellington foundation leadership
Karen Pfefferle
Beth Piskorowski
Danielle Williams
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