Alchemy Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Alchemy Foundation supports global organizations involved in human and immigrants’ rights. In Boston, it makes grants for health, housing, arts and education.
IP TAKE: The Alchemy Foundation maintains a low public profile and does not accept applications for funding at this time. This small family funder appears to prioritize organizations with which family members have a personal connection, but Boston-area human services and arts organizations may wish to network with past grantees to gain an audience here.
PROFILE: Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Alchemy Foundation was established in 2020. It is steered by the family of the late Jean Montagu. Montagu, an immigrant from France, studied mechanical engineering at MIT in the 1950s and established several companies in the Boston area to develop and produce mechanical products and devices that he invented. This funder does not maintain a website, but tax filings indicate that it supports human and immigrant rights, health, arts and culture, housing and education. The foundation does not name geographic priorities, but many grants support organizations located in Massachusetts.
Grants for Human Rights, Immigrants and Refugees
Human rights and the rights of immigrants and refugees are a main area of interest for this funder, accounting for some of its largest grants. Grants have supported large national organizations and NGOs including the Save the Children Federation, Mercy Corps, Refuge Point, the U.S. Association for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Refugee Assistance Project. In its home state, the foundation has made grants to the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Grants for Global Health
Jean Montagu’s son Dominic is a doctor of public health whose work focuses on women’s and reproductive health in developing areas of the world. Recent grantmaking from the Alchemy foundation has reflected Dominic’s interests. The foundation recently gave $1 million to Metrics for Management, a nonprofit that provides data and information management and analysis to improve global health outcomes.
Grants for Public Health
Alchemy’s health grantmaking tends to stay in the Boston area. Grantees include the Boston Medical Center Corporation, Partners in Health, the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Giving for arts and culture has been robust in recent years, but most grants support organizations in or around Boston. Recipients include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the Huntington Theatre Company.
Grants for Housing and Homelessness
This funder makes grants to organizations that provide shelter, food and other basic needs to homeless and vulnerable people. A significant portion of this giving stays in Boston. Past grantees include the Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, Boston Health Care for the Homeless and the Greater Boston Food Bank and Rosie’s Place, a women’s shelter in Boston.
Grants for Education
Education is a smaller area of giving and mainly stays in the Boston area. Special education and arts programs appear to be areas of interest. Grantees include Beacon Academy, the Perkins School for the Blind, the Conservatory Lab Charter School, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston University and Harvard College.
Important Grant Details:
Alchemy’s grants range from $15 to $1 million. Many grants stay under the $5,000 mark.
- This funder supports organizations of all sizes, but international human rights and immigrants’ organizations receive the largest sums.
- Boston is a geographic priority, with most of the foundation’s grants for health, education, arts and housing staying in the city.
- The Alchemy Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.
- For additional information about past giving, see the foundation’s tax filings.
This funder does not provide contact information, but its phone number is listed as (617) 731-6727.
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CONTACT:
The Alchemy Foundation
104 Lakeview Ave.
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
(617) 731-6727