James B Boskey Memorial Foundation Inc.

The James B. Boskey Memorial Foundation was established in 2002 to honor attorney and legal scholar James B. Boskey, whose career centered on alternative dispute resolution, children's rights, and legal ethics. Led by President Elizabeth R. Boskey and Treasurer/Director Eileen Dombrowsky — both serving without compensation — the foundation operates as a lean, volunteer-driven grantmaker funded entirely by investment returns from its approximately $19.8 million endowment.

The foundation's core philosophy is high-trust general operating support. All 124 tracked grants carry the purpose label of general purpose, meaning the foundation does not restrict funds to specific projects or deliverables. This approach reflects deep confidence in grantee leadership and is relatively rare among foundations of this asset size. Organizations that receive Boskey support can direct funds to salaries, infrastructure, advocacy, or programmatic priorities as their leadership sees fit — a meaningful strategic advantage over project-restricted funders.

Boskey's mission targets populations that are systematically disadvantaged across eight stated domains: mediation and alternative dispute resolution; women and minorities in STEM and law; LGBTQIA+ populations; reproductive justice; abolition; food and housing justice; diabetes prevention and research; and disability services. The portfolio's breadth means Boskey does not fit a single issue silo. Organizations that bridge multiple focus areas — for example, an immigrant rights legal clinic (ADR plus women in law) or an adaptive outdoor program (disability services plus youth development) — appear particularly well-positioned.

The foundation builds sustained long-term relationships. Social Innovation Forum has received four grants totaling $375,000; Waypoint Adventures received $350,000 over four grants; the Mediation Center of Dutchess County, Young Center, and Diversity Scholarship Foundation each received four multi-year grants. This pattern of sustained support indicates that initial grant awards frequently transition into multi-cycle partnerships, making patience and consistency critical for new entrants.

First-time applicants face meaningful competition from repeat grantees, who dominate the annual portfolio. New organizations should present a concise case for mission alignment with the stated focus areas, demonstrate organizational sustainability sufficient to justify a one-year general operating grant, and calibrate their initial request modestly. Geographic priority falls in Massachusetts (34% of all grants), New York (22%), California (11%), and New Jersey (10%). Organizations based or operating in these states carry an inherent positioning advantage.

The James B. Boskey Memorial Foundation's endowment grew from approximately $8.8 million in FY2020 to $20.6 million in FY2021 — a jump that exceeds what investment returns alone could explain and likely reflects a significant bequest or estate transfer, though contributions received are recorded as zero in IRS filings for that year. This capital infusion transformed giving capacity: total grants paid rose from $466,588 in FY2020 to $485,000 in FY2021, then surged to $1,088,000 in FY2022 and $1,093,745 in FY2023. Annual giving appears to be stabilizing around $1.1 million, sustained by net investment income of $643,355 (FY2022) and $831,884 (FY2023).

Across 124 tracked grants totaling $3,754,745, the average grant is $30,280. In FY2023, $1,093,745 was distributed across approximately 34 grantees, implying an average of roughly $32,169 per organization. Grant sizes range from a floor of $10,000 (observed in grants to Deafinitely, Collective Power for Reproductive Justice, and MA Transgender Political Coalition) to a ceiling of $50,000 per award year — the cap formalized as of 2020. Prior-cycle averages were meaningfully lower: FY2021 averaged approximately $22,000 across 22 organizations and FY2020 approximately $17,000 across 27 organizations.

Geographic concentration is notable. Massachusetts accounts for 42 of 124 tracked grants (33.9%), followed by New York at 27 (21.8%), California at 14 (11.3%), New Jersey at 12 (9.7%), and Illinois at 10 (8.1%). Though headquartered in New York, the foundation's portfolio is heavily weighted toward Massachusetts — likely reflecting the personal and professional networks of foundation leadership.

By program area, alternative dispute resolution and mediation organizations represent the historical core: Mediation Center of Dutchess County ($200,000 over 4 grants), NY Peace Institute ($50,000 single grant), and Cardozo Law School's Kukin Program ($80,000 over 4 grants). Disability and adaptive outdoor programs form a distinctive cluster: Waypoint Adventures ($350,000 over 4 grants), Requipment Inc. ($85,000 over 3 grants), Para Cliff Hangars ($65,000 over 4 grants), Paradox Sports ($60,000 over 2 grants), and The Impossible Dream ($60,000 over 2 grants). Reproductive justice and LGBTQIA+ organizations — National Network of Abortion Funds ($142,000 over 3 grants), Plan C-NWHN ($80,000 over 2 grants), Trans Lifeline ($15,000 over 3 grants), and Point Foundation ($45,000 single grant) — reflect the post-2020 focus expansion. Multi-year relationships dominate the highest-funded tier: every top-five grantee has received four consecutive grants.

The James B. Boskey Memorial Foundation occupies the $19–20 million asset tier of U.S. private foundations — substantial enough to make meaningful grants but well below the scale of nationally prominent funders. Its five closest peers by asset size and NTEE classification (all coded T22: Philanthropy & Grantmaking) share a similar financial footprint but maintain no public-facing websites or open application processes, making Boskey significantly more accessible than comparable foundations in its asset cohort.

Boskey distinguishes itself from its asset-size peers in three concrete ways. First, it publishes a clear annual application process with a named email address and hard October 15 deadline — a rarity among private foundations at this scale, where most operate by invitation only. Second, it has publicly disclosed that it distributes more than $1.1 million annually across 30+ organizations, providing unusually transparent volume data. Third, its mission specificity around systematically disadvantaged populations gives applicants a clear alignment test, whereas comparably capitalized foundations in this cohort offer no equivalent public signal about their giving priorities. For grantseekers, Boskey represents an unusually transparent and accessible entry point into private foundation support at this funding level.

No major press releases, media coverage, or external announcements appeared in web research for 2025–2026. The James B. Boskey Memorial Foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its lean volunteer-run structure and all-volunteer leadership team.

The most significant verifiable recent activity is the September 2025 publication of the updated JBBMF application form, confirming that the annual FY2025 cycle ran as scheduled with an October 15, 2025 deadline and December 2025 award announcements. The form was posted approximately six weeks before the deadline — consistent with prior-year patterns — providing applicants limited preparation lead time.

The foundation's previous awardees page documents 36 funded organizations in the 2024 grant cycle, up from 34 in 2023 and 31 in 2022. Notable returning 2024 recipients include Social Innovation Forum, Waypoint Adventures, Carroll Center for the Blind, Child Wellness Institute, BioBuilder Educational Foundation, MAMAS, and Cambridge HEART. The growing annual grantee count reflects the post-2021 endowment expansion, which enabled the foundation to both deepen support for established partners and onboard new organizations.

The foundation's assets have modestly declined from a 2021 peak of $20.6 million to $19.8 million in FY2023, driven by the gap between net investment income ($831,884) and total giving ($1,124,796). No leadership transitions or new programmatic initiatives were announced publicly during this period. The FY2026 grant cycle follows the established pattern: application form expected on the foundation website in September 2026, deadline October 15, 2026, late-November review, and December 2026 award announcements.

The James B. Boskey Memorial Foundation runs a predictable annual cycle that rewards preparation, mission alignment, and patient relationship-building. The following tips are specific to Boskey's documented process and grantee patterns.

Use the official application form, not a custom narrative. The foundation publishes an updated PDF application form each September on its website. The 2025 version (JBBMF-application-form.pdf) was released in early September 2025 at jamesbboskeymemorial.org. Do not substitute a letter of inquiry, generic proposal, or alternative format — the form is the required submission vehicle.

Email only, to apply@jamesbboskeymemorial.org. There is no grant portal, online platform, or mailing address. Submit the completed form as an email attachment before October 15. This is a hard annual deadline — materials received after this date are not reviewed until the following year's cycle.

Frame your request as general operating support. All 124 known Boskey grants are unrestricted general purpose awards. The foundation does not fund standalone projects with specific deliverables. Describe what sustained operating support enables your organization to accomplish systemically, not what you would build with restricted project dollars.

Calibrate your ask strategically. The portfolio average is approximately $30,280 per grant and the stated maximum is $50,000. For a first application, request in the $15,000–$30,000 range. A modest initial ask is more competitive than a ceiling-level request from an unknown organization. Established multi-year grantees appear to scale up incrementally over successive cycles.

Mirror the foundation's exact language. The foundation lists eight focus areas verbatim on its website. Map your mission to these precise phrases in your application — mediation/ADR, women and minorities in STEM and law, LGBTQIA+ populations, reproductive justice, abolition, food and housing justice, diabetes prevention and research, disability services — rather than assuming reviewers will draw the connection from adjacent terminology.

Signal renewal potential. Awards are one-year only with no stated multi-year commitments, but the grantee data shows consistent multi-cycle funding for high-performing organizations. Applications that convey organizational sustainability, diversified funding, and measurable impact demonstrate that your work is worth investing in beyond a single cycle.

Exclude all disqualifying elements from budget and narrative. The foundation explicitly will not fund: political or lobbying activities, endowments, building or capital campaigns, fundraising events, individual benefit grants, and indirect costs. Including any of these will likely disqualify an application.