Haymarket Peoples Fund

What Haymarket Peoples Fund does

Haymarket Peoples Fund is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) grantmaking nonprofit founded in 1974 that raises philanthropic donations and redistributes them as grants to grassroots social justice organizations across New England. The organization operates a participatory grantmaking model in which a volunteer panel of community organizers from across the region collectively determines grant awards according to the organization's mission and anti-racism principles. It offers two programmatic products: Sustaining Grants (up to $20,000) for ongoing grassroots organizing work and Urgent Response Grants (up to $5,000) on a rolling basis for rapid response to unforeseen crises or opportunities. Grant eligibility does not require 501(c)(3) status, broadening access for informal and emerging groups.

The organization generated no commercial revenue; its operating model is purely philanthropic, funded through individual donors, monthly/quarterly/annual sustainers, planned giving, stock contributions, matching gifts, and institutional grants including a multi-year Racial Equity Grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative received in 2022. The organization is staffed by 1-10 employees, with Karla Nicholson serving as Executive Director, and operates from 42 Seaverns Avenue, Boston, MA. Geographic reach spans six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In 2025, the organization awarded $1,131,000 to 56 grantee groups working across anti-racism, education justice, housing and tenants rights, human rights, immigrant rights, workers rights, and youth organizing.

The organization has no technology product, software platform, or proprietary technical infrastructure; its offering consists entirely of financial grant products. Since 1998, the organization has undergone a sustained internal anti-racism transformation affecting its mission, policies, leadership structure, and grantmaking practices. Distribution occurs through the volunteer funding panel process, with Sustaining Grants reviewed on an annual December deadline and Urgent Response Grants accepted on a rolling basis.

Name

Haymarket Peoples Fund

Legal name

Haymarket Peoples Fund

Website

https://haymarket.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Haymarket Peoples Fund is a Boston-based nonprofit founded in 1974 that raises philanthropic donations and awards participatory grants to grassroots anti-racist organizing groups across six New England states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & Reporting for Donor Programs (BPADAOAL)

Keywords

• Grantmaking foundation
• Social justice grants
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Racial equity funding
• Grassroots organizing support

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: Haymarket People's Fund generates revenue through donations from individual donors, sustainers (monthly, quarterly, or annual automatic donations), planned giving, stock contributions, and matching gifts. The organization also accepts one-time donations and has received multi-year racial equity grants from funders like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Haymarket People's Fund is a private, independent 501(c)(3) grantmaking non-profit that raises philanthropic donations and redistributes them as grants to anti-racist grassroots organizations across New England. Its core offerings are Sustaining Grants (up to $20,000) for ongoing social-change organizing and Urgent Response Grants (up to $5,000) for rapid response to unforeseen crises or opportunities, with awards determined by a volunteer panel of community organizers.

Product overview

Haymarket Peoples Fund is a philanthropic foundation, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products, modules, or technology services. The organization's offerings consist entirely of grant programs: Sustaining Grants (up to $20,000 for grassroots social change organizations) and Urgent Response Grants (up to $5,000 for quick response to unforeseen crises or opportunities). These are financial grant products, not technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sustaining Grants Grants of up to $20,000 awarded to grassroots social-justice organizations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont to support ongoing anti-racist organizing work. Applications are reviewed by a volunteer Funding Panel of community organizers; deadline is December annually. 501(c)(3) status is not required.
• Urgent Response Grants Grants of up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis to grassroots organizations responding quickly to unforeseen crises or opportunities that critically affect their organization and constituency in New England. 501(c)(3) status is not required.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2025: $1,131,000 awarded to 56 groups
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations: Large global foundation funding social justice, human rights, and movement-building initiatives; serves as a comparable broad incumbent whose grassroots grantmaking strategies align with Haymarket's work.
• Ford Foundation: Major national foundation with extensive grantmaking in social justice, racial equity, and civic participation — a broad incumbent whose BUILD and other programs overlap with Haymarket's grassroots funding mission.

Direct peers

• Borealis Philanthropy: Philanthropic intermediary and regrantor that pools resources from multiple funders to support racial equity and social justice movements, operating in a similar participatory-grantmaking space as Haymarket.
• Bread & Roses Community Fund: Philadelphia-area grantmaking public charity that supports grassroots social change organizations through participatory grantmaking, with similar funding sizes and a focus on movement building.
• North Star Fund: New York-based community foundation funding grassroots organizing via a donor-driven grantmaking model, comparable in mission, model, and target beneficiary type to Haymarket.
• Groundswell Fund: Public foundation that resourced grassroots movements for transformative social change through pooled and participatory grantmaking, with overlapping mission and methodology with Haymarket.
• Peace Development Fund: Massachusetts-based foundation that makes grants to grassroots peace and social justice organizations across the US, with similar small-grant, movement-focused grantmaking.
• Liberty Hill Foundation: Los Angeles-based foundation that funds grassroots community organizing through a participatory grantmaking model with volunteer review panels — closely analogous to Haymarket's volunteer panel approach.

Regional players

• Boston Impact Initiative: Boston-based place-based foundation investing in community-led economic and social justice initiatives, sharing Haymarket's geography and grassroots orientation but with a more place-based investing lens.
• New England Foundation for the Arts: Regional regranting and grantmaking organization serving the six New England states, sharing Haymarket's geographic footprint but focused on arts and culture rather than social justice organizing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Haymarket.Peoples.Fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Haymarket Peoples Fund