THE CELIA LIPTON FARRIS AND VICTOR W. FARRIS FOUNDATION, INC.

What THE CELIA LIPTON FARRIS AND VICTOR W. FARRIS FOUNDATION, INC. does

The Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation, Inc. is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation that makes grants to nonprofit programs focused on health, mental health, behavioral health, and social welfare, with particular emphasis on underserved communities and addressing racial and economic inequities. Established in honor of Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris, the Foundation received a significant asset infusion in 2012 that enabled its active grantmaking phase; since then it has distributed more than $31 million in cumulative grants across U.S. target geographies, including Palm Beach County FL, Broward County FL, Northern New Jersey, Erie County NY, Northern Maine, Santa Fe County NM, and Watauga County NC. Its grantmaking portfolio spans four primary vehicles: the Collective Grant Initiative (the majority vehicle), Home Community Funds (geographically-targeted), Disaster Contingency Funds (emergency relief), and Discretionary Funds (trustee-directed annual grants), alongside targeted programs such as the Fall 2025 Behavioral Health Initiative Grants and the Community Mental Health & Wellness Grant Program. Typical individual grant sizes range from approximately $36,000 to $50,000, supporting behavioral health integration, trauma-informed care, addiction recovery, youth development, housing support, and leadership development in nonprofit grantees.

The Foundation operates an invitation-only grantmaking model: only 501(c)(3) organizations invited through the trustees may apply, with submissions processed via the Grant Interface portal and unsol applications not accepted. Day-to-day operations, including grant processing and financial management, are outsourced to GMA Foundations, a philanthropic services firm whose Boston office (2 Liberty Square, Suite 500) houses the program officer (Prentice Zinn) and senior program associate (Anna Doggett) who staff the Foundation. The Foundation's primary external touchpoint is its WordPress-based website (farrisfdn.org), which publishes mission, guidelines, recent grant lists, and FAQ; it does not maintain a mobile app, public API, or social media presence of note.

The Foundation generates no commercial revenue; its economic model is typical of a private foundation, where investment returns on the endowed asset base fund annual grant disbursements within IRS-required payout constraints. The trustees retain strategic discretion over grant priorities, geographies, and initiative design, which produces a curated, relatively low-overhead operating model with the appearance of deliberate geographic concentration rather than broad national solicitation.

Name

THE CELIA LIPTON FARRIS AND VICTOR W. FARRIS FOUNDATION, INC.

Legal name

The Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://farrisfdn.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation, Inc. is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) private foundation that distributes invitation-only grants to nonprofit programs in health, mental health, and behavioral health across seven U.S. target geographies, administered operationally by GMA Foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Private foundation grantmaking
• Charitable foundation grants
• Nonprofit philanthropy
• Behavioral health grants
• Community foundation funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Grants disbursed (Others), Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: The Foundation distributes grants from its endowment and asset base. Since the infusion of significant assets in 2012, the Foundation has made grants totaling more than $31 million. Revenue is generated from investment returns on the Foundation's assets, which are then disbursed as grants to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation that distributes grants from its endowment to eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Funding is concentrated on programs that improve health and well-being—particularly behavioral health, mental health, and wellness—in target U.S. communities, with emphasis on underserved populations and addressing racial and economic inequities. Grantmaking is operated through an invitation-only application process managed by GMA Foundations.

Product overview

THE CELIA LIPTON FARRIS AND VICTOR W. FARRIS FOUNDATION, INC. is a charitable foundation offering grant programs rather than a technology product company. The Foundation's grant portfolio includes the Collective Grant Initiative (its primary grantmaking vehicle), Home Community Funds (supporting trustees' home communities), Disaster Contingency Funds (for disaster relief), and Discretionary Funds (annual trustee grants). The Foundation also runs targeted initiatives such as the Community Mental Health & Wellness Grant Program and the Fall 2025 Behavioral Health Initiative Grants. These programs fund 501(c)(3) organizations focused on health, well-being, and behavioral health services in specific geographic regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collective Grant Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $31 million in grants distributed since 2012

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: One of the largest U.S. health-focused private foundations, RWJF funds a broad portfolio including mental health, health equity, and underserved communities. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the health grantmaking space where Farris operates as a specialist.
• The Kresge Foundation: A major private foundation with comparable AUM tier that funds health, education, and human services with an explicit equity lens. Overlaps with Farris in mental health, underserved community, and capacity-building grantmaking.
• The Commonwealth Fund: A large national foundation focused on health care improvement, including behavioral health integration. Broader portfolio than Farris but operates in overlapping health-equity and underserved-community grantmaking territory.
• The New York Community Trust: A large community foundation that funds mental health, youth services, and equity-focused programs in the New York region, overlapping with Farris's Erie County NY geographic focus. Comparable as a regional grantmaker with mental health and equity lenses.

Direct peers

• Blue Shield of California Foundation: A health-focused foundation that funds behavioral health, domestic violence, and community health programs primarily in California. Comparable scale and thematic focus, with overlap in Farris's Southeast Florida mental health portfolio.
• Hogg Foundation for Mental Health: The Hogg Foundation, based at UT Austin, is one of the oldest mental health-focused private foundations in the U.S., making grants to mental health services, policy, and research. Directly comparable to Farris Foundation in its single-thematic focus on mental and behavioral health.
• California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA): CalMHSA administers mental health prevention and early intervention programs through county-level funding partnerships. Comparable to Farris in its mental health focus and its strategy of channeling funds to regional community-based organizations.
• Scattergood Foundation: A small private foundation specifically focused on behavioral health innovation, policy, and advocacy. Direct peer to Farris in its specialized behavioral health grantmaking mandate and similar mid-size foundation tier.

Emerging players

• Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute: Texas-based institute that funds and conducts mental health policy research, advocacy, and program development. Comparable in its mental health mission and policy focus, though it operates more as a policy institute than a traditional grantmaker.

Peers

• van Ameringen Foundation:

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-celia-lipton-farris-and-victor-w.-farris-foundation-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about THE CELIA LIPTON FARRIS AND VICTOR W. FARRIS FOUNDATION, INC.