Bushrod H. Campbell and Adah F. Hall Charity Fund

Bushrod Campbell and Adah Hall established the Bushrod H. Campbell and Adah F. Hall Charity Fund in 1956 in order to make charitable contributions to organizations they cared about. Mr. Campbell and Miss Hall were life-long friends and colleagues, first working with Mr. Campbell’s father who started the Personal Book Shop on Newbury Street, and then building a chain of more than twenty book stores and lending libraries that reached from Boston to Cape Cod. Eventually their work shifted from retail to wholesale under the company name Campbell and Hall, Inc. Upon their deaths, both Miss Hall and Mr. Campbell left their fortunes to the Fund. Grants from the Fund’s inaugural year in 1956 totaled $500; now the Fund awards more than $1 million in grants annually.

Hemenway & Barnes LLP provides administrative oversight of The Bushrod H. Campbell and Adah F. Hall Charity Fund, which makes grants for programs targeting the needs of elderly, infirm, homeless, as well as for programs addressing issues related to education, social justice and economic opportunity. Grants, except those related to reproductive health, are focused on programs in the Boston area. A foundation administrator from Hemenway & Barnes' philanthropic advisory services provides support to the trustees and manages the grant application and distribution process. The Trustees of the Fund, with responsibility for fiduciary and programmatic oversight are Arthur B. Page and Nancy B. Gardiner from Hemenway & Barnes, as well as serve as their fellow trustee George Beal.

Funding Guidelines

The Fund’s areas of interest include organizations and/or projects supporting:

• aid to the elderly
• education for underserved youth
• social services for vulnerable populations with a focus on essential services
• reproductive health

The Fund does not typically support direct medical care or public policy advocacy.

The Fund’s grantmaking is limited to organizations with compelling need in greater Boston, which is defined as the cities and towns that fall within Route 128 as far north as Lynn and as far south as Quincy. The Fund does, however, support a limited number of US-based nonprofit organizations working internationally on issues related to reproductive health.

Grants generally range between $5,000 and $10,000, subject to Trustee discretion. The Trustees are interested in supporting organizations and projects for which a grant of this size can have a meaningful impact. Beginning in Fall 2022, long-time grantees of the Fund will be considered for multi-year support.

Applicant organizations must be exempt from federal tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and not a private foundation within the meanings of section 509(a) of the Code.

Grant History

FY 2019 Grants
FY 2020 Grants
FY 2021 Grants

Application Procedures and Schedule

All applicants interested in funding should first carefully read these guidelines to determine eligibility and fit with the Fund's current priorities. Please complete the online application which must be received by the following dates in order to be considered by the Trustees at their next regular meeting. The application portal will be open 4 to 6 weeks prior to the posted deadline.

January 15 for the February meeting
April 15 for the May meeting
August 15 for the September meeting
October 15 for the November meeting

In case of a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the next regular business day. You will receive a confirmation of your submission. Note: please do not send an additional hard copy.

In order to be considered, all online submissions must be received and complete by 5 p.m. on the deadlines listed above. These deadlines are firm.

Applications that do not include the required information will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. We encourage applicants to utilize the Philanthropy Massachusetts Common Proposal Form, which may be found at http://www.philanthropyma.org/resources-tools. We request that applicants not submit supplemental materials.

Staff availability for interviews is limited and interviews will be initiated only by staff invitation. During the application process, an applicant or potential applicant may call or email staff at Hemenway & Barnes LLP to ask questions regarding the application process or the appropriateness of a proposal.

An organization may submit only one application at a time. If denied, an organization must wait one year (12 months) to reapply. If a grant is received, an organization should wait at least one year after the date of the last application before submitting another application. Applications from prior grantees will not be considered until a final report on the prior grant has been received. Do not upload your report with your application. We accept the Philanthropy Massachusetts Common Report Form, which may be found at http://www.philanthropyma.org/resources-tools. Please email your report to Rita Goldberg, Grants Manager at [email protected].

Please note that we have changed our online application portal provider resulting in a change in the website address and your login credentials. Please review this guide on how to register. Click here for a password assistance guide.