Power: The 25 Most Influential People in Boston Philanthropy

Photos by Scott M. Lacey

The List: The 25 Most Influential People in Boston Philanthropy

Nonprofits and the philanthropists behind them do feed the hungry, educate children, take care of the sick, and sponsor a thriving arts and culture community. But at the upper echelons of the city, philanthropy is also about power—the money, influence, and ideas that make things happen. And no one in town has more of it than the leaders listed here, the 25 most powerful people in Boston philanthropy.

Six Degrees of Separation

A look at some of the donations and board connections of Boston’s most prominent philanthropists.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

All those mugs and totes add up to much-needed revenue. Here’s how some of the city’s most important cultural institutions keep the gift-shop cash registers ringing.

Boston’s Must-Attend Fundraisers and Charity Galas

These are some parties that you won’t want to miss.

The Behemoth

Find out what Harvard’s $30.7 billion endowment is equivalent to.

(Your Name Here)

What’s it cost to get a building—or a wing, or a brick—named after you, anyway?

Prep School Showdown

A look at the large endowments—and famous alumni—of some of the area’s most exclusive private schools.

Yankee Thrift

Are we truly a bunch of cold-hearted cheapskates in Massachusetts?

The Art of the Ask

How nonprofits turn the wealthy into donors.

The Remaking of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

A look at how a few forward-thinking board members recruited new blood, hired a museum director, raised money for a new wing, and saved the institution.