Corporate Social Responsibility / Giving / Foundation

Boston Scientific Foundation

The Boston Scientific Foundation’s mission is to improve health and educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons, with an emphasis on communities where Boston Scientific employees live and work in the United States.

Learn how the Boston Scientific Foundation is expanding access to quality healthcare and educational opportunities in the United States.

Boston Scientific Employee Children on a hike

Criteria

Funding of grants is limited, and submission of an application (even one that meets our stated criteria) does not guarantee that a grant will be made to your organization. The Boston Scientific Foundation receives hundreds of applications for grant support, not all of which can be funded.

Please review the eligibility guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions below for details. Questions not addressed on this page may be directed to Foundation@bsci.com.

Education

The Foundation supports programs focused on improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educational opportunities for K-12 students who are economically disadvantaged. We do not fund dollars towards stipends for program participation, or team or event-based sponsorships.

Health

The Foundation supports programs that use evidence-based approaches to improve the health of those who are economically disadvantaged, with a focus on cancer, diabetes, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal and urologic diseases and disorders through one or more of these approaches:

Disease prevention
Disease awareness and diagnosis
Access to care
Quality of care

We do not consider grant requests for dental health, legal support/advocacy for healthcare coverage, care for the caregivers and homeopathic care. Please note that grants for mental health programs were offered for a limited term (2020-2024) and are no longer being accepted.

Past Grantee Requirement

Every prior Boston Scientific Foundation Grantee must submit an Impact Report at the completion of the grant period. The grant period is one year from the date of the Award Letter. Future requests to the Boston Scientific Foundation will not be considered if the Impact Report is not submitted for a prior grant award.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For current or past grantees, please refer to the Award Letter received with your grant check for the complete list of grant terms. If you have any questions, please email foundation@bsci.com.

Geographical Focus - Local

Boston Scientific Foundation is committed to supporting the communities where Boston Scientific employees live and work. All submissions must target the needs of economically disadvantaged populations living within 60 miles of the geographies listed below.

California (Valencia)
Indiana (Spencer)
Massachusetts (Cambridge, Marlborough or Quincy)
Minnesota (Arden Hills, Maple Grove, Minnetonka or Rochester)
Puerto Rico (Dorado or San Juan)
By Invitation Only: Georgia (Alpharetta) and Texas (Houston). Unsolicited proposals from these regions will not be accepted.

Eligibility

Organizations must be recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt entity [501(c) (3) or 501c3 fiscal sponsored], or a public school or agency that meets our Foundation’s primary goal of improving health and STEM educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons.

The Boston Scientific Foundation does not support:

Grant requests where funds would not be used to support economically disadvantaged participants
Requests for event-based fundraising or sponsorships, including robotics teams
Stipends as payment or reimbursement for program participation
Programs for dental health, eye health, mental health, legal support/advocacy for healthcare coverage, care for the caregivers, or homeopathic care
Capital campaigns
Continuing medical education requests or medical research requests (Learn more)
Political campaigns to support and/or oppose candidates for public office
Evangelizing activities of religious organizations
Organizations that discriminate in who they hire based on race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, veteran's status, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information or any other class protected by federal, state, or local law requiring equal opportunity

Grant Application Process

The Boston Scientific Foundation will accept online grant applications twice annually during the designated timeframes noted below. Organizations may submit one application per region each calendar year.

Funding decisions are based on available resources and the degree to which proposals meet the Boston Scientific Foundation charitable giving criteria, compared to other regional grant submissions.

STEM Education Applications : January 15 - March 15
- Applicants will be notified early July.
- Proposals should focus on funding needs and activities beginning after the July award date and concluding within 1 year of the grant award.
Health Applications : May 1 – July 1
- Applicants will be notified early November.
- Proposals should focus on funding needs and activities beginning after the November award date and concluding within 1 year of the grant award.

STEM EDUCATION APPLICATION

Boston Scientific Foundation Application

Apply Now

FAQs

How do you select applicants?

We support programs that improve health and STEM education for economically disadvantaged persons. Applications are initially pre-screened, with qualified submissions then vetted by regional grant review committees. We are particularity interested in proposals that contain these elements:

Evidence based approaches that include a methodology for tracking and measuring improvements in STEM learning or specific health outcomes related to our focus areas.
Clear identification of the target audience and data used to determine the majority of grant beneficiaries (participants) are economically disadvantaged (e.g., household income, enrollment in Medicaid or SNAP benefits, census data for the neighborhood or community, etc.)
Cost-effective and results-oriented programs, where our contributions can make a long-term measurable difference in the quality of people’s lives and serve as a catalyst for positive change.

How should I outline operating costs in my application?

Within the proposal, applicants will identify the portion of the grant that will be allocated to direct program costs vs. indirect costs (admin, overhead). Applicants will also be required to submit a project budget specifically outlining how grant funds will be used, including any necessary operating expenses (salaries, rent, utilities, etc.) associated with executing the program.
Program sustainability is important to our funding decisions. If more than 50% of the program’s total budget, particularly staff salaries, would be supported by the grant request, it is vital that we clearly understand how the program can be sustained after a Boston Scientific Foundation grant has ended.

What is a typical grant award amount?

Grant amounts vary depending on the number of participants to be served by the grant, significance of the expected measurable impact, and extent of competition from other strong applicants during any given grant cycle. A typical range is $10,000-$30,000 but a limited number of larger grants may be considered for past grantees with a solid history of proven success. If a partial grant could allow the applicant to still offer the program with modifications, this should be noted in the proposal.

Our program starts before your grant award schedule. How should this be noted in the application?

Organizations will have the option to select either year-round or specific start and end dates when completing the application.
Grant funding will not be offered retroactively, or to support activities that have already taken place prior to grant awards. (STEM grant awards are announced in early July: health grant awards are announced in early November.) Proposals should focus on funding needs, expenses, and program activities that will take place after the expected award date, and within the 1 year post-award deadline.

Our program is open to participants from across the country, but many travel to the regions served by your Foundation. Is it eligible?

Our mission is to support the STEM education and health of economically disadvantaged residents who live within 60 miles of major Boston Scientific facilities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. We do not consider proposals for programs that may be hosted in one of the eligible communities if most participants are not residents of that community.

Our program provides broad academic or career readiness support, of which STEM is a portion. (Or provides broad healthcare access and services, of which the Foundation’s specific focus areas are a portion.) Can we apply?

The Boston Scientific Foundation funds programs and services specifically targeting improvements in STEM education or our health focus areas (cancer, diabetes, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal and urologic diseases and disorders). Applicants whose programs also offer other types of services may apply if the proposal, grant amount requested, and expected outcomes all are clearly limited to the areas aligned with our mission. We receive more applications than we can fund, and proposals that do not clearly fit with our priorities may be disqualified during the initial pre-screening step.

Do you sponsor robotics teams?

The Boston Scientific Foundation does not fund event or team-based sponsorships. However, Boston Scientific corporation sponsors a very limited number of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams each year, with priority given to teams from economically disadvantaged schools or neighborhoods near its major U.S. facilities. Inquiries may be sent to CommunityEngagement@bsci.com.

What sort of scholarship awards do you make available to college-aged children of Boston Scientific employees?

To help improve the educational opportunities for the children of Boston Scientific employees, we offer an academic scholarship program for eligible children of all active, full-time, regular, United States-based Boston Scientific employees who are accepted and attend an accredited post-secondary undergraduate institution to pursue any course of study. All scholarships are reviewed by an Independent Scholarship Review Committee and no Boston Scientific employees participate in the review process.

Who helps staff and manage the Foundation?

In addition to our small staff, the Boston Scientific Foundation relies on the due diligence of our Employee Community Teams, comprised of employees who volunteer in key regions across the U.S. where larger Boston Scientific offices are located. These teams evaluate grant applications at a local level and make recommendations from their respective regions. Our Foundation Board of Directors oversees regional grant recommendations made by the Employee Community Teams.

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