The Power List: The 25 Most Influential People in Boston Philanthropy

Who’s # 26?

A look at 10 other philanthropy powerhouses.

Joshua and Anita Bekenstein

Flush with Bain money, the always-ready-to-donate Bekensteins play major roles at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, City Year, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New Profit, and the Pan-Mass Challenge.

Gururaj and Jaishree Deshpande

The funders behind MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation—which supports research and startups—gave $2.75 million to charities in 2011.

Anne Finucane

As the chairwoman of the Bank of America Foundation, Finucane oversees a massive organization that gives $200 million a year to charities around the world, and $12 million to local causes.

Wyc and Corinne Grousbeck

The Celtics co-owner and his wife are wired in Boston, and are hyper-involved with the Perkins School for the Blind, to which they recently donated $10 million for the Grousbeck Center for Students and Technology.

James Healey

The Yawkey Foundations (of which Healey is president) donated $23 million to 214 organizations in 2011, including causes such as the New England Home for Little Wanderers and the Bridge Over Troubled Waters program, which helps runaway and homeless youth.

Jay Hooley

In 2011, Hooley’s State Street Corporation matched $2.2 million in employee donations, while offering a companywide program that paired workers with charities and resulted in 85,000 volunteer hours. The State Street Foundation, meanwhile, gave $10.5 million to local charities in 2011.

Claudio Martinez

The executive director of the Hyde Square Task Force has turned a small neighborhood group into a national model for community organizations.

James and Kim Pallotta

Our sources tell us that the hedge fund–wealthy Pallottas give a ton of money around town—but almost always keep it anonymous. The Pallottas are also prime movers at New Profit and Strategic Grant Partners, two forward-thinking venture philanthropy groups.

John Simon

The GreenLight Fund cofounder connects local equity and tech networks with the leaders of successful nonprofits in other American cities—such as Friends of the Children (Portland, Oregon) and Raising a Reader (Redwood City, California)—to help launch Boston chapters.

Henri and Belinda Termeer

Genzyme might be in the rearview mirror for the Termeers, but the couple continues to donate to health causes, including a $10 million gift in 2011 to fund research on targeted therapies at MGH’s cancer center.

Find out more about Boston’s philanthropy scene in our 2013 Power package.