Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund
The Browne Fund supports public art, landscape improvements, and beautification projects throughout Boston to "promote the pleasure, comfort, education, patriotism, and good taste of its citizens."
In honor of the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026 and the City of Boston’s 400th in 2030, the Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund opened a special grant round for nonprofit organizations with experience in community engagement and historic documentation to research and propose historic markers in Boston.
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Have questions? Contact:
Treasury
2026 Historic Markers Community Grants
The Browne Fund requested proposals from nonprofit organizations with experience in community engagement and historic documentation to research and propose potential historic markers in Boston. These small grants ($7,500 per organization) will support the following scope of services:
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Community engagement;
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Research and documentation of a minimum of ten (10) possible historic markers; and
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Preparing and submitting at least one application to the Boston Historic Markers Program for consideration for a permanent marker.
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Reporting Requirements
All grantees will be required to submit a Final Report through the City's grantmaking platform.
Eligibility Criteria:
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Organizations only; individuals are not eligible.
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Organizations are eligible for one grant only.
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Organizations must:
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Be non-profit (can use a fiscal sponsor)
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Be in good standing with both the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and the IRS
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Have more than one person contributing to the research and proposal
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Have experience with community engagement, specifically with activities that involve dialogue with and learning from the community
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Demonstrate subject matter expertise related to their proposal
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Be Boston-based OR have a meaningful, demonstrable connection to Boston
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2026 Historic Markers Community Grants: Grantee Organizations
| GrANTEES: |
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| African-American Master Artists in Residence Program |
| Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches |
| Boston Women's Heritage Trail |
| Brighton Main Streets |
| Casa de la Cultura Dominicana |
| Chinatown Community Land Trust |
| Community Service Care Inc |
| Easter Seals Massachusetts |
| Hyde Park Historical Society |
| Innovation Trail of Greater Boston |
| Islamic Multi-Service Organization |
| Jamaica Plain Historical Society |
| Mission Hill Health Movement |
| New England Musicians Resource Fund |
| North American Indian Center of Boston |
| Old North Illuminated |
| Spoke Art |
| The History Project |
| The Partnership of Historic Bostons |
| The West End Museum |
| Veterans Foreign War Thomas J Fitzgerald Post 561 |
What is the Browne Fund?
The Browne Fund was created in 1978 through the will of Boston-born attorney Edward Ingersoll Browne. Browne was born in Franklin Place, Boston, on November 11, 1833, the son of Charles and Elizabeth Isabella Browne. Raised and educated in Boston, he attended Boston Latin School before enrolling at Harvard College. Browne later established a legal practice in Boston. After admission to the Suffolk Bar, a body of lawyers in Suffolk County, he briefly trained with the Boston firm of Sohier & Welch. Then, he formed a lasting business connection with Charles Thorndike, carrying on a practice devoted chiefly to trust management.
Browne eventually lived in Hyde Park (then a separate town, later annexed to Boston), remaining a devoted Bostonian until his death on September 15, 1901. In his will, Browne directed that one-third of his estate—a substantial sum at the time—be invested, with the income used for the following:
“adornment and benefit of (Boston) by the erection of statues, monuments, fountains for men and beasts and for the ornament of its streets, ways, squares and parks in such manner as will promote the pleasure, comfort, education, patriotism and good taste of its citizens.”
Browne’s commitment to art and civic beautification stemmed from his scholarly inclinations and extensive travels in Europe, where he developed an appreciation for public monuments, statuary, and thoughtful urban design. More broadly, his vision reflected the late 19th-century “City Beautiful” ethos, in which art, architecture, and landscaping were seen as catalysts for community pride and moral uplift.
In keeping with Browne’s wishes, the City of Boston established by ordinance a mechanism for administering the funding dedicated in his will. This ordinance created two essential entities in fund disbursement: the Browne Fund Committee and the Browne Fund Commission. First, the Browne Fund Committee reviews proposals for how the Fund’s income might best serve the city’s artistic and beautification goals. Then, the Browne Fund Commission issues the final approval. Together, they ensure that Edward Ingersoll Browne’s legacy of civic pride and public art endures for future generations.
Related documents
DocumentsWho's Involved:
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Have questions? Contact:
Treasury
