The Ansara Family Fund is the philanthropic giving vehicle for Jim and Karen Ansara focused on ending global poverty and “health inequity.” ¹ The fund has provided grants of over $5,000 to organizations in the U.S. such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Welcome.US, and the Boston Foundation Civic Leadership Fund. ²

Background

The Ansara Family Fund is a grantmaking fund focused on addressing “the root causes and symptoms of global health inequity and poverty,” particularly in rural Haiti. ¹ The fund operates through the Boston Foundation and the Essex County Community Foundation. ³

The fund’s primary mission is to “ensure the right to equitable health care,” revive communities, and alter systems by providing grants to support “energy-efficient” infrastructure, organizations that promote “sustainable livelihoods, agroecology, education and health care as basic needs and human rights,” and “rights-focused” leaders and organizations. ¹

The fund has advocated for environmental sustainability and “marginalized communities” which it defines primarily as “women and girls, Black, Indigenous and other People of Color.” ¹

The fund has an international focus and has stated that private philanthropists can fill a financial vacuum overseas and introduce “new ideas, attitudes, and approaches” ⁴

The Ansara Family Fund has founded Build Health International (BHI), the Haiti Development Institute, the Network of Engaged International Doctors, and Partners in Health. ⁴

BHI has built infrastructure such as hospitals and laboratories in Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean. ⁵ In 2024, BHI supported the construction of Haiti’s biggest solar energy project to date. ⁶

People

The Ansara Family Fund was created by Jim and Karen Ansara, who claim their own journey with adoption inspired their grantmaking pursuits. ³

Jim Ansara is the founder of the Boston-based construction company, Shawmut Design and Construction. He has been a board member of Salem State University, Youth Build, City Year, and the Boston Children’s Museum. He sits on the board of Health Equity International. ³

Karen Ansara founded the Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID) and holds the position of board chair. Karen worked with the Boston Foundation to co-found the Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund in 2010, now the Haiti Development Institute, which provided $4.2 million in grants over five years. She is now on the board of the Haiti Development Institute in addition to BHI, Groundswell International, MCE Social Capital, and the Millennium Campus Network. She is also a member of the Rian Immigrant Center’s advisory board and the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies advisory board. ³

Karen Ansara, in an interview with Alliance Magazine about NEID, stated that climate change has created “mass migration” and thus requires people “to invest in the countries where desperate people are coming from to help them solve the problems and make them more livable and just societies.” ⁷ Karen Ansara has also emphasized the need for “racial equity in philanthropy” and discussed the fact that a “charity mindset” does not address root problems which are the “injustices that undergird everything. ⁷

In an interview with the Philanthropic Initiative, Karen Ansara has said that to address “racism in philanthropy” people must “address power imbalance and the lack of funding going to organizations serving people of color that are led by people of color … [and] bring more people of color into the global philanthropy sphere.” ⁸

Grantmaking

The fund has provided grants of over $5,000 to organizations in the U.S. such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Welcome.US, and the Boston Foundation Civic Leadership Fund. ²

The Fund has provided grants of over $10,000 to groups in Haiti including Health Equity International, MADRE, Faith in Action, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. ⁹

The Fund has provided global discretionary grants of over $10,000 to groups such as African Mission Healthcare, Grassroots International, and the Millennium Campus Network. ¹⁰

The Fund has provided grants of over $10,000 to its core partners BHI, Groundswell International, the Haiti Development Institute, MCE Social Capital, Oxfam America, and Partners in Health. ¹¹

The fund has also donated over $10,000 to philanthropy field-building groups Forward Global, the Network of Engaged International Doctors, and Women Moving Millions. ¹¹

The Fund’s past grantees include the Equality Fund, the New Movement to Redress Racial Segregation, the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, and the Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights—Afghanistan. ¹²

1. “Approach & Principles.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/approach-principles.
2. “Greater Boston Grantees.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/greater-boston-usa.
3. “About Us.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/our-story.
4.  “International Focus.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/international-focus.
5. Howard, Beth. “Jim Ansara: Building Hospitals for the World’s Poorest.” AARP, September 3, 2024. https://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/purpose-prize/winners/jim-ansara/.
6. Goodman, Jennifer. “Shawmut Founder Builds Global Healthcare Projects in Retirement.” Construction Dive, October 7, 2024. https://www.constructiondive.com/news/shawmut-global-healthcare-nonprofit/729040/.
7. Milner, Andrew. “We’re Building a Movement and Changing Mindsets: Karen Ansara, Neid Global.” Alliance magazine, August 9, 2023. https://www.alliancemagazine.org/interview/karen-ansara/.
8. Alexander, Maggi. “How One Family Is Tackling Inequity from the Ground Up.” The Philanthropic Initiative, December 10, 2020. https://tpi.org/how-one-family-is-tackling-inequity-from-the-ground-up/.
9. “Haiti Grantees.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/haiti.
10. “Global Discretionary Grants.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/global-discretionary-grants/
11. “Philanthropy Field Building.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/philanthropy-field-building/
12. “Past Grantees.” Ansara Family Fund. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.ansarafamilyfund.org/past-grantees/