Corporate Social Responsibility / Giving / Foundation 

Boston Scientific Foundation

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The Boston Scientific Foundation’s mission is to improve health and open up 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.
Annual Report
Boston Scientific Employee Children on a hike

Criteria

Health

Programs that aim to improve the health of those who are economically disadvantaged, with a focus on cancer, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, diabetes, gastrointestinal or urologic diseases and disorders through any one of these approaches.

  • Disease prevention
  • Disease awareness and diagnosis
  • Access to care
  • Quality of care
Grants to benefit economically disadvantaged populations in health programs are defined as programs with:
  • Minimum of 50% of program participants uninsured/underinsured at 200% of poverty or lower OR
  • Funding directed to participants at  200% of poverty or lower
We are currently not accepting grant requests for dental health, mental health, legal support/advocacy for healthcare coverage, care for the caregivers and homeopathic care. In addition, we do not fund dollars towards stipends for program participation.

Education

The Foundation supports programs focused on improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educational opportunities and academic development for K-12 students who are economically disadvantaged.

Grants to benefit economically disadvantaged in education programs is defined as programs with:
  • Minimum of 50% of program participants at 185% of poverty or lower OR
  • Funding directed to participants at 185% of poverty or lower
  • We do not fund dollars towards stipends for program participation.
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.

Past Grantee Requirement

Every Boston Scientific Foundation Grantee must submit a Impact Report/ Year End Report (YER) via email to bscifoundation@bsci.com no later than 60 days after the grant period has ended, but can submit it as soon as the grant funds are spent. The grant period is one year from the date of the award. Any future requests to the Boston Scientific Foundation will not be considered if a YER is not submitted from a prior grant award.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Organizations that are awarded a grant in one calendar year are not eligible to apply the following year. 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 bscifoundation@bsci.com.

Geographical Focus - Local

Boston Scientific Foundation is committed to supporting the communities where BSC employees live and work. All submissions must target the needs of economically disadvantaged populations within 30 miles of the geographies listed below.
  • California  (San Jose, Valencia)
  • Indiana  (Spencer)
  • Massachusetts  (Cambridge, Marlborough or Quincy)
  • Minnesota  (Twin Cities)
Beyond financial support, these communities can benefit from the enthusiasm, motivation and creative spirit of Boston Scientific employees, and we encourage them to make a difference by getting involved in the local issues they care about.
Map of the United States of America with map pins in Massachusetts, Indiana, Minnesota and California

Eligibility

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

The Boston Scientific Foundation does not support:
  • Requests for event-based fundraising, sponsorships
  • Capital campaigns
  • General operating requests
    (if these funds are required as part of program support, we ask that all costs be clearly outlined- see FAQs section below)
  • Continuing medical education requests or medical research requests
  • Political campaigns to support and/or oppose candidates for public office
  • Evangelizing activities of religious organizations
Note: To qualify for a Boston Scientific Foundation grant, you must also certify that your organization does not discriminate in who you serve or who you hire on the basis of 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. You also must certify that your organization does not advocate, support, or practice activities that discriminate regarding any of the aforementioned protected classes.

Grant Application Process

The Boston Scientific Foundation will accept online grant applications twice annually, once for health grants and once for STEM education grants, based on focus area, for one-year. Organizations may submit one application per region each calendar year. The review process usually takes from 3 to 6 months. Funding decisions are based on available resources and the degree to which proposals meet the Boston Scientific Foundation charitable giving criteria and priorities.
  • Health Applications Accepted: January 15 - March 15
  • STEM Education Applications Accepted (2020): August 1 – October 1
IMPORTANT NOTE: Organizations that are awarded a grant in one calendar year are not eligible to apply the following year. 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.

Submit and Application

Boston Scientific Foundation Application

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FAQs

How do you select applicants?

We seek to support programs that improve health and education for economically disadvantaged persons. We are particularity interested in proposals that contain these elements:
  • 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.
  • Community-based approaches that work to empower those who are involved.
  • Evidence based approaches.

How should I outline my operating costs in my application?

  • We understand that there are necessary operating expenses (salaries, rent, utilities, etc.) associated with executing programs. If your organization is seeking operating expenses as a required part of program support, we ask that all costs be clearly outlined in proposals.
  • Program sustainability is important to our funding decisions. If operating expenses, particularly salaries, are over 50% of the grant request, it is vital that we clearly understand how the program can be sustained after a Boston Scientific Foundation grant has ended.
  • If your organization has previously received funding from the Boston Scientific Foundation, reporting on how all funds, including details of operating expenses (particularly salaries) were used and accounted for is required as a part of the program/year-end report.
  • The Boston Scientific Foundation does not consider proposals where 100% of the request is for general operating support.

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.

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 identify charitable organizations and evaluate grant applications at a local level and make recommendations on these applications from their respective regions. Our Foundation Board of Directors oversees regional grant recommendations made by the Employee Community Teams.
 
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