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 Grant Makers In the News
Nominate Your Grantees
The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Excellence Awards, in which they showcase the exceptional organizations that comprise the Commonwealth's nonprofit sector.
The award categories this year are:
· Advocacy
· Collaboration
· Communications
· Innovation
· Governance
· Leadership
· Young Professional
The awards will be given out at MNN's third annual Nonprofit Awareness Day on June 13 at the State House Governor Deval Patrick, who has graciously spoken at the first two Nonprofit Awareness Days, has been invited again. Submit nominations
The Boston Foundation Names Edward M. Powell Executive Director of StreetSafe Boston
Edward M. Powell has been named Executive Director of StreetSafe Boston, a multi-year initiative created by the Boston Foundation to work with proven-risk youth in Boston's most violence-afflicted neighborhoods. Mr. Powell comes to StreetSafe Boston from the Boston Private Industry Council, a public-private partnership that connects Boston Public Schools students and other Boston-area young people with employment opportunities.
Congratulations to The Barr Foundation on unveiling their new website www.barrfoundation.org.
AGM Welcomes New Members to its Western Mass Funders Group:
Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Beveridge Family Foundation
Peace Development Fund
Peoples Bank
United Way of Hampshire County
Volunteer philanthropy coaches sought for college student business plan competition
The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at the Heller School, Brandeis University seeks philanthropists to coach students entering the Sillerman Prize competition for $5K to define the best plan to increase philanthropy and philanthropic values on college campuses nationwide.
Coaches will be made available to students who request a mentor to look over their application before the deadline of March 11, 2011. Please contact Claudia Jacobs; Director of Capacity Building at the Sillerman Center, cjacobs@brandeis.edu or 781-736-3806 to volunteer and for questions.
Judges for Philanthropy Business Plan Competition Sought
Foundation staff and philanthropists are being recruited to judge the 2011 Annual Sillerman Center Prize for the best plan to increase philanthropy and/or philanthropic values on college campuses. Submissions consist of a five to eight page business plan and written criteria for judges are provided. Judges may be asked to read three to five applications depending on the volume of submissions. Judges’ comments are shared anonymously with applicants so that applicants all receive valuable feedback. Finalists are selected from the highest rated applications and final oral presentations are scheduled to which all judges will be invited. Selection of the winner will be determined from amongst the finalists by judges who are present at the oral presentations. Application materials appear on the Center’s website. Please contact Claudia Jacobs; Director of Capacity Building at the Sillerman Center cjacobs@brandeis.edu or 781-736-3806 to volunteer and for questions.
Are you a longtime advocate of investing in women and girls but looking to hear about innovative strategies from around the world?
Take your passion to the next level and register to attend The Power of Global Networks in Brooklyn, New York, April 7-9. Join us in New York City for:
- A warm welcome from MacArthur "Genius" awardee and world renowned eco-entrepreneur Majora Carter.
- A guided tour of New York City's social change movers and shakers led by local women leaders.
- Strategies global companies are taking to embrace a gender lens.
- Social media tools to bring lasting social change.
- Words of inspiration from new Executive Director of UN Women and former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet!
In an effort to prepare all learners with the skills and knowledge they need for full participation in postsecondary education, work and life, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation promotes transformative change of public education systems across New England and the nation as a whole. Community organizing can offer an urgently needed component to education reform efforts and help ensure long-term sustainability of school and district improvement. That is among the findings of their new report, entitled The Strengths & Challenges of Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy.
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has announced grants totaling $1.4 million to seven organizations and school districts in New England for efforts to put students at the center of learning. Each grantee will receive a one-year, $200,000 planning award — the first awards made through the foundation's District Level Systems Change initiative, which is designed to promote the integration of student-centered reforms in three areas: education practice, policy, and public understanding and demand.
The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), received renewal of a $25,000 grant from the State Street Foundation, Inc., the charitable grantmaking arm of State Street Corporation, in support of its Child Services to recruit adoptive families for children in state foster care. MARE’s Child Services Program is designed to continually “put a face” on the children and teens in foster care who are waiting for adoption, while educating adults about the adoption process. MARE’s best-known programs include “Wednesday’s Child” with Jack Williams on WBZ-TV 4 and “Sunday’s Child” in The Boston Globe, both of which feature a new waiting child every week.
Steward Health Care, the new for-profit owner of the Caritas Christi Health Care hospital chain, has announced that Bill Walczak will be the new president of Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Walczak has been the CEO of Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester for the past 30 years.
The New England Foundation for the Arts announced Anita M. Chan as their new Financial Controller and Nella Young as the New England Services Coordinator. Ms. Chan has experience in both the corporate and nonprofit finance, most recently serving as Accounting Director at Boston-based national nonprofit, Jobs for the Future. Ms. Young will support NEFA’s online services for New England artists and communities including CultureCount a creative economy website and MatchBook.org, a regional performing arts directory.
The New England Foundation for the Arts creatively supports the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the arts within New England and beyond, makes vital connections between artists and communities and builds the strength, knowledge, and leadership of the region's creative sector. NEFA administers grantmaking programs that support the performing arts, public art, and Native American artists.
The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation announced that in 2010 it awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to almost 1,000 nonprofit organizations in MA, NH and ME. Grant recipients support the Foundation’s efforts to combat childhood obesity; address health disparities affecting diverse populations; and, support healthy, strong communities through grant contribution and community service. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $120 million in funds throughout the three states. Read press release
The Cape Cod Foundation Board elected two new officers and a new director at its December 16, 2010 meeting. Jennifer S.D. Roberts, former vice chairman, was elected board chair. She is theFoundation's first woman chair elected. Board member Tom Evans assumed the office of vice chairman. Chris Wise of Chatham joined the board as a new director.
On January 5, 2011 legislation providing thousands of new affordable housing units for low income, disabled individuals across the country was signed into law by President Obama. ."Low income people with disabilities face tremendous challenges finding affordable housing," said Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). "Well over a million low income people with disabilities spend more than half of their incomes on housing, and many thousands more live in more restrictive, institutional settings than they would choose, just because they don't have other housing alternatives. This bill helps to lift this burden and also honors the transformational work of Frank Melville." The bill is named after the late Frank Melville, businessman and longtime philanthropist who organized and chaired the Board of the Melville Charitable Trust for over 15 years, until his death in 2007. The Trust focuses its giving on funding solutions to prevent and end homelessness. Robert Hohler, Executive Director of the Trust said that “Frank Melville would have appreciated the critical role this legislation plays in opening new options for housing and serving the needs of the most vulnerable.”
Organized in 1990, The Melville Charitable Trust concentrates its efforts on finding and fighting the causes of homelessness. It supports direct service and housing programs on the state level, particularly in Connecticut, that can serve as models anywhere. The Trust also funds educational, research and advocacy initiatives in Connecticut and on the national level. www.melvilletrust.org
The Franklin Square House Foundation is accepting grant proposals for its 2011 housing round. The foundation, started in 2008, provides bricks and mortar grants to projects that support women and families as well as capital improvement grants for economically and racially integrated childcare centers. Since becoming a foundation in 2008 Franklin Square has made $2.5 million dollars in grants to 33 different organizations. The current funding round applications are due January 21st 2011. Information regarding the Foundation's mission, grant applications, guidelines and previous grant awards are available at www.franklinsquarehousefoundation.org. Potential grantees are required to contact Robert Goldstein the Foundation's Executive Director via email or call (617) 312-3400 prior to submitting a proposal.
Recently Sailors' Snug Harbor was profiled in Grantmakers in Aging (GIA). "Sailors' Snug Harbor Annual Luncheon Links Like-Minded Service Providers". A private independent foundation established in 1852, Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston began its charitable work by providing assistance to sailors who were "broken down by infirmities brought on by diseases in foreign climes, exposures and hardships." In its early years, the organization founded and managed a retirement home for needy sailors. But in more recent times, Sailors' Snug Harbor has extended its grant making to assist elderly men and women, and Massachusetts fishing families. With a unique and long history of charitable work, Sailors' Snug Harbor continues to be an innovator in philanthropy. The foundation's annual elder program luncheons, the most recent held last month, provide forums typically not offered to the nonprofit community by grant making institutions. The luncheons bring together grantees (that often compete for philanthropic dollars) in order to share information and ideas, and unite providers behind common goals for improving the lives of older citizens.
The Roy A. Hunt Foundation board of directors has announced the appointment of Tony Macklin as the foundation's new executive director, effective January 15, 2011. Macklin follows Beatrice Carter, who joined the Foundation in 2000 and is retiring in March. "Our decision to appoint Tony was unanimous," said Tod Hunt, chair of the executive committee and former president of the family foundation for 24 years. "We're excited about the wealth of experience Tony brings to continue on this trajectory and bring along our growing fourth generation of trustees."
BNY Mellon Launches $6 Million Global Workforce Development Initiative Targeting Vulnerable Youth BNY Mellon, the global leader in asset management and securities servicing, announced that it is launching a $6 million global workforce development initiative over five years to assist vulnerable youth making the transition into adulthood. With this investment, BNY Mellon will collaborate with leading public and non-profit agencies in the U.S., United Kingdom and Asia to enhance education, job training and career development opportunities. It's estimated that each year more than 25,000 young people in the U.S. move out of foster care when they reach 18, including more than 700 in Massachusetts. In New England, BNY Mellon will provide $250,000 in the first year to three Boston-area nonprofits to extend or add to programs for youth transitioning from foster care into adulthood. Research shows these individuals are at greater risk for unemployment, poverty and homelessness.
Specialty retailer J.Jill (www.jjill.com) is committed to their ongoing mission to help disadvantaged and homeless women become self-sufficient. For the tenth consecutive year, the J.Jill Compassion Fund, a donor advised fund at the Boston Foundation, will be making grants to community-based organizations that support underprivileged and homeless women. Grant applications will be accepted beginning October 21 through December 1, 2010 at www.jjill.com.
Funding priority is given to non-profit programs and organizations that provide job training, education and transitional and/or affordable housing to underprivileged and homeless women. Organizations are encouraged to visit www.jjill.com to learn more about the 2011 grant guidelines and process.
Investigating the Community with The Lenny Zakim Fund
Mitchell Garner, a Lenny Zakim Fund grant recipient, used to be in a gang when he went to the 3rd EyE Annual Open and it helped him get his act together. He saw hip-hop culture bring positive energy and creativity to his New Bedford community. Now Mitchell has graduated high school and is a student at Bristol Community College and a staff/board member at 3rd EyE. Mitchell shows the youth that "there is such a thing as people being there for them".
Meeting people like Mitchell, through site visits is a privilege of LZF's work and an essential part of its grant making process. Grant making begins with written proposals, but when we come face-to-face with people in our communities, we truly understand their challenges and potential and learn how each applicant is meeting them. LZF welcomes you to learn more about its inspirational due diligence by serving as a site visitor. LZF will be meeting with its grant candidates now through the end of January. For more information, contact LZF's Program Associate, Melissa Eng-Wong, 617-406-5935
Episcopal City Mission (ECM) recently re-released our policy paper Housing: A Basic Human Right.
For over 100 years ECM has been advocating for and building affordable housing. They want their constituents, parishes, partners and friends to know how committed they are to continuing to develop and provide access to housing for those in need in our communities. ECM hopes this document will encourage others to discuss the issue of affordable housing in Massachusetts and why it's important to ensure that safe, affordable housing is available for all people. View report
Boston Foundation quarterly grants support strategies to promote a ‘thriving, vibrant’ city and region
Among the quarterly grants approved by the Boston Foundation Board of Directors is one for general operating support to help enable the creation of one of the city’s first Horace Mann Charter School under the terms of the historic education reform legislation signed into law in January. The grant is to a new organization called Unlocking Potential, created by Scott Given, who earned acclaim as the leader of Excel Charter School in East Boston. Unlocking Potential plans to launch a new charter school in the fall of 2011.
Clowes Fund announces 2010 Funding Recipients
The Clowes Fund, Inc.has announced its grant distributions of approximately $2.5 milllion to 62 nonprofit organizations in four states for the 2010 funding cycle. The foundation’s priority interests in New England are social services and education, including arts education. Grants include nearly $1.5 million in New England (primarily greater Boston), $700,000 to Indianapolis area organizations and $350,000 in Seattle. Grants awarded in 2010 include $60,000 to Fletcher Place Community Center for programs that work to break the cycle of poverty (Indianapolis, IN); $50,000 to EdVestors, Inc., for the Collaborative Fund that supports nonprofit organizations and Boston Public Schools for joint strategies to meet school improvement goals (Boston, MA); $10,000 to ONE Lowell for its School Success program for immigrant and refugee youth and their parents (Lowell, MA); $30,000 to Arts Corps for its Music Education program for low-income youth (Seattle, WA).
Schott Foundation for Public Education moves office
The Schott Foundation for Public Education has relocated to temporary office space until our new permanent offices are ready this coming March. Our new mailing address located below is permanent and will remain the same moving forward:
Mailing Address:
Schott Foundation for Public Education
675 Massachusetts Avenue, 8th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139
Visitors to the Schott Foundation's temporary offices will find us at
130 Bishop Allen Drive, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
Schott's telephone number remains the same: 617-876-7700. All staff direct numbers are also the same.
Rick Ellis joins the Schott Foundation
The Schott Foundation is pleased to announce that Rick Ellis has joined our staff as the Director of Communications. In this capacity, Rick is responsible for media and public outreach, managing all of Schott's communications vehicles, including its multiple web sites and social media, and promoting all programs for the Schott.
Free Webinar on Foundation Communications
CEP's research has shown that grantees continue to give funders low marks when it comes to fostering a clear understanding of what the foundation is trying to accomplish and where grantees fit in. Spitfire set out to find out why this is happening - despite foundations committing more resources than ever before to communicating about their work and missions - and what can be done to close this gap!
To participate in the webinar, please e-mail bigideas@spitfirestrategies.com or call Adam Rankin at (202)-293-6200.
AGM Diversity Fellow joins The Nellie Mae Education Foundation
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) has hired Lucas Orwig as a Program Associate. NMEF is the largest philanthropy in New England devoted exclusively to education. "We are delighted to welcome Lucas as a permanent member of our team. He will strengthen NMEF's commitment to provide all learners with the skills they need for full participation in school, work, and life," said Mary Sylvia Harrison, Vice President for Programs, NMEF. Orwig joined NMEF as an Associated Grant Makers Diversity Fellow in 2009. Through his year-long placement, he gained valuable field experience supporting senior program officers in the administration and processing of grants. AGM's highly competitive fellowship program focuses on building diversity in the workplace and developing skilled grant makers. Read more
Endowment for Health (EH) Online Tools Cut Through the Noise and Confusion about Health Care Reform
EH Pilot is a resource gateway aimed at helping you understand how health reform will help you and your family. Go to EH Pilot
EH InSight is a blog about health reform with a special focus on how the federal law will be implemented in New Hampshire. Go to EH InSight
Resources and blog posts will be updated on a regular basis so visit us often!
Access Strategies Fund Announces 14 Grants for Massachusetts Government Reform
Access Strategies Fund recently announced that it has funded fourteen Massachusetts organizations for a total of $165,000. The grants, which cover a dozen communities, are aimed at helping to transform electoral structures in order to make government more responsive, accessible, and accountable to underserved communities. In its first ten years, Access Strategies Fund supported community groups to engage new voters and encourage people to participate in changing policies that affect their quality of life. Voter engagement soared in Boston and new and trained candidates for public office emerged to challenge the way things have traditionally been done in government. Read more
Tufts Health Plan Foundation Gives $1.1M to 33 Nonprofits
Tufts Health Plan Foundation recently announced that it has awarded $1.1M in grants to 33 Massachusetts nonprofit organizations to help improve the lives and health of adults age 60-plus.
David Abelman, executive director of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, said, “The Tufts Health Plan Foundation is pleased to continue our support for the important efforts in the community to improve the health and well being of our older citizens. We are energized by the enthusiasm, dedication and great work of our partners in the community."
"Yes We Can" Report Shows Despite Effective State Model to Save Black Males, America's Education Systems Fail Over Half the Nation's Black Male Students
The Schott Foundation for Public Education latest biennial report on Black males and public education, reveals that the overall graduation rate (2007/8) for Black males in the U.S. was only 47 percent. The report shows that out of 50 states, half have graduation rates for Black male students below the national average. In addition to a national summary and detailed state-by-state data, the report highlights the success of New Jersey's Abbott plan, which demonstrates that when equitable resources are available to all students, systemic change at the state level can yield significant results. View Report
Highland Street Free Fun Fridays Continues
The Free Fun Fridays program invites everyone to visit a designated museum or attraction for free over ten Fridays this summer and Labor Day Weekend (Friday & Saturday). Please note that the venues are free during normal business hours, and you do not need to register or obtain a ticket. If you have any questions, please contact Highland Street Foundation at 617.989.8900 or kbristol@highlandstreet.org
United Way Invests $100,000 in Summer Programs for Lowell Youth
United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley announces an investment of $100,000 into 14 local youth-serving agencies. The investment, which the community has raised as part of United Way’s Summer Experiences in Greater Lowell (SEGL) initiative, is particularly significant this year as the unemployment rate in Lowell has reached 10.8% and more youth are expected to need free or discounted options for summer programming due to the economic recession.
Ready for the Future
The Center for Collaborative Education and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (an AGM member) have issued a report that uses retrospective interviews with graduates of three Boston public schools with established performance-based assessment systems to better understand how performance assessment affects students.
Foundation Announces Cape Cod Volunteers Website
Cape Cod Volunteers, which links nonprofit agencies with potential volunteers, has opened to the public. People who are looking for meaningful volunteer opportunities can visit www.capecodvolunteers.org, where they will find a database of listings posted by area nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations began listing opportunities in June and are encouraged to continue. Cape Cod Volunteers began four years ago with a community needs assessment. It is an initiative of the Cape Cod Foundation in partnership with CapeCodOnline.com, Barnstable County, and an Advisory Committee with representatives from Cape-wide organizations.
EdVestors Announces Over $1,000,000 to Support Urban School Investment Through the 2010 Urban Education Investment Portfolio
EdVestors announces today that its donors are investing over $1,000,000 in school improvement initiatives through EdVestors 2010 Urban Education Investment Portfolio. These grants come as the result of EdVestors 8th Annual Urban Education Investment Showcase held earlier this spring, where over 175 philanthropists, educators, and business and community leaders with a deep interest in education convened to hear presentations about a cadre of impressive urban school improvement initiatives. The private funding takes effect during the 2010-2011 school year.
Boston Foundation Awards $29.8 Million in Second-Quarter Grants
The Boston Foundation has announced the distribution of almost $30 million in grants approved by the Board of Directors at its quarterly meeting. That included a grant of $1 million to be paid over five years to provide general support for the Fairmount/Indigo Line CDC Collaborative, which focuses on issues of transit equity, real estate planning and economic development along the Fairmount corridor. The area contains some of the lowest income communities in Boston which are currently underserved by transportation. The Indigo Line refers to a proposed MBTA transit line that would run from Back Bay to Mattapan, serving communities across the city. That investment reflects the Foundation’s strategy of increasing neighborhood stability and the production and preservation of affordable housing for vulnerable populations, one of nine strategies articulated last fall when the Foundation renewed its overall grantmaking work with a new emphasis on creating clear and measurable results from investments made in the region.
Read press release
Boston Rising announced that Tiziana Dearing will its first CEO. Dearing, who has been president of Catholic Charities, Boston since 2007, will formally join Boston Rising in September 2010. An accomplished leader who is recognized for her managerial skills, and work in the business, nonprofit, and academic sectors, Dearing has deep experience in the field of social justice and is committed to a career spent in the fight against poverty.
The Boston Foundation joins other lead charities and
foundations, Mayor Menino and the Boston Pubic Schools
to announce a historic education partnership. Read more
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation released the latest in a series of reports by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law. The report is based on the fall 2009 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), which has tracked the impact of the law annually since fall 2006. View report
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The Cape Cod Foundation is proud to introduce an exciting new resource for nonprofits: Cape Cod Volunteers. Cape Cod Volunteers links local people with meaningful volunteer opportunities. Please visit our new website and register your organization at www.capecodvolunteers.org.
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An innovative three-year funding strategy, launched in 2007, is paying off quickly for United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and the people it serves. For example, instead of having their education disrupted at its earliest and most critical stage, 1,300 Massachusetts preschoolers showing developmental and behavioral concerns had the professional support they needed to remain learning in school in 2009 - a key recommendation from a 2006 Yale University study on reducing preschool expulsions. And, instead of funding costly shelter stays, taxpayers saved nearly $4 million because of a program that helped 130 homeless families avoid prolonged shelter stays.
Today, United Way is detailing the results of that shift in funding strategy and unveiling the next stage of its plan, which kicks off with an investment of nearly $30 million in its first year. The 2007 shift in investment strategy moved United Way from a funding model based on historical relationships with its provider organizations to one which ties its funding of organizations to specific community goals and measurements. Read announcement
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The Endowment for Health, New Hampshire’s largest health foundation, recently awarded more than $87,000 in grants to organizations for the resources necessary to forward health-related projects that reduce economic, geographic and social cultural barriers to health access, as well as providing support to a variety of health-related nonprofits and policy organizations.
“These grants respond to New Hampshire’s distressed safety net. The funding will help nonprofits develop the skills and approaches to solve problems collectively,” said Mary Vallier-Kaplan, the Endowment’s vice president and chief operating officer. More information.
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The Hyams Foundation is announcing staff changes. Jack Clymer is resigning from the Hyams board after 29 years as a trustee and 19 years as its Chair. Long Nguyen is also resigning from the board in order to serve as the Interim Executive Director of Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, an organization he foundaed in 1994. The board is welcoming two new trustees, M. Elena Letona, Associate Director of the National Alliance for Latin AMerican and Caribbean Communities and Penn S. Loh, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University.
The Hyams Foundation is also pleased to announce two staff promotions. Angela Brown has been promoted to Director of Programs and Mark Paley is now the Director of Administration and Finance.
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An innovative three-year funding strategy, launched in 2007, is paying off quickly for United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley and the people it serves. For example, instead of having their education disrupted at its earliest and most critical stage, 1,300 Massachusetts preschoolers showing developmental and behavioral concerns had the professional support they needed to remain learning in school in 2009 - a key recommendation from a 2006 Yale University study on reducing preschool expulsions. And, instead of funding costly shelter stays, taxpayers saved nearly $4 million because of a program that helped 130 homeless families avoid prolonged shelter stays.
Today, United Way is detailing the results of that shift in funding strategy and unveiling the next stage of its plan, which kicks off with an investment of nearly $30 million in its first year. The 2007 shift in investment strategy moved United Way from a funding model based on historical relationships with its provider organizations to one which ties its funding of organizations to specific community goals and measurements. Read announcement
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The Endowment for Health, New Hampshire’s largest health foundation, recently awarded more than $87,000 in grants to organizations for the resources necessary to forward health-related projects that reduce economic, geographic and social cultural barriers to health access, as well as providing support to a variety of health-related nonprofits and policy organizations.
“These grants respond to New Hampshire’s distressed safety net. The funding will help nonprofits develop the skills and approaches to solve problems collectively,” said Mary Vallier-Kaplan, the Endowment’s vice president and chief operating officer. More information.
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It is with great sadness we report the passing of Marshall Schell on May 7, 2010. Mr. Schell worked in the philanthropic field for over 30 years, serving in fundraising roles for Amherst College, The Boston Foundation, Deerfield Academy, and Historic Deerfield. He directed a project to help nonprofits build endowments (funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lilly Endowment and State Street Bank and Trust Company) and operated a consulting practice; and, since 1991, he has provided grantmaking services for charitable trusts held by U.S. Trust/Bank of America Private Wealth Management.
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Third Sector New England has awarded the following organizations Diversity & Inclusion Initiative grants totaling $162,000 for 2010. Grants are a mix of planning and implementation funds that will support internal work ranging from consultant facilitated conversations, development of diversity committees and organizational assessment tools to implementation of aspects of existing diversity action plans. More information
John H. Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, received the Voices of Conscience Award from Public Advocates for his visionary leadership in education equity. As the Foundation's leader, John has helped to shape a vision that supports a national Opportunity To Learn Campaign to ensure high quality public education for all students regardless of race or gender.
Massachusetts Public Health Association (MHPA), the oldest public health organization in the nation, based in Jamaica Plain, has been awarded a $100,000-a-year, three-year operating grant from the Boston Foundation. The grant will be used to strengthen education, policy advocacy, and organizing work of MHPA, according to Executive Director Valerie Bassett. The major grant was given through the new Boston Foundation grant making strategy, as MPHA’s work is aligned with the foundation’s new priority health strategy to increase access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.
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Probono Services Offered - 2010 Challenges for Public Good PromotionThroughout 2010, InnoCentive will waive its typical fee for posting and managing a single Challenge for non-profit and public sector organizations working to make a difference for the 'public good'. The participating organization identifies the Challenge (a hurdle you're facing, a problem you need solved) and covers the prize amount. InnoCentive posts the Challenge on our web site, connecting you with our diverse international community of some 200,000 'Solvers' - scientists, inventors, engineers, researchers, and innovators from all walks of life - who review Challenges of interest to them and submit solutions. You (the 'Seeker') get lots of creative ideas from around the world to help solve a problem in your community, and bring additional attention to your issue and your work. InnoCentive provides the platform, manages the process, handles any IP issues, and provides advice along the way - free of charge.
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Congratulations to the Endowment for Health
Celebrating Ten Years: Improving the health and reducing the burden of illness for the people of New Hampshire
View Annual Report
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The Cape Cod Foundation has been named the Gold award winner for excellence in communications, Special Reports category, by the 2010 Wilmer Shields Rich Award Program, sponsored by the Council on Foundations. The awards program recognizes effective communications efforts to increase public awareness of foundations and corporate giving programs. The Cape Cod Foundation received the Special Reports commendation for Understanding Cape Cod, a color publication that details some of the area's most pressing problems and some solutions. The award will be presented during the Council on Foundation's Annual Conference, April 25-27, in Denver. "We're very proud that the Council on Foundations has recognized Understanding Cape Cod, and the effort behind it, with its Gold award," said Elizabeth Gawron, Foundation President.
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As the baby boom generation retires and life expectancy increases, steps can and must be taken to help seniors stay healthy, active and socially engaged. Challenges in our state as well as best practices were analyzed in a forum co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum and the Tufts Health Plan Foundation titled Healthy Aging in the Commonwealth: Pathways to Lifelong Wellness. The goal of the forum and the issue brief was to define healthy aging, identify programs and policies that support healthy aging in the state and nationally, and discuss barriers as well as pathways to better health and improved quality of life for older adults. Read issue brief
MassINC is proud to present the new research report, Planning forCollege: A Consumer Approach to the Higher Education Marketplace, made possible with generous support fromthe Highland Street Foundation, the State Street Foundation, and the Cabot Family Charitable Trust.
The Massachusetts-based Nellie Mae Education Foundation has announced grants totaling $600,000 to twelve schools and organizations working to provide personalized student-centered learning experiences across the New England region.
Nicole Sharpe joins the Schott Foundation as Director of the Black Male Donor Collaborative. Ms. Sharpe became the Program Director of the Black Male Donor Collaborative administered by the Schott Foundation. Other members of the donor collaborative include Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation, Open Society Institute, The New York Community Trust, RBC Capital Markets, Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation, Sullivan & Cromwell, LLC, and Twenty-First Century Foundation. In this role, Ms. Sharpe manages an initiative aimed at improving educational outcomes for Black male students initially within the New York City area and eventually across the nation.
The state’s largest foundation will give $50 million to Boston-area nonprofits and efforts that fight climate change - one of the biggest gifts in recent years to that cause - in a campaign that marks a strategic shift for an organization that has never before publicized its charitable works. Over the next five years, the $1 billion Barr Foundation, the principal charitable vehicle for the famously private Amos Hostetter Jr. and his wife, Barbara, will give multiyear grants of $100,000 to $1 million to public transportation projects and local groups that help reduce greenhouse emissions. Read article
NBC News and theGrio.com announced that they have chosen Dr. John H. Jackson, President of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, as one of "theGrio's 100: History Makers in the Making". Read more
Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced that it has awarded nearly $1.3 million dollars in grants to 36 Massachusetts nonprofit organizations, with most of the grants expanding access to programs that improve the lives and well-being of seniors. More details
BNY Mellon announced that it has distributed $170,000 in grants to four Boston area nonprofits, aimed at assisting people to find jobs, obtain heating oil, and reduce debt, and helping youth at risk. "Our philanthropy program centers on investments that help build strong, lasting community partnerships," said Joanne Jaxtimer, managing director of BNY Mellon's philanthropy efforts in New England.
BNY Mellon works with community partners to provide food, clothing, energy and housing assistance to those who require immediate help. The company's workforce development investments are designed to improve access to employment through job training, education, mentoring and skills development.
RESPOND, Inc., based in Somerville, recently received a grant of $18,000 to support its emergency shelter program for survivors of domestic violence and their children, provided by the BNY Mellon Charitable Giving Program. “RESPOND is profoundly grateful for the support of BNY Mellon and the Harriet B. Bayley Trust,” said Jessica C. Brayden, executive director of RESPOND. “We have always had great respect and admiration for the depth of the BNY Mellon Charitable Giving Program’s commitment to the community and to forging lasting relationships with social service providers.
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Nobody was talking about shorting overvalued stocks at the variety store, the plus-size dress shop, or the restaurant serving a nice goat stew in Roxbury’s Grove Hall area on a recent visit. But hedge funds could be vital to the future of this Boston neighborhood, where the average family income is about $35,000 and one third of the children live in poverty. The Harwich Port-based Eos Foundation, founded by hedge fund manager Ken Nickerson, is poised to invest $10 million over the next decade to reduce poverty in Grove Hall. For the past year, Eos staffers have been quietly analyzing poverty rates, institutional characteristics, and school quality in eight Boston neighborhoods. Grove Hall recently emerged as the foundation’s pick to launch Boston Rising, a new nonprofit group that Nickerson hopes will become a centralized funding source for antipoverty efforts throughout the city.
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Lyndia Downie is accustomed to fighting for every dollar that goes into the coffers at the Pine Street Inn, which she heads, so she wasn’t expecting the call she got from Jim Healey last week. Healey is the president of the Yawkey Foundations. He was calling with a holiday present: The foundations had decided to award surprise grants to organizations across the state that provide food and shelter. None of them had applied for it. They hadn’t even asked for it. Out of nowhere, the Pine Street Inn was receiving a check for $100,000. At the Greater Boston Food Bank, president Catherine D’Amato was getting the same call. By her calculation, the $100,000 it received will translate to about 207,000 meals at the pantries served by the bank. The foundations had not decided to play Santa Claus. Rather, their largesse is a sign of the times, or, rather, the needs of the times. Altogether, the groups it awarded money to last week split $650,000 to provide basic services for the needy. “We just knew that our grantees in this category, food and shelter, have been especially hard hit,’’ Healey said yesterday. “So our trustees decided last week that they wanted to make a special grant to [organizations] we had supported in the past. Read full article
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Leading philanthropic organizations in the Commonwealth have come together to strengthen the support network for people in distress and to commit more than $1.6 million in new funding to address urgent needs of people affected by the ongoing economic crisis in Massachusetts.
A strategy shaped by a series of meetings among the participants will provide emergency assistance to people through organizations addressing an immediate need for food, home heating, homeless prevention and housing. In addition, longer term investments will increase the utilization of existing programs and help to build the capacity of organizations addressing these needs in the future.
Taking part in the collaborative effort are the Boston Foundation, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Eos Foundation, the Highland Street Foundation, The Linde Family Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and a family that asked to remain anonymous.
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Spending on correction agencies in Massachusetts has exploded in the past decade despite only a modest increase in the number of people incarcerated and now accounts for a bigger chunk of the state budget than each of the departments that oversee higher education, social services, and public health, according to a new study by the Boston Foundation. The study says the more than $1.2 billion spent this year on correction stems largely from a decades-old, lock-’em-up approach that has put about 11,000 people in state prisons and about 14,000 people in county jails, resulting in mammoth labor and facility costs. Read full story
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Congratulations to AGM Member, Hunt Alternatives Fund! In recognition of Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt's work on Women Moving Millions, Barron's has named them among the World's Top 25 Philanthropists. The philanthropists were chosen by Barron's and Global Philanthropy Group for their innovation and effectiveness.
Helen and Swanee launched Women Moving Millions with the Women's Funding Network in late 2007 to inspire women to contribute gifts of $1 million and above to women's foundations to effect lasting social change by improving the lives of women and girls.
Swanee's work on the campaign was largely carried out through her family foundation, Hunt Alternatives Fund. The Hunt Alternatives Fund in 1981 in Denver, Colorado to provide grants and technical assistance in the field of human service.
Today, Hunt Alternatives Fund operates out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Washington, DC and is focused on strengthening youth arts organizations in Eastern Massachusetts, supporting leaders of social movements across the country, advocating for the full inclusion of all stakeholders in peace and security processes around the world, combating the demand for modern-day slavery, and inspiring women to political leadership. The Fund has contributed more than $80 million to social change since its founding.
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Byron O. Champlin, vice president and program officer for the Lincoln Financial Foundation and an AGM board member, recently had an article published in The New Hampshire Business Review entitled "Rethinking nonprofits: how businesses can help".
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The Boston Foundation has announced a significant change in the way it makes grants to area nonprofits, as well as a newly articulated set of goals and objectives for its overall work. More of its grantmaking dollars will be shifted over the next two years to provide organizations with general operating support. As a result, fewer purely programmatic grants will be made in the future. The change comes after a strategic analysis of its grantmaking through which the Foundation has chosen to focus on a set of highly leveraged strategies designed to lead to greater impact and accountability within the Greater Boston region. More details
Announcements
Kudos to AGM's Martha Moore
Recently the Doctor Franklin Perkins School in Lancaster, Massachusetts held its annual Recognition Day Ceremony to celebrate individuals significant contributions in the field of public and community service. AGM's Martha Moore received the Distinguished Service Award in the Field of Community Service in recognition of her devoted service to the community of Lancaster. Also receiving awards were Senator Harriet L. Chandler and Shonda Schilling. As Founder and Director of the Bulfinch Fund, Martha has become the driving force behind the effort to preserve The Fifth Meeting House, which was designed by Charles Bulfinch, and built in 1816 on the historic Lancaster Town Green.
Regional Association News
The Grants Resource Network
The newly launched Grant Resource Center in Leominster, which opened its doors late last month, has already filled 40 slots for its first training offering, underscoring the need in north central Massachusetts for easy access to funding-related data.
Established through a partnership of Associated Grant Makers of Massachusetts (AGM), the Leominster Public Library, and the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, the Grant Resource Center (GRN) offers free access to AGM’s local funders database, the national Foundation Directory Online from the Foundation Center, in addition to trainings on grant research and writing.
The new is open and available to everyone. Previously, nonprofit staff in the region had to travel to AGM in Boston, for access to these no-cost services.
Martha Moore, AGM’s director of its Resource Center for Philanthropy, said classes typically fill up within a few days, noting, “People who never knew how to get a grant have participated in the GRN and then have received a 'yes’ to their applications.”
2008 Launch of GRN
The opening of the first of the Grants Resource Centers was covered by the Boston Globe. The Lawrence Grants Resource Center will offer local nonprofits access to the types of databases, resources and services that would only normally be available to nonprofits who came into AGM’s offices in downtown Boston. AGM thanks the Stevens Foundation for their support of this first Center.
Read the article here.
If you’d like to register for one of the Lawrence trainings, please click here.
The Haverhill Gazette
February 12, 2009 - The Grant Resource Network
Oak Bluffs Library News
March 7, 2009 - Grant Resources for Island Nonprofits at the OBPL
AGM is pleased to announce a new initiative called the Professional Education Scholarships.
The Professional Education Scholarships will help defray the registration fee expenses to participate in workshops and trainings offered by Nonprofit Support Center’s.
AGM Media Coverage
Boston Business Journal
Non-profit leaders see "Darwinian" times
January 2, 2009 - Recession veterans offer tips
January 23, 2009 - New Nonprofit Reality - Rapid-fire changes stun nonprofits: Donations and investments dry up, need for services grows.
February 6, 2009 - BSX Foundation recalibrates its focus
The Boston Globe
February 16, 2009 - Downturn spurs some foundations to give more
Massnonprofit.org
Foundations and Nonprofits came together to strategize how to survive the economic crisis. Over 400 grant makers and nonprofit organizations listened to a panel discussion on January 8, 2009 at the Back Bay Events Center. The panel discussion provided the attendees with much to consider as they brainstormed strategies in smaller breakout groups on how to maneuver through these difficult economic times. Local reporters were on hand to cover the story.
Mass. Nonprofit Leaders Say Nonprofits Need to Act Boldly
Nonprofits Respond to a Soured Economy, But Ask, 'How Long?'
Some Foundations Giving More, But Overall Trends Are Unclear
Philanthropy in the Arts Blog
February 18, 2009 - New Philosophy: If you give, you will get
WBUR Radio
Recently AGM received great press coverage at our annual Nonprofit Partners Meeting that was included in a WBUR news story about the nonprofit sector’s wariness in the current economic climate. At the Meeting, we asked participants to discuss some key questions about funders and nonprofits in the months ahead.
Listen to the story here.
Grant Making Member News
AGM Grant Making Members are Making a Difference
The Eos Foundation of Boston and Harwich, the Highland Street Foundation of Framingham, the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation of Boston and an anonymous donor announced their combined giving of $1.1 million to food banks, fuels assistance programs, and other nonprofit organizations. "We just thought, wow, we've got to get money out on the streets so people don't starve or freeze," said Andrea Silbert, president of the Eos Foundation of Boston and Harwich Port, a family organization with the stated mission to "break the cycle of poverty by investing in children."
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*Brenda Lavasta has joined the Oral Health Foundation as the Grants Management Associate. Previously, she was a Diversity Fellow at the Rhode Island Foundation through the Associated Grant Makers’ Diversity Fellowship in Philanthropy. The fellowship program aims to inspire the next generation of philanthropic leaders among people of color by offering training and support to a select group of passionate, emerging professionals. Brenda began her career in the Executive Education Department at the Harvard Business School were she held various roles. She received a dual degree in Management and Finance from Simmons College and an MBA from Suffolk University.
* Babson College Receives $10.8 Million From Lewis Charitable Foundation
The grant will be used to establish the Lewis Institute, which will work to develop leaders, create knowledge in the field of social entrepreneurship, and grow new enterprises to solve global problems...Read more
Nonprofit Partner News
Acre Family Child Care recognizes providers - The Lowell Sun
Most Friday afternoons, Luz Mejia is absorbed in the busy tasks of preparing snacks, leading an art project, and reading to a circle of young children. On one recent day, however, she and 16 other family child-care providers from Acre Family Child Care found themselves being publicly honored for the excellence they bring to those View Full Story
Goddard House in Brookline Receives 2009 Business of the Year Award Goddard House in Brookline, the non-profit assisted living community, has been presented with the 2009 Brookline Chamber of Commerce “Business of the Year” Award. Nancy Shapiro, Executive Director, accepted the honor on behalf of the Goddard House Board of Trustees and staff at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting.
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