TBF News:
Summer 2024
Our Summer issue highlights Community Leadership and the TBF programs building movement and nonprofit leadership.
IN THIS ISSUE:
REKNITTING THE FABRIC:
Deputy Vice President for Programs Jennifer Aronson
INTRODUCING THE MOVEMENT LEADERS:
Shifting Power, Advancing Justice
MEET THE MOVEMENT LEADERS:
Six Stories of Community Power
RESPONDING TO NEED:
Through Participatory Grantmaking
CIVIC LEADERSHIP, NONPROFITS AND THE SAFETY NET:
Policy and Research at Work
SUPPORTING NONPROFITS:
Stengthening Infrastructure for the Sector
THE FUND FOR BOSTON'S FUTURE:
And a Donor Advised Fund Partnership
EN COMUNIDAD:
Celebrating East Boston's Nonprofits
Reknitting the Fabric
"We’re working with our nonprofit partners to strengthen their operational capacity as they reknit the social fabric. . ."
If there were any questions about the crucial role the nonprofit sector plays in Greater Boston, the pandemic answered them conclusively. These were the organizations that already knew the families and individuals making up their communities—and the tremendous challenges they would be facing. They were critical partners in TBF’s approach to providing support during that time.
“We had been cultivating a culture of humility, learning and deeply partnering with nonprofit leaders and staff for more than a decade,” says Jennifer Aronson, Deputy Vice President for Programs. “And during the pandemic, we relied on our trusted relationships with these leaders to leverage their expertise and their advice. It allowed our response and grantmaking to be much more impactful.”
This close relationship TBF has with nonprofits drives the Community Leadership pathway, one of TBF’s four pathways to equity that are guiding all
of our grantmaking and civic leadership.
“We’re working with our nonprofit partners to strengthen their operational capacity as they reknit the social fabric with the goal of making our communities whole,” explains Aronson. “Our vision for this pathway is that movement leaders, social service organizations and nonprofit partners are equipped to provide excellent and consistent leadership and support with a focus on marginalized communities.”
Introducing the Movement Leaders
In April, the Boston Foundation announced an unprecedented investment of more than $4 million in six nonprofit movement leaders, with the goal of equipping them to advance their collective work transforming communities, driving systemic change and fostering innovation.
“We know that sustainable multi-year commitments of support provide vital confidence and stability to leaders and their organizations so they can build narrative and political and economic power for their communities,” says Vetto Casado, who leads Shifting Power, Advancing Justice, one of the focus areas in the Community Leadership pathway.
“We also know that TBF’s most valuable role can be played beyond the grant itself, providing a space and a platform for these leaders to connect, plan and build community with each other.”
The Foundation’s partnership with these movement leaders provides $675,000 over three years to each of their organizations, a combination of general operating support for the nonprofits they lead, wellness funding, technical assistance and capacity building. It also includes an emergency funding pool that can be accessed by any of the movement leaders and their organizations in times of crisis. “During this three-year process,” adds Casado, “the movement leaders will co-create plans for the nonprofits they lead with TBF staff to ensure that their goals and long-term vision are fully realized.”
ALSO ON TBF.org: Watch video of the Shifting Power, Advancing Justice kickoff event.
Meet the Movement Leaders
Real community power takes many human forms - demonstrated in these six remarkable movement leaders. Click on their names to read their fuller biographies.
Responding to Need
Through Participatory Grantmaking
In June of 2023, TBF created the Safety Net Grants program, which supports social service organizations responding to the essential needs of marginalized communities and vulnerable residents in Greater Boston. The program works closely with community members who recommend all of the grants made.
“We rely on a participatory grantmaking process,” explains Program Officer Candace Burton. “It centers the communities most affected by the issues we’re addressing by giving them the power to decide which organizations to fund.” Recognizing that the perspectives of our community reviewers have tremendous value, TBF compensates them for their work.
The grants are $50,000 for two years of general operating support paid in annual installments of $25,000. On June 25, new grants were announced totaling $1 million, bringing the total awarded to $3.2 million.
“The grant was one of the largest we’ve received recent years,” says Aaidaliz Perez, Executive Director of Friday Night Supper Program, which has been serving dinners to homeless people for 40 years. “It has been instrumental in supporting our general operations and advancing our mission to provide nutritious meals in a warm and dignified environment to those in need. Specifically, this funding has helped us overcome a financial deficit and secured our operations for the next two years.”
The program works closely with community members who recommend all of the grants made.
Civic Leadership, Nonprofits and the Safety Net
Also on TBF.org
Learn more about our Food, Fuel and Shelter Fund program and the work of our nonprofit partners.
When it comes to promoting policies that strengthen the nonprofit sector, TBF has a key partner in the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN). In addition to tracking all of the bills related to the sector, MNN has been instrumental in recent policy wins.
Among them: Massachusetts now has a charitable contribution deduction that’s available to all taxpayers—providing nonprofits with a new tool to promote giving and increase fundraising revenue. Another recent policy win makes it easier for small nonprofits—those closest to their communities—with revenues below $25,000, to comply with state reporting requirements by eliminating a 24-page packet of IRS forms previously required.
Now, both MNN and TBF’s Public Affairs team are urging the Massachusetts House to include funding for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect and report on nonprofit wage and employment data to further an understanding of the sector’s workforce needs.
TBF also releases reports and holds forums that shed light on the nonprofit workforce and safety net issues. For instance, a 2023 report titled Building a Better RAFT promoted access to Emergency Rental Assistance in Massachusetts. And, at a recent TBF forum, nonprofit partners and donors in our Food, Fuel and Shelter Fund told stories of impact and discussed ways that philanthropy can address the spiraling demand for basic needs.
Supporting Nonprofits
“The impact and equity that TBF strives for in all of our work is inextricably tied to the well-being of nonprofit staff and the strength of the sector as a whole,” says Leigh Handschuh, Senior Program Officer for Nonprofit Sector Infrastructure. “That goes to the heart of our work.
“Like the private sector, nonprofits can’t meet their missions without a fairly compensated workforce, strong operations, strategic planning and a myriad of other internal capacities. As a result, TBF partners with organizations that are dedicated to serving and strengthening the entire nonprofit sector. A theme that’s prevalent in all of this work, is ensuring that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion remain central to the values of the sector. Contrary to the anti-DEI movement, TBF’s nonprofit partners report that inclusive nonprofit workplaces and programs that seek to earn the trust of community members most impacted by systemic inequities, are crucial components of successful direct service and social change work.”
“Staff members of nonprofits in Massachusetts number more than half a million,” adds Carlos Muñoz-Cadilla, who works closely with Handschuh. “It’s a sector that’s experiencing burnout, trauma, high turnover and serious hiring challenges. To address these challenges, we invest in innovative organizations, programs and policies—all with the goal of supporting a thriving and stable nonprofit workforce.”
"Nonprofits can’t meet their missions without a fairly compensated workforce, strong operations, strategic planning and a myriad of other internal capacities."
The Fund for Boston's Future
And a Donor Advised Fund Partnership
"A number of our donors with Donor Advised Funds choose to remain anonymous when making gifts."
The primary resource for all of the grants made by TBF staff is our endowment, the Fund for Boston’s Future. This crucial fund has been built over more than a century by hundreds of donors through outright gifts or bequests from families and individuals who want to see our city thrive. Many of the gifts are made with no restrictions on the programs they support, giving our staff flexibility in the grants they recommend to our board for funding.
There are limits, however, to how many grants our endowment can support every year. In late May, six brilliant and dynamic movement leaders were identified for funding through our Shifting Power, Advancing Justice program, but our endowment could only support five.
This shortfall offered an opportunity for someone with a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at TBF to step up and partner with us. Many of our donor advisors make grants that are closely aligned with our work, and so two families with DAFs at TBF were asked if they could make gifts that would add a sixth movement leader. Two donor families chose to participate. Both families preferred their participation to be anonymous, but that didn’t make their gifts any less welcome or powerful.
En Comunidad
Celebrating East Boston’s Nonprofits
East Boston has an expansive, people-powered network of nonprofit organizations that support virtually every aspect of life in that community. On May 18, the Boston Foundation, in partnership with our Latino Equity Fund, held a festival in Bremen Street Park where 15 of those nonprofits shared information about their missions and their services with East Boston residents. The festive event included live music, free food from six local restaurants and vendors, and presentations by the nonprofits represented.
Three of the 15 nonprofits sharing information were (clockwise from top)Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS), a multi-service organization in the heart of the Maverick Landing housing development, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), an award-winning community development corporation, and Neighbors United for a Better East Boston, which advocates for a vibrant economy and environment for the entire neighborhood.
Photos by Angela Rowlings
Thank you to the nonprofit partners, performers and community food vendors who made the Bremen Street Park festival such a success.
From Our President and CEO
M. Lee Pelton
This spring, two Boston Foundation events celebrated our close partnership with the communities we serve and reflected the remarkable strength of nonprofit leadership in our city. The first was held at the Boston Foundation on April 9 and introduced six local leaders who have been awarded grants to support their evolution as leaders and help them strengthen the work of the nonprofit organizations they direct. Called Shifting Power, Advancing Justice, this partnership with TBF respects and supports each of these leaders and the organizations they represent so that they can continue and amplify their transformative work.
The other was a joyful celebration in East Boston on May 18, held in a local park and organized in partnership with more than a dozen nonprofit organizations that serve that community. The rich diversity and vibrancy of the Latinx community was evident that day, as well as the excellent network of strong nonprofit organizations that serve that community.
Both events reinforced the fact that the impact of our work – and our goal of moving equity forward – is only as strong as the partnerships we have. We approach our work with the knowledge that everything we do is built in league with community – not for community.
