Boston Foundation announces $29.6 million in grants, two new members elected to Board of Directors

Boston – The Boston Foundation announced its quarterly discretionary grants and the election of two new members to the Foundation’s Board of Directors today, following the June 28 meeting of the Board. The Board approved $1,360,000 in single and multi-year discretionary grants to be paid out beginning in the quarter beginning July 1. Of the 14 grantees for the quarter, six are receiving multi-year grant support.

In addition, the Board acknowledged more than $25.3 million in grant payments disbursed since the March meeting of the Board through the Foundation’s Donor Advised Funds, and nearly $2.9 million in other grants released through various Boston Foundation-sponsored initiatives.

The Board also elected Jane Mendillo, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harvard Management Company, and Paul C. Gannon, Managing Director and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for Baupost Group, LLC, to five-year terms on the Board. Board members also recognized the departure of Rick Burnes, a Founding Member and General Partner at Charles River Ventures, and Gerald Chertavian, the Founder of Year Up, whose terms with the Board expire June 30.

“With our latest round of discretionary grants, we are highlighting a number of organizations working in the education-to-career pipeline, and strengthen and diversify the Massachusetts workforce,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “We also are pleased to a number of community health, arts and other initiatives that are making a difference in the lives of Massachusetts people every day.”

New Board Members

The Boston Foundation is honored to welcome two new members to the Board of Directors, effective June 30, 2012.

Jane Mendillo became President and Chief Executive Officer of Harvard Management Company in July 2008. In that role, she is responsible for directing Harvard’s $35 billion endowment. She previously spent 15 years at HMC in a variety of key roles, before joining Wellesley College as Chief Investment Officer, where she built the college’s first investment office, restructured its investment portfolio and led the endowment to substantial growth in a period of rapidly changing market conditions. She holds a BA and MBA from Yale University.

Paul C. Gannon is Managing Director and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer since 1991 for the Baupost Group, LLC, an investment management firm that manages $8 billion for high net worth families and institutions, particularly education endowments. Gannon oversees the tax, accounting, compliance, IT, investor services and corporate administration area of Baupost. Prior to joining Baupost, Gannon served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Real Estate Group of the Bank of Boston, and was Vice President of Financc for a chain of home centers. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

“It’s with great pleasure we welcome Jane Mendillo and Paul Gannon to the Boston Foundation Board of Directors,” said Michael Keating, Esq., who serves as Board Chair. “Jane Mendillo has steered the endowments at Harvard and Wellesley through the most challenging decade in our history. Paul Gannon brings to our Board a deep understanding of the administrative challenges that come with investment management developed in his more than two decades at Baupost. Their expertise will be invaluable as we guide the Foundation into its second century serving Greater Boston.”

Both Mendillo and Gannon will receive a five-year term on the Board of Directors, and are eligible for re-election on June 30, 2017.

Careers and Competitiveness

The largest share of discretionary grants approved for this quarter focus on organizations that are promoting the career advancement and economic security of lower-income individuals. A three-year, $300,000 grant to Hebrew SeniorLife, Inc. will be used to create an “Advanced Career Path for CNAs” program that expands career path opportunities for certified nursing assistants by creating a path for CNAs to expand their skills and responsibilities.

A $225,000, three-year grant to the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Inc. will enable the organization to expand its placement-based workforce initiatives and training programs as it also builds its advocacy and public policy initiatives, and a $180,000, three-year grant for Operation A.B.L.E. of Greater Boston will support the development of the ABLE Center for the Mature Worker.

And a $100,000, two-year grant to Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Inc. will support the Beyond Jobs program, which provides job training and employment services to single mothers.

Support for students

Two discretionary grantees will focus their efforts on college populations. A $75,000, one-year grant to Single Stop USA, Inc. will support a new partnership with Bunker Hill Community College that will help as many as 1,600 students find and access public benefits to which they are entitled, and provide tax, financial aid, and legal counseling.

Meanwhile, a $50,000, one-year grant to Cambridge College, Inc. will support the creation of the Cambridge College Career Resource Center, which will provide career and counseling services to the College’s uniquely diverse population.

Health, Wellness and Foods

The Foundation also continues its focus on improving health and wellness with a $100,000, one-year grant to the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, which will distribute it as part of the Mass in Motion community wellness grants program. Half the grant will be earmarked for the implementation of the Healthy Dorchester Community Action Plan.

In addition, the Foundation has approved a $100,000, two-year grant to Victory Programs, Inc., to support ReVision Urban Farm, which provides food, educational, vocational and community-building benefits in the Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods.

The Foundation is also providing operating support to Boston’s only food business incubator, CropCircle Kitchen, Inc. The $50,000, one-year grant will help CropCircle expand to accommodate the unmet demand for kitchen space for startup food production businesses.

A full list of discretionary grant approved by the Board of Directors follows (listed by strategy):

Strategy: Increase the college graduation rate for low-income, minority and first-generation college students from public schools in Boston.

Single Stop USA, Inc. – A $75,000/one-year grant to support the launch of Single Stop at Bunker Hill Community College, providing more than 800 students with access to resources, benefits and services to promote college persistence

Strategy: Promote the career advancement and economic security of low-income individuals.

Hebrew SeniorLife, Inc. – A $300,000/3-year grant for support of the “Advanced Career Path for CNAs: Creating Frontline Leaders” program, which will expand career opportunities for Certified Nurses Assistants by establishing a new nursing assistant specialty job category that will result in increased skills, job responsibilities, and salary for its members.

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Inc. – A $100,000/2-year grant with outcomes tied to the Beyond Jobs program, which provides job training and employment services to single mothers.

Operation A.B.L.E. of Greater Boston, Inc. – A $180,000/3-year grant to support A.B.L.E. to develop the Career Center for the Mature Worker, to better meet the workforce development and supportive service needs of their target population.

Urban League of Eastern Massachuetts, Inc. – A $225,000/3-year grant to increase the organization’s capacity to sustain and expand its placement-based workforce initiatives and training programs, and elevate the organization’s advocacy and public policy work.

Strategy: Increase Greater Boston’s competitiveness, prosperity, and efficiency, and createvibrant urban neighborhoods with opportunities for all residents

Cambridge College, Inc.  – A $50,000/1-year grant to support the creation of the Cambridge College Career Resource Center, which will strategically connect the interests and skills of its student population – working adults transitioning between careers and under- or unemployed individuals seeking stable and family-sustaining employment – to tangible and sustainable career options.

CropCircle Kitchen, Inc. – A $50,000/1-year grant to support increased capacity at Boston’s only food business incubator, as it looks to expan to accommodate the unmet demand for shared kitchen space and multi-tenant production facilities in Boston.

Strategy: Encourage healthy behaviors among Boston residents and increase access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.

Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health – A $100,000/1-year grant to support the Mass In Motion community wellness grants program with $50,000 for statewide work and a $50,000 grant for the implementation of the Healthy Dorchester Community Action Plan for neighborhood systems change to increase healthy eating and active living.

Victory Programs, Inc. – A $100,000/2-year grant to increase both access to and demand for healthy, locally grown food in Dorchester and Mattapan through the provision of affordable produce through the ReVision Urban Farm farmstand, CSA shares and pantry donations, as well as community education programs that support healthy choices and behaviors.

Cross-Strategy and Special Opportunity Grants

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center – A $90,000/2-year grant to provide general operating support to its services to the Chinese community in Greater Boston.

Boston Jewish Film Festival - A $15,000/1-year grant for the REELAbilities Film Festival, to increase audience participation among the historically marginalized disability community, while promoting awareness and appreciation of live, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities.

Boston Landmarks Orchestra – A $25,000/1-year grant for its “Breaking Down Barriers Initiative”, which seeks to improve access in its programs for people with disabilities.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company – A $25,000/1-year grant to increase the participation from audiences with physical disabilities in the Shakespeare on the Common series of free programs.

Proteus Fund, Inc. – A $25,000/1-year grant to support the coming year of the Diversity Fellowship program, which seeks to increase diversity among the leadership in the philanthropic field.

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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, with net assets of $850 million.  In 2011, the Foundation and its donors made almost $78 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of $81 million. The Foundation is made up of some 850 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes.  The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener and sponsor of special initiatives designed to address the community’s and region’s most pressing challenges.

In 2012, the Boston Foundation and The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) merged, with TPI operating as a distinct unit of the Boston Foundation.  TPI pioneered the field of strategic philanthropic advising over 20 years ago and remains a national leader today. Through its consulting services and its work to advance the broader field of strategic philanthropy, TPI has influenced billions of dollars of giving worldwide. TPI’s Center for Global Philanthropy promotes international giving from the U.S. and indigenous philanthropy abroad. For more information about the Boston Foundation and TPI, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.