April 2017 Quarterly Grants

BOSTON, Massachusetts (April 13, 2017) – The Boston Foundation announced its quarterly discretionary grants after a meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors on April 6. The Board approved $1.7 million in single and multi-year discretionary grants. The resources for the Foundation’s discretionary grants primarily come from the Permanent Fund for Boston, the Boston Foundation’s endowment, which has been contributed to by hundreds of Bostonians over the last 102 years and gives the Foundation the flexibility to respond to the most pressing issues of the day. 

Most of the Foundation’s discretionary grants go to its primary strategic areas. One of these focus areas is Education—and this quarter’s grants included a total of $200,000 to support Early Childhood Education. The funding included a grant of $100,000 for a one-year project of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education & Care, whose mission is to provide the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners. Another one-year grant of $100,000 went to the Institute of Early Education Leadership and Innovation at University of Massachusetts Boston, which seeks to close the opportunity gap for young children by mobilizing entrepreneurial leadership within the early care and education workforce.

“The Boston Foundation is deeply committed to strengthening the entire education pipeline,” said President and CEO Paul S. Grogan. “So much of a person’s life is profoundly shaped by early childhood experiences that a direct line can be drawn between those crucial early years and a student’s ultimate success in education and work. The Foundation intends to support more work in this important area in the years to come.”

Also in Education, $235,000 went to structural reform and innovation in public education and another $300,000 went to programs focused on College Completion. Jobs and Economic Development grants totaled $141,529, including a one-year $100,000 grant to English for New Bostonians, which provides English learning opportunities for immigrants. A total of $65,000 went to the Foundation’s work in the area of Neighborhoods and Housing and $150,000 in grants focused on strengthening Nonprofit Effectiveness, including a $300,000 grant to be paid over three years to the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Inc., which advocates for nonprofits through public awareness and capacity building. In addition to a special series of grants totaling $750,000 made to individuals and small performing arts groups in early March, an innovative theatre company called Company One received a grant in the area of Arts and Culture this quarter.

Another $405,000 went to Open Door Grants, a grant-making program designed to benefit small organizations, grassroots efforts and other nonprofit programs that do not fall within the Boston Foundation’s major strategic areas. Fifteen groups received these grants this quarter, including the Asian Community Development Corporation, Boston Children’s Chorus, Casa Esperanza, Nubian United Benevolent International Association and the Mystic River Watershed Association.

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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with net assets of some $1 billion. In 2016, the Foundation and its donors made $100 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of more than $107 million. In celebration of its Centennial in 2015, the Boston Foundation launched the ongoing Campaign for Boston to strengthen the Permanent Fund for Boston, the principal endowment fund focused on the most pressing needs of Greater Boston. The Foundation is proud to be a partner in philanthropy, with more than 1,000 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, think tank and advocacy organization, commissioning research into the most critical issues of our time and helping to shape public policy designed to advance opportunity for everyone in Greater Boston. The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), a distinct operating unit of the Foundation, designs and implements customized philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. For more information about the Boston Foundation and TPI, visit tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.