First grants from Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico to be decided this week

Boston – Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico/Massachusetts Unido por Puerto Rico today announced that the fund could begin the process of distributing grants to grassroots Puerto Rican non-profits for the hurricane-ravaged island as soon as the end of the week. Meanwhile, leadership and individual gifts continue to pour into the fund. 

Mass. United for Puerto Rico

“We are touched by the level of support that we have seen for the Fund and the people of Puerto Rico since the fund launch on Friday,” said Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, co-chair of the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Advisory Committee. “The need is great, but this region has great capacity to help meet it for our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, many of whom are being displaced from their communities for weeks, months or longer.” 

Hosted in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation and civic leaders of Boston's Puerto Rican community, Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico is dedicated to the relief and reconstruction of Puerto Rico and to support any Puerto Ricans displaced to Boston and the Commonwealth as a result of the destruction from Hurricane Maria.  

Nearly 1,000 gifts received by credit card donors in the first 72 hours of the campaign are being tallied, alongside gift commitments from State Street Foundation, Eastern Bank and Arbella Insurance, who join initial supporters the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, Thomas Melendez and Aixa Beauchamp, MFS, EOS Foundation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham Health, Spaulding Rehabilitations Network, Partners Healthcare, Steward Healthcare System LLC, the Latino Legacy Fund and the Boston Foundation. The Fund has also received several significant gifts from anonymous donors.

Up to one-third of funds raised will be immediately distributed for relief efforts and the remainder of the fund will be deployed over the next two years, through 2018, for reconstruction and economic recovery projects in Puerto Rico and to support resettlement efforts in Boston and the Commonwealth. The fund hopes to attract more than $1 million in donations for relief, recovery and relocation efforts.

The fund Advisory Committee is co-chaired by Vanessa Calderón-Rosado of Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA), and Aixa Beauchamp and Juan Carlos Morales from the Latino Legacy Fund. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker serve as honorary co-chairs, with House Ways and Means Chair Representative Jeffrey Sanchez as honorary vice chair. The Advisory Committee will also include experts from the Massachusetts Puerto Rican diaspora community. 

To learn more and for the latest information about Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico/Massachusetts Unido por Puerto Rico, visit tbf.org/puertorico.

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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 paid $100 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of more than $107 million. 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 both here and around the globe. For more information about the Boston Foundation or TPI, visit tbf.org or call 617.338.1700.

The Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation, the first Latino-focused fund in Greater Boston, is a unique partnership of Latino philanthropists and leaders, the Boston Foundation and Hispanics in Philanthropy. Its mission is to create and maintain a permanent endowment to strengthen the diverse Latino community. The Latino Legacy Fund is on track to meet its goal of raising $1 million by 2018. In 2017, the Latino Legacy Fund will make its fourth round of grants to organizations targeting the challenges facing the Latino community in Greater Boston.