The Boston Foundation announces $6.4 million in grants to Greater Boston organizations

Boston– The Boston Foundation announced its quarterly discretionary grants after a meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors earlier this month. The Board approved $2,266,000 in single and multi-year discretionary grants to 27 organizations to be paid out beginning in April 2018. Of the 27 grants, five provide multi-year funding. In addition, the Board acknowledged over $4.1 million in grants paid out between-cycles through other grantmaking programs of the Foundation.

“This quarter, our docket features a number of grants to some of the remarkable organizations that are changing Boston’s arts scene,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “By creating art in unique public spaces or providing programs that open doors for Greater Boston residents to more easily connect with the arts, these grants are expanding the power of the arts, broadening our understanding of cultures and creating a more vibrant Boston.”

The largest of the arts-related grants, a three-year, $300,000 grant to the Institute of Contemporary Art, provides support for the ICA Watershed, the Institute’s satellite museum space in East Boston, and for the water taxi that connects the two museums, bringing together the two museum experiences for visitors from across the region.

Two other multi-year grants go to well-respected and innovative programs in the area of public art. A three-year, $150,000 grant to Beyond Wallsprovides general operating support for an organization that is taking the lead in using art to both beautify and economically strengthen the city of Lynn. Also, a two-year, $100,000 grant continues the Boston Foundation’s support of Now and There, Inc., a rapidly growing organization that both professionally develops and uplifts the work of artists in public spaces throughout Greater Boston.

In health and wellness, a series of grants are targeting programs that can improve the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities. A two-year, $150,000 grant to Community Rowing, Inc.provides continued programmatic support and will allow the organization to strengthen its programs for youth and adults with physical disabilities. In addition, an $81,000 grant to the Social Innovation Forum will allow the program to create a professional development track for nonprofit organizations that help youth with disabilities transition into adulthood.

In housing and neighborhoods, the Boston Foundation is continuing its longtime backing for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, also known as CHAPA, with a three-year, $300,000 grant to continue to create more opportunities for affordable housing development in the region.

And in jobs and workforce development, the Foundation is continuing its 15-year support for the SkillWorks funders collaborative, with a one-year, $350,000 commitment. SkillWorks continues to lead the field in workforce development programming in Greater Boston and across Massachusetts. Also, the Foundation is continuing its support for three innovative workforce training programs: The New England Center for Arts and Technology (NECAT), Newmarket Community Partners, Inc. and Resilient Coders, all of whom are receiving grants to develop the Greater Boston workforce in the culinary arts, industrial and computer programming fields.

DISCRETIONARY GRANTS:

Arts and Culture

Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, Inc.: A $35,000, one-year general operating support grant to Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, Inc., one of Boston and Greater Boston's largest arts service organizations providing a full suite of services to the arts community, from legal aid to fiscal sponsorship and professional development programs.

ArtsBoston, Inc.: A $50,000, one-year general operating support grant to ArtsBoston, Inc., a key arts service organization in Boston that offers essential programmatic offerings, such as the Network for Arts Administrators of Color (to enhance the visibility of leaders of color, as well as the pipeline for leadership opportunities in Boston and Greater Boston), and the Audience Lab, which helps organizations better understand, market to and grow audiences.

Beyond Walls: A $150,000, three-year general operating support grant to Neighborhood Development Associates, fiscal sponsor for Beyond Walls, a nonprofit based in Lynn that is working to transform the city visually and economically through public art.

Boston Dance Alliance: A $15,000, one-year general operating support grant to Boston Dance Alliance, Inc., the only arts service organization specifically for dancers in Greater Boston, to help support the organization as it undergoes succession planning and repositions itself programmatically to have the greatest impact on the arts. 

Boston University (BU Global Music Festival): A $15,000, one-year project support grant to Trustees of Boston University for support of the BU Global Music Festival, which supports local artists by offering paid work, partnerships with international musicians, and visibility before both new audiences and promoters/presenters.

Celebrity Series of Boston: A $20,000, one-year project support grant to Celebrity Series of Boston for its ongoing Neighborhood Arts program which, in addition to providing city-wide access to art, allows Boston Foundation artist grantees to work within communities, while providing access to diverse audiences for the grantees’ work.

The Dance Complex, Inc.: A $40,000, one-year general operating support grant to The Dance Complex, Inc., an organization that seeks to serve as a hub for performing artists and the local community, offering easy, affordable access to classes, rehearsal and venue space, and vibrant community programming.

Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Inc.: A $25,000, one-year project support grant to Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Inc., for its Public Art Exhibition, "Fog x FLO: Fujiko Nakaya on the Emerald Necklace,” which will activate the parcels along the Emerald Necklace with five fog sculptures created by an internationally renowned artist in an effort to understand visitorship and to activate the park. 

Institute of Contemporary Art: A $300,000, three-year grant to the Institute of Contemporary Art, an organization that seeks to share the pleasures of reflection, inspiration, provocation and imagination offered by contemporary art through public access to art and the creative process. The support is for ICA Watershed, the organization’s new satellite museum in East Boston, and the water taxi that provides transportation to the Watershed from the ICA.

Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre: A $20,000, one-year project support grant to Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre (JMBT), for DWC Presents, which will allow JMBT to experiment with opening its Sanctuary Theatre space in Harvard Square to eight local artists/groups to perform in a much- needed professional-level venue. As JMBT has decided to wind down its own artistic programming, this project is part of an effort to determine the ways in which it can utilize its assets to support the broader community.

Now and There, Inc.: A $100,000, two-year general operating support grant to be paid in equal annual installments to Now and There, Inc., the key organization working to create public art installations across Greater Boston, to continue its artist incubator/accelerator program, which supports a cohort of six local artists annually with 13 professional development workshops, curatorial coaching, and grants for project funding, and for its ongoing, city-wide public art programming.

The Record Company: A $25,000, one-year general operating support grant to The Record Company, Boston’s only arts service organization serving musicians with space and professional development, to continue its organizational development and growth into a new space and to support its increased programming which helps Boston musicians take their art to market.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Inc.: A $50,000, one-year project support grant to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Inc., toward the installation of this season’s Public Art Program with complementary public programming, and to continue the Greenway’s mission to expand awareness around what public art can be. 

World Music, Inc.: A $25,000, one-year project support grant to World Music, Inc., for the second year of its Invigorating Boston Dance program, which brings local dance artists to large venues, such as the Institute for Contemporary Art, to gain critical visibility before new audiences, presenters and promoters in professionally-produced productions.

Education: Structural Reform

Center for Collaborative Education: A $100,000, one-year project support grant to the Center for Collaborative Education Metro Boston, Inc., an organization that works to create student-centered learning environments, build district and school capacity to adopt innovative practices, and catalyze systemic change through research and advocacy. The grant will support a comprehensive study of pilot schools and autonomous schools.

I2 Learning Foundation, Inc.: A $50,000, one-year general operating support grant to I2 Learning Foundation, Inc., an organization that seeks to re-imagine K12 STEM education to better prepare students for a changing world, to provide general support for this year’s STEM Week and STEM Month activities.

Health and Wellness

Community Rowing, Inc.: A $150,000,two-year general operating support grant to be paid in equal annual installments to Community Rowing, Inc., to provide continued programmatic support with a focus on strengthening its inclusion programming youth and adults with physical disabilities over the course of the 2018- 2020 school years.

Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health: A $100,000, one-year grant payable to Trustees of Harvard College for the T.H. Chan School of Public Health for formative research and coalition building to advance women’s health.

Jobs and Economic Development

New England Center for Arts and Technology, Inc.: A $75,000, one-year general operating support grant to New England Center for Arts and Technology, Inc. (NECAT), to support general programming and the expansion of programing to Everett to support the demand for a trained culinary workforce needed by the soon-to- be-opened Encore Boston Harbor. 

Newmarket Community Partners, Inc.: A $40,000,one-year general operating support grant to Newmarket Community Partners, Inc., an organization that seeks to promote economic/neighborhood development that will result in the growth of industrial sector jobs and workforce development in the Newmarket Industrial District of Boston.

Resilient Coders, Inc.: A $50,000, one-year general operating support grant to Resilient Coders, Inc., an organization that teaches young people (ages 18-26) from traditionally underserved communities to code, hires them to build websites for paying clients, then connects them to internships or jobs with area companies.

SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce: A $350,000, one-year general operating support grant to the Boston Foundation for SkillWorks, a nationally recognized workforce funder collaborative, launched by the Boston Foundation in 2003 to improve workforce development in Boston and across Massachusetts.

Neighborhoods and Housing:

The Alliance for Business Leadership: A $25,000, one-year grant for the continuation of the Business Leaders Learning Project: Mobilizing the Business Community on Workforce Housing, which seeks to engage, educate, and activate individual business leaders around the need for investments in affordable workforce housing in Greater Boston.

Citizens Housing and Planning Association, Inc.: A $300,000, three-year general operating support grant to Citizens Housing and Planning Association, Inc., an organization that seeks to advocate for and reduce barriers to housing production in the Commonwealth.

Nonprofit Effectiveness:

YW Boston: A $75,000, one-year project support grant to YW Boston, for its YW Dialogues for Race and Ethnicity, which provide a structured space to "unpack" experiences of race and racism, enabling groups to learn to identify barriers to inclusion and work together to create solutions.

Other areas:

Social Innovation Forum: An $81,000, one-year project support grant to Social Innovation Forum, an organization that creates positive social change in Greater Boston by engaging leaders, strengthening organizations, and building networks. The grant allows the organization to create a learning track for nonprofit organizations that support youth with disabilities as they transition into adulthood.

 

Boston Foundation Grassroots Fund:

A small grants program that supports activities that include, but are not limited to, community events and celebrations, pilot or demonstration projects, conferences and convenings, and small programs that mirror those funded by discretionary grants, but lack sufficient scale to be eligible or competitive. Grants included:

AbekaM
$2,500: For HoodFit's The Beauty of Us: Faith, Joy and Dignity

Asian American Resource Workshop, Inc.
$10,000: For the Boston Asian American Immigration Stories & Support Network

Beacon Academy
$1,000: For the Spring Celebration

City Awake
$10,000: For the Millennials of Color Festival

Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
$5,000: For the Mother's Day Walk for Peace

Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
$5,000: For the We Are Better Together Warren Daniel Hairston Project

Massachusetts Voter Education
$2,500: For the Beautiful Me Girls Conference

Optimum Health Solution, Inc.
$3,500: For the Real Kids Real Food program

Transformative Culture Project
$1,500: For the Millennial Response to the Boston Globe Series

Union Capital Boston, Inc.
$2,500: For the Girls Reach Their Goal program

Other between-cycles and special fund grants acknowledged by the Board included:

Associated Grant Makers, Inc.
$25,000: For the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund 2020

Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc.
$25,000: For Buying Black and the Economic Empowerment Strategy

Boston Area Reggio Inspired Network
$25,000: For the Wonder of Learning exhibit

Boston Medical Center Corporation
$50,000: For research and a report on the Innovative Renter’s Tax Credit for Healthier Families and Stable Communities in Massachusetts

Boston Private Industry Council, Inc.
$25,000: For the Boston Health Careers Consortium

Center for Teen Empowerment
$20,000: For general operating support of Massachusetts programming

Coalition for Occupied Homes in Foreclosure, Inc.
|$18,000: For a project consultant for the Community Land Trust

Commonwealth Corporation Foundation
$25,000: For development of a Signal Success for Information Communications Technology trainingprogram

Greater Boston Food Bank
$25,000: For the Power of Collaboration Event at the Boston Public Library

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Inc.
$30,000: For a study to assess community college funding

New England Blacks in Philanthropy
$25,000: For the Giving Boston Research Launch

Northeast Center for Tradeswomen’s Equity
$25,000: For Build a Life That Works

Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center
$30,000: For the Racial Reconciliation and Healing Project

Suffolk University Law School
$50,000: For the Race and Voucher Housing Discrimination Study

TSNE MissionWorks
$50,000: For general support for The Basics, Inc.

Year Up, Inc.
$18,750: For expanded alumni advancement and employment placement services

Grants previously shared publicly in Boston Foundation-sponsored announcements:

The Board of Directors also acknowledged a number of grants paid out during the quarter that were previously announced by the Foundation in other grant announcements, including:

Health Starts at Home Fund grants: $800,000

Live Arts Boston grants: $751,601

Early Childhood Initiative grants: $600,000

Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico grants: $444,300

Free for All Fund grants: $113,225

Equality Fund grants: $112,000

Collaborate Boston grants: $100,000