Boston Foundation awards nearly $1 million in tenth round of COVID-19 related grants

Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced the distribution of $970,000 today in the tenth round of grants from the COVID-19 Response Fund, bringing the total grants from the Fund to over $6 million, in more than 210 separate general operating grants to Greater Boston nonprofits. The Fund, which launched in mid-March, announced its first grants on March 31. It has predominantly focused on providing $25,000 general operating support grants to organizations serving the needs of those people and communities for whom COVID-19 poses the greatest risk to health and wellbeing.

“Over the past two months, the Response Fund has sought to provide critical resources to community nonprofits so they could serve the emergency needs of immigrants, including the undocumented, communities of color, elders and others bearing an tragically high burden in the pandemic,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “As we begin to see the longer-term impacts of the virus play out in communities around the region, we will continue to seek out ways to support locally-led, community-based organizations at the heart of addressing injustice and inequity.”

The Fund has also worked in partnership with the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund, to distribute $1.5 million in general operating grants to nonprofits serving communities in need outside of Boston.

The Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund supports those across the state most impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis, focusing on essential frontline workers and vulnerable populations including the homeless, immigrant populations, people with disabilities, and those facing food insecurity. The Fund works in concert with regional community foundations and nonprofit leaders who partner with local leaders to understand the response and relief landscape, strategically filling in where gaps are pronounced.

Over 60 percent of grantees from the COVID-19 Response Fund are led by people of color, and fully two-thirds of funded organizations have annual budgets under $5 million.

The Boston Foundation will continue to make grants from the Fund in the coming weeks, ensuring that the $9.5 million raised to date and all future funds raised by the Fund will reach nonprofits in Greater Boston, with equity and justice at the center of the process.  More than 900 foundations, donor-advised funds, businesses and individuals have donated to date, including dozens of major donors – the Fund would like to thank the Novartis US Foundation for its donation this week.

Each of the grantees below receives a $25,000, one-time general operating support grant from the COVID-19 Response Fund.

African Cultural Services, Inc. (Waltham): to support low-income African immigrants (mainly Ugandans) in Waltham and surrounding towns by conducting wellness calls and providing weekly deliveries of food and hygiene supplies.

Boys & Girls Club of Lynn (Lynn): to support youth and caregivers who have been drastically impacted by this pandemic. Support includes mental health and wellness check-ups and the delivery of food and basic needs.

Brazilian Worker Center (Allston): to support working families, who have been devastated by the economic collapse during the Covid-19 pandemic. Support includes food access, financial assistance for rent and utilities, information on benefits and resources, and advocacy work to benefit undocumented families.

Budget Buddies (Chelmsford): to support low-income women and girls, many of whom are living in shelters, with direct financial assistance and emotional support.  

DeeDee's Cry (Boston): to provide cash assistance to families/individuals who reside within the communities of Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, and have fallen behind on rent or bills or lost wages due to COVID-19.

Family Independence Initiative – Greater Boston (Boston): to provide cash assistance to low-income families in the Boston area, primarily people of color.

Just-A-Start Corporation (Cambridge): to provide increased direct emergency assistance to help families remain housed, fed and healthy. Support includes stipends, food, hygiene and health items, and funds for rent/utilities.

Lynn YMCA (Lynn): to provide support to address the needs of Lynn's most vulnerable residents. Support includes daily meals to children, weekly grocery distribution, distribution of diapers, wipes, and formula, and providing housing and basic needs to homeless individuals at their emergency shelter.

METCO (Boston): to support students and families disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic with one-on-one trauma support and tele-therapy to help cope with loss, isolation and school disruptions.

Ministries of Aides International, Inc. (Chelsea): to meet the basic needs of immigrant families, particularly in the Haitian community, who remain vulnerable to COVID-19. Support includes dissemination of educational materials in Haitian Creole, connection to available resources, and emergency financial support.

Mount Pleasant Home (Jamaica Plain): to support low-income elders with underlying health conditions with affordable housing, daily meals and support services.

Revere CARES (Revere): to provide meals for low-income families, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations from Revere and surrounding areas.

Rian Immigrant Center (formerly Irish International Immigrant Center) (Boston): to support the operations of the Boston Immigrant COVID-19 Collaborative, a collaboration of 13 organizations providing financial relief and other resources to immigrant communities.

Saheli, Inc. (Burlington): to provide financial assistance and domestic violence services to South Asian and Middle Eastern immigrant survivors and their children.

Veronica Robles Cultural Center (East Boston): to support low-income Latino immigrants and economically disadvantaged communities by providing assistance in filing for support, offering translation services, and delivering food and other basic needs.

Women's Lunch Place (Boston): to provide daily support to women living in extreme poverty. Support includes two prepared meals a day, home delivery of groceries, emergency clothing, toiletries and feminine hygiene products, direct care, case management, legal aid, and emergency financial assistance.

Youth on Board (Somerville): to provide youth with stipends, direct cash assistance, daily wellness check-ins, social and emotional peer support, and crisis management for young people with immediate family who have contracted or died from COVID-19, or suffered job loss as a result of the pandemic.

The following $25,000, one-time general operating support grant from the COVID-19 Response Fund is being made in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation.

Somerville Hispanic Association for Community Development (Somerville): to provide emergency food and support services to low-income families in Somerville and surrounding towns.

The following grants are made possible by our partnership with the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund. All grants are for general operating support. Grant amounts are noted with each grantee.

Asian Community Development Corporation (Quincy): $50,000: to provide a combination of gift cards, PPE, funeral costs or other emergency costs that may arise through the Asian Community Emergency Relief Fund. In addition, the funds will support staff to follow up with those who have come through Asian CDC organizations over the past 2 months for UI, food or relief assistance.

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Inc. (Brockton) - $50,000: to support staffing costs, security, supplies, printing and materials, and other costs related to COVID-19 testing efforts.

Catholic Charities - Archdiocese of Boston (Boston/Brockton) - $45,000: Catholic Charities South will use funding to support staffing to prepare pre-packed food bags for families. Funding also will support bulk food purchases, transportation, and grocery store cards for clients to purchase fresh food when needed.

Family and Community Resources, Inc. (Brockton) - $20,000: to provide food assistance, hygienic supplies , and emergency relocation services for children who are victims of domestic violence. Funding will also support temporary housing, furnishings and supplies, and other needs, as well as subsudizing staffing costs for telehealth and medication management, and mental health services for survivors who are uninsured.

For Kids Only Afterschool, Inc. (Winthrop): $40,000: to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE), screening equipment, and additional cleaning supplies for programs, as well as needed therapeutic supplies and materials to help children cope with the pandemic's disruption of programming and school activities.

Latinos Unidos En Massachusetts, Inc. (Everett) - $45,000: to provide food and emergency housing to immigrants and frontline workers, as well as medicine, hygiene and school suppliesIn addition funds will support efforts to help community members apply for health insurance, unemployment benefits, food stamps and funeral assistance, and operate a food pantry four days out of the week.

The Neighborhood Developers (Chelsea) - $40,000: to support income and housing stabilization efforts, including assistance applying for public benefits, emergency cash relief to vulnerable households (prioritizing immigrants without documentation), food distribution to vulnerable households including elders, and to support TND CONNECT’s efforts to help unemployed individuals to prepare to return to work and to conduct job search activities.

Old Colony YMCA (Brockton) - $50,000: to provide ongoing support for 60 families experiencing homelessness, including 120 children, and for nearly 200 additional families throughout the community. Supports include food, clothing and access to essential mental health and substance use services.

Old Colony Elder Services, Inc. (Brockton) - $40,000: to purchase Personal Protective Equipment for essential workers including the nutrition staff and volunteers to deliver home delivered meals, groceries and prescriptions, home care and protective service workers to complete in-home assessments, coordinate care and assess for safety, and administrative staff who maintain operations.

Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. (Quincy/Randolph) - $40,000: To provide 100 individuals (mostly elders) and 300 families with a culturally-sensitive grocery Funding will also support connecting individuals with frontline job opportunities and training.

South Shore YMCA (Quincy) - $50,000: to support the operation of the South Shore Y food pantry, meals delivery service, emergency shelter and emergency childcare operations.

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley (Randolph) - $50,000: to support The Randolph Resiliency Fund, which will provide gift cards and other forms of assistance such as food and housing to Randolph residents. The fund was created as a collaboration between the City of Randolph, the United Way of Mass Bay, Neighborworks and South Shore Stars.