The Boston Foundation announces over $4 million in grants to nonprofit partners, including newest round of Open Door Grants

Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced its latest round of quarterly grants, including significant commitments to BIPOC-led arts organizations and the latest round of grants from the popular Open Door Grants program. In total, the Foundation awarded $2,396,029 in grants to 30 organizations on the quarterly docket. In addition, the Board approved the distribution of $1,700,000 to 44 grantees in one- and two-year grants through the Open Door Grants program. The expansion of the Open Door Grants program for this quarter was made possible in part by a financial commitment from Facebook, which awarded $20 million earlier this fiscal year to community foundations across the country to support Black-serving organizations.

The docket is the first under new Boston Foundation President and CEO M. Lee Pelton, who took over from Paul Grogan on June 1, 2021.

“Grantmaking is at the heart of the Foundation’s work, and this group of nonprofit partners is striking in their commitment to equity and justice through work in the arts, education, health, housing and more,” said Pelton. “I am also pleased to announce the Foundation’s continued support for critical summer programs for Boston youth - these are established efforts, but never more critical than they are in the aftermath of school disruptions caused by COVID-19.”

Commitments in the Arts

This quarter’s docket features significant commitments to three Black-led arts organizations that focus on uplifting artists and performers of color. With two-year, $175,000 commitments to groundbreaking arts organizations BAMS Fest and Front Porch Arts Collective, the Foundation is continuing investments in arts pioneers who are making arts by and for people of color in Greater Boston more readily available than ever. The docket also includes a two-year, $125,000 grant to Castle of Our Skins, which has been recognized nationally for its efforts to bring cultural programming to audiences often excluded from opportunities to learn about the rich history of Black artistry through music and storytelling.

Summer supports for student learning

The docket also includes several grants for partners striving to continue learning and educational experiences this summer after a school year disrupted by COVID-19. The Foundation is continuing longstanding commitments to Camp Harbor View and Philanthropy Massachusetts’ Summer Fund, both of which support critical opportunities for young people to get summer learning opportunities they might not otherwise experience. In addition, the Foundation is making a new multi-year commitment to Boston After School and Beyond, as it continues the ongoing expansion of its summer programming. The Boston Foundation was an early supporter of Boston After School and Beyond, which was founded in 2005 and today provides after-school and summer programs serving more than 20,000 Boston students each year.

DISCRETIONARY GRANTS:

Arts and Culture

BAMS Fest, Inc.: A $175,000 two‐year general operating support grant to BAMS Fest Inc., an organization that breaks down racial and social barriers to arts, music and culture across Greater Boston and celebrates and supports both Black creative entrepreneurs and audiences, particularly those who are underrepresented in the mainstream arts ecosystem, for the implementation of its strategic plan to build organizational capacity and transform and expand BAMS Fest programs. 

Castle of Our Skins, Inc. A $125,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Castle of Our Skins, an organization that fosters cultural curiosity through a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music by actively countering systems of erasure, racism and white supremacy culture through consistent, high-quality music and storytelling spanning 500 years, multiple continents and countless African Diasporic artistic expressions, for the implementation of its strategic plan to build organizational capacity and sustain the growth of Castle of our Skins’ staffing, technology and programming efforts. 

EdVestors, Inc.: A $100,000 one‐year project support grant to EdVestors, an organization that works to increase the number of schools in Boston delivering dramatically improved educational outcomes for all students, to support Phase V of the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative. BPS Arts Expansion has dramatically increased access to arts education in BPS schools, making it nearly universal; it has also resulted in nearly doubling public investment, with an additional $11 million invested and 130 full‐time arts teacher positions created. Supporting this next phase will ensure this progress is sustained and increased. This grant is made in partnership with the Education program strategy.

Front Porch Arts Collective in Residence at the Central Square Theater: A $175,000 two‐year general operating support grant payable to Central Square Theater as fiscal sponsor for The Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theater by centering the people and narrative of the African Diaspora, for the implementation of its strategic plan to build organizational capacity and support its efforts to scale toward fully independent productions. 

Education: College Completion

Boston Higher Education Resource Center: A $50,000 one‐year program support grant to The Boston Higher Education Resource Fund Center, which supports low‐income, first‐generation BPS graduates as they transition to college through Success Boston coaching. This grant will enable Success Boston coaches to continue to support hundreds of Boston students as they enroll and persist in college during a very challenging period for public health, the economy, and higher education. 

Bottom Line, Inc.: $100,000 one‐year program support grant to Bottom Line, which supports low‐income, first‐generation BPS graduates as they transition to college through Success Boston coaching. This grant will enable Success Boston coaches to continue to support hundreds of Boston students as they enroll and persist in college during a very challenging period for public health, the economy, and higher education. 

The BASE, Inc.: A one‐year $50,000 general operating support grant to The BASE, an organization that works to re‐imagine pathways to success for urban youth by combining sports, academics, and career training with a distinctive methodology that cultivates excellence, belief, and love. The BASE has stayed closely connected to its students and their community, pivoting to stay open longer and to provide basic needs like food distribution at a time when these connections are more needed and valuable than ever. This grant will support the organization in its continuing efforts to establish strong relationships with young people through sports, academic support, and community building. 

Education: Structural Reform

Bellwether Education Partners, Inc.: A project support grant of up to $174,529 to Bellwether Education Partners, a national nonprofit focused on dramatically changing education and life outcomes for underserved students through policy analysis and research, strategy and growth planning, and implementation support, to conduct a study of Horace Mann charter schools in Boston. The study will yield value to both Horace Mann schools and the school district: it will include recommendations on how these schools can grow and replicate their model; it will also generate important lessons for the district’s leadership in how the autonomies built into this model, matched with appropriate guardrails, yield flexibilities critical to schoolsʹ ability to deliver rigorous learning and supports to students. 

Boston After School & Beyond, Inc.: A $200,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Boston After School & Beyond, Inc., a public‐private partnership that seeks to ensure that every child in Boston has the opportunity to develop his or her full potential. This organization has provided critical infrastructure to the in‐school and out‐of‐school community during the pandemicʹs period of remote and hybrid learning. Now, support is needed to ensure that nonprofit partners can support recovery efforts for young people across multiple domains, including academic, physical, and social-emotional. In addition, these funds will ensure BASB has the internal capacity to advocate for public investment in recovery in the summer and throughout the school year. 

Center for Artistry and Scholarship, Inc.: A $50,000 one‐year project support grant to Center for Artistry and Scholarship, Inc., an organization that sponsors the Perrone Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership, a year‐long creative leadership program that builds skills, capacity, and confidence to lead schools that prioritize student agency, family engagement, community partnership, and social justice, to continue to partner with BPS to build a diverse and effective leadership development pipeline for assistant principals. This grant is a priority for the Boston Public Schools district, and will help ensure a more diverse, well‐prepared leadership pipeline. 

The Education Trust: A $75,000 one‐year project support grant to Education Trust, which seeks through research and advocacy to expand excellence and equity in education from preschool through college, to support the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership. The Ed Trust has become an important watchdog for equity in education policies and funding. This grant will support their efforts to ensure that state and federal education and pandemic relief funds prioritize the neediest students. It will also help develop an advocacy agenda in higher education that advances equity in postsecondary student access and success. 

Education: Early Childhood

University of Massachusetts Boston‐Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation: A $100,000 one‐year program support grant to the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation (housed at University of Massachusetts Boston and fiscally sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Foundation), whose mission is to close the opportunity gap for young children across America by mobilizing entrepreneurial leadership within the early care and education workforce. 

Health and Wellness

Good Sports, Inc.: A $61,500 one‐year project support grant to Good Sports, an organization that works to ensure every child has access to the lifelong benefits of sports and physical activity, to support its Restore Play and Boston Back in Motion efforts. As Boston enters a period of recovery, physical activity will be crucial for a return to a place of health and safety, and this will equip nonprofits‐‐large and small‐‐to get young people moving. 

Health Care for All, Inc.: A $100,000 one‐year project support grant to Health Care for All, an organization that advocates for health justice in Massachusetts by working to promote health equity and ensure coverage and access for all, to support the Social Determinants of Health and Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts research and advocacy efforts. This grant will continue work that was delayed by the pandemic. It will surface essential lessons about how healthcare and community‐based organizations can work together to address underlying social determinants of health, and may surface new best practices for community-connected healthcare.

Health Resources in Action, Inc.: A $125,000 one‐year project support grant to Health Resources in Action, the fiscal agent for the Child and Adolescent Health Initiative, a diverse multistakeholder initiative working to increase buy‐in, improve infrastructure, and develop concrete measurement processes to improve child and adolescent health in Massachusetts. This grant will support efforts to ensure the stateʹs Medicaid waiver includes practice‐informed pediatric policies, and then will work to ensure implementation of pediatric metrics and measures to track improvements to child health in Massachusetts. 

Jobs and Economic Development

Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, Inc.: A $45,000 one‐year project support grant to Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, an agency with the mission to promote human and economic development by providing financing and development assistance to cooperatives and social purpose ventures that create and save jobs for low‐income people, for its Elevate Small Business initiative. The grant will help LEAF expand the staff capacity of this initiative, which provides wrap‐around, one on one support for entrepreneurs.

Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce: A $20,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, an agency that works to build wealth in Massachusetts LGBT communities by offering resources, programming, and support to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. The grant will help the organization continue to support its members in the recovery process, grow its outreach to entrepreneurs of color, expand its curriculum offerings, and increase its advocacy presence at the city and state levels.

Startup Mentors: A $20,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Impact Hub as fiscal sponsor to Startup Mentors, an agency with the mission to widen the circle of entrepreneurship by supporting women of color entrepreneurs who are building businesses and want help to scale in the Boston metro area, thus addressing the larger issue of racial equity and the wealth gap. The grant will support Startup Mentors in its beginning stages by helping the organization build capacity to serve more women of color entrepreneurs.
Neighborhoods and Housing

Livable Streets Transportation Alliance of Boston, Inc.: A $35,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Livable Streets, an agency that advocates for innovative and equitable transportation solutions that create safe, affordable and convenient options for everyone in Metro Boston. With support from TBF, Livable Streets will expand the Great Neighborhoods. They will utilize the Great Neighborhoods website as a platform to highlight the interconnected nature of climate, housing, and transportation for community-based organizations and individuals to learn and advocate for their communities. 

Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants: A one‐year $60,000 general operating support grant payable to Boston Affordable Housing Coalition, Inc. for the Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants, an agency that preserves and improves at risk subsidized buildings as permanently affordable housing with maximum resident participation and control. The support from TBF will enable the organization to pursue policies at the city, state and national levels that will prevent displacement for existing tenants and increase the number of housing vouchers for low-income households.

Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Inc.: A $100,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, an agency that educates and mobilizes to increase affordable homeownership opportunities, to break down barriers facing first-time and first‐generation homebuyers, and to close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps. This grant will enable MAHA to expand its organizing capacity for several of its campaigns, including Expand the Pie, and to expand the savings match for the first‐generation homebuyer program. 

Project R.I.G.H.T.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Project R.I.G.H.T., an agency that seeks to create, nurture, establish, strengthen, mobilize and coordinate resident and youth involvement in neighborhood stabilization, economic development, and community building efforts within the neighborhoods of North Dorchester and Roxbury (Greater Grove Hall) through the grassroots organizing of neighborhood residents. The grant support will result in ten students becoming trained on understanding the strengths and challenges of the Fairmount Indigo Commuter Line and taking leadership in advocating on transit issues that impact youth and their educational outcomes. 

Social Justice Ecology

Building Audacity: A $40,000 one‐year general operating support grant for summer youth programming to Building Audacity, an organization that supports youth-led change‐making and provides resources to adults interested in creating inclusive, youth‐focused learning spaces. Building Audacity will work with Youth Organizers to create a video and podcast series named ʺCivically Speakingʺ featuring interviews, questions, and think‐pieces of the Boston mayoral candidates for the fall 2021 election from their perspective. Over 90 youth organizers will also continue to sustain the Hydroponics and Food Delivery center, providing food security/access to over 575 BIPOC families in Lynn and the Greater Boston Area.

Center for Teen Empowerment, Inc.: A $40,000 one‐year general operating support grant for summer programming to Center for Teen Empowerment, an organization that employs youth ages 14 to 20 to create and implement initiatives that positively influence their peers and make real, meaningful changes in their communities. Youth will continue to focus on increasing racial equity, involving youth as leaders of community change efforts, and using the arts and other creative means to bring youth voice into the public policy debate and engage youth in social change. 

Interaction Institute for Social Change: A $100,000 one‐year project support grant to Interaction Institute, an organization that builds collaborative capacity in individuals, organizations, and networks working for social justice and racial equity, to support the Anna Faith Jones and Frieda Garcia Women of Color Leadership Circle. 

I Have A Future: A $40,000 one‐year general operating support grant for summer programming, payable to fiscal sponsor Massachusetts Communities Action Network, to support I Have A Future, a statewide community of youth organizers and allies building power to win youth jobs and end mass incarceration through leadership development, direct public action, and policy change. Youth will be paid and trained to strategize, mobilize and organize their community around the Massachusetts FY22 State budget with a focus on advocating for $23 million for youth jobs across the state.

Sisters Unchained: A $40,000 one‐year general operating support grant for summer programming, payable to fiscal sponsor Families For Justice As Healing, to support Sisters Unchained, a prison abolitionist organization dedicated to building community and power with young women affected by parental incarceration through radical education, healing, art, sisterhood and activism. The summer program creates a refuge space for young women with incarcerated loved ones to develop political and self‐awareness, engage in healing with an abolitionist framework, and cultivate the skills and leadership needed to transform their communities.

Student Immigrant Movement: A $40,000 one‐year general operating support grant, payable to fiscal sponsor Center for Labor Education & Research, to support Student Immigrant Movementʹs Summer Leadership Program, which provides skills-based training and political education to undocumented/immigrant youth. The program curriculum includes self‐care/healing techniques and allows for culture building and bonding. The youth also will develop strategies and a work plan for organizing work for the remainder of the year. 

Other/Summer Programming:

Camp Harbor View Foundation: A $100,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Camp Harbor View Foundation, which serves over 1,000 youth each year from Boston’s underserved neighborhoods through their Summer Camp, Leadership Academy and Youth and Family Support Services and pilot program for Income Stability. As Boston returns to a place of health and safety, it will be critically important to ensure young people have engaging, enriching activities in the summertime; Camp Harbor View will provide that for campers and for the youth who are employed. 

Philanthropy Massachusetts: $30,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Philanthropy Massachusetts, which provides funding to over 50 organizations through their Summer Fund for enrichment activities for underserved youth. Summer 2021 will provide an important step in the post-pandemic recovery and it will be important to ensure that low-income young people have access to camps that will get them physically active and engaged in enriching programming. This grant serves as an important step toward post-pandemic recovery. 

Open Door Grants 

As announced earlier in 2021, the Boston Foundation is transitioning its Open Door Grants program to distribute two-year, $50,000 commitment to nonprofit partners, rather than as renewable one-year grants. In this cycle, 23 of the 45 grantees are receiving two-year, $50,000 commitments. Other grantees are receiving a second-year renewal of their 2020 Open Door Grant as a $25,000, one-year grant, while a third group is receiving a one-year award.

In addition, all Open Door Grants will now be for general operating support – giving nonprofit partners greater flexibility to use the support in the most effective fashion.


ACHIEVE: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Noble and Greenough School as fiscal sponsor for ACHIEVE, a full service, summer and school year academic, social/emotional enrichment program serving under‐resourced Boston Public middle school students to close the opportunity gap. 

African Community Economic Development of New England, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to African Community Economic Development of New England, Inc., to support African refugees and immigrants, primarily East African families, in the Boston Metro Area to develop a self‐sufficient and vital community by providing youth with the education and life experience to thrive socially, professionally, and economically. 

Anti‐Defamation League: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Anti‐Defamation League, a leading anti-hate organization whose mission is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all, and which serves as a leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti‐bias education and fighting hate online, with the goal of a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or intolerance. 

Asian Community Development Corporation: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Asian Community Development Corporation, an organization that works in underserved and immigrant Asian American communities in the Greater Boston region to create and preserve affordable, sustainable, and healthy neighborhoods 

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, an organization that empowers Asians and new immigrants to build healthy families, achieve greater economic success, and contribute to thriving communities by providing a broad range of innovative and family‐centered programs and services. 

Boston Community Pediatrics:  A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Boston Community Pediatrics, a nonprofit pediatric private practice that is bringing income and racial equity to pediatric healthcare by providing all families with comprehensive, high‐quality care that puts the patient at the forefront of its delivery model. 

Boston Home, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Boston Home, Inc., an organization whose mission is to provide exceptional clinical care, compassion, and innovative programs to adults with disabilities due to progressive and advanced neurological disorders. 

Breakthrough Greater Boston: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Breakthrough Greater Boston, an organization that seeks to improve educational equity by inspiring excitement for learning, creating paths to college, and promoting careers in the field of education. 

Breaktime: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant payable to Breaktime Café, Inc., an organization that empowers young adults experiencing homelessness to build sustainability in their own lives while building resilience in their communities by providing purposeful transitional employment through which young adults launch their careers, nurture their talents, and serve their communities. 

Bryceʹs Journey, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Bryceʹs Journey, Inc., an organization whose mission is to provide free or low‐cost support to minority and lower-income, inner-city Boston families with high‐functioning children who are living with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or ADHD. 

CAIR‐MA, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to CAIR‐MA, Inc., an organization whose mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding 

Cambridge Camping Association, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Cambridge Camping Association, Inc., an organization whose mission is to provide meaningful experiences to under‐resourced urban youth in supportive and inclusive summer camp and school year communities through enriching and inspiring programs. 

Carroll Center for the Blind, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Carroll Center for the Blind, Inc., an organization whose mission is to empower individuals who are blind or visually impaired to live independent and fulfilling lives through intensely individualize services in five different program areas: Vision Rehabilitation, Low Vision, Education, Community, and Technology.

Central Square Theater: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Central Square Theater, Inc., an organization that is dedicated to the exploration of social justice, science and sexual politics through theater. 

Citizen Schools, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Citizen Schools, Inc., an organization that connects real‐world mentors with educators in the classroom and communities to engage students in hands‐on learning in school and after school. 

Community Art Center, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Community Art Center, Inc., an organization that seeks to cultivate an engaged community of youth whose powerful voices transform their lives, their neighborhoods, and their worlds, by providing creative, challenging learning opportunities in a family‐like environment with intensive mental health supports, academic help, transportation services, and three full meals a day. 

Dorchester Community Food Coop: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Cooperative Fund of New England, Inc. for Dorchester Community Food Coop, a worker- and community-owned grocery store that promotes racial and economic justice through a commitment to making healthy food affordable and accessible to Dorchester and the surrounding neighborhoods. 

Family Van at Harvard Medical School: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant payable to President and Fellows of Harvard College for Family Van at Harvard Medical School, a mobile clinic that works with low‐income Boston neighborhoods to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and their families by taking preventive health care directly to medically underserved communities to improve health outcomes among people whose needs are not fully met by the traditional health care system. 

Fenway Community Health Center, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year grant for general support of elder‐focused services to Fenway Community Health Center, Inc., an organization whose mission is to enhance the wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community and all people in the Fenway neighborhood and beyond through access to the highest quality health care, education, research and advocacy. 

First Teacher: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to TSNE MissionWorks for First Teacher, a parent‐led school‐readiness movement in Roxbury and Dorchester that believes supported, connected, knowledgeable parents and caregivers are the answer to kindergarten preparedness. 

Found in Translation, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Found in Translation, Inc., an organization that seeks to give low‐income bilingual women an opportunity to achieve economic security through the use of their language skills, and to reduce racial, ethnic, and linguistic disparities in health care by unleashing bilingual talent into the workforce. 

Four Corners Main Street, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Four Corners Main Street, Inc., an organization that seeks to support and promote a vibrant, healthy, and active commercial district in the Four Corners neighborhood by: improving the districtʹs economic vitality by supporting existing businesses and attracting new ones; marketing the district to attract new and repeat visitors that support local businesses; enhancing the physical appearance of the district with an emphasis on safety for pedestrians and cyclists; and increasing community connections to the district through events and involved businesses and residents. 

Hamilton‐Garrett Music and Arts Academy: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Charles Street AME Church for Hamilton‐Garrett Music and Arts Academy, an after‐school youth music program dedicated to passing on the rich legacy of Black cultural music to the next generation of innovative artists through the celebration and preservation of Black music, namely spirituals, blues and jazz. 

Hands to Heart Center Yoga for the People: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention, Inc. for Hands to Heart Center Yoga for the People, an organization that seeks to connect trained yoga teacher volunteers with community partners in Greater Boston’s low‐ income communities to provide free, inclusive, accessible yoga classes. 

He is Me Institute, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to He is Me Institute, Inc., an organization that seeks to introduce Black men to STEAM education by providing mentorship and teaching opportunities with middle school boys. 

Health Care Without Walls: A $25,000 one‐year grant for general support of work to benefit elder homeless women to Health Care Without Walls, an organization that seeks to improve the lives of women who are homeless or marginally housed through compassionate, high-quality health care, education, and advocacy. 

Level Ground Mixed Martial Arts, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Level Ground Mixed Martial Arts, Inc., an organization that seeks to empower urban youth through transformative athletic, academic, and employment opportunities by leveraging the popular sport of Mixed Martial Arts as a vehicle for positive youth development. 

Loop Lab, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Loop Lab, Inc., whose mission is to empower content creators of color to have careers in media arts through job training and paid internships. 

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Inc., a leading think tank advancing policy solutions that create an equitable, thriving Commonwealth for all, in which everyone has the resources and opportunities to succeed and build the life they want. 

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Bagly, Inc. for the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, an organization dedicated to ending oppression and discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression through public education, advocacy, activism and community empowerment. 

Mothers for Justice and Equality, Inc.: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Mothers for Justice and Equality, Inc., whose mission is to end neighborhood violence by empowering mothers and youth to challenge the normalization of violence and become effective catalysts for change in their homes, schools, and communities. 

Mount Pleasant Home: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Mount Pleasant Home, whose mission is to provide housing and supportive service options for frail elders, with an emphasis on serving a diverse population and giving priority to those with limited financial resources and inadequate support systems. 

Museum of African American History: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to the Museum of African American History, an organization that seeks to inspire all generations to embrace and interpret the authentic stories of New Englanders of African descent, and those who found common cause with them, in their quest for freedom and justice. 

Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc., an organization whose mission is to support the right of elders and adults living with disabilities to live independently with dignity in a setting of their own choice by providing them and their caregivers with information, advice, and access to quality services and resources. 

Neighbor to Neighbor: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant payable to Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Education Fund, Inc. for Neighbor to Neighbor, an organization that builds power among people who are on the receiving end of policies that result in economic and social inequality as well as political exclusion. 

North Shore Community Development Coalition: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to North Shore Community Development Coalition, an organization that seeks to strategically extend services to surrounding communities, and advocate for housing and community development on a regional level. 

RIA, Inc. ‐ Ready.Inspire.Act: A $50,000 general operating support grant payable to RIA House, Inc., an organization whose mission is to stand with and support women with experience in the commercial sex trade and its associated exploitation, trafficking, and prostitution by providing a range of community‐based services. 

Speak for the Trees, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Speak for the Trees, Inc., an organization whose mission is to improve the size and health of Bostonʹs urban forest, especially in under‐resourced and under‐ canopied neighborhoods. 

Steps to Success: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Steps to Success, an organization that promotes equity for Brooklineʹs students from low‐income families by expanding their horizons, building upon their skills, and supporting their educational journey to maximize their life choices. 

Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, an organization that assists with homelessness prevention, shelter assistance, nutrition assistance, prescription co‐pay assistance, transportation and escort to medical appointments. 

Union of Minority Neighborhoods, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Union of Minority Neighborhoods, Inc., an organization that seeks to organize and train low‐income people of color to end discriminatory policies and practices that limit access to economic and social prosperity. 

Urban Farming Institute: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant payable to Urban Farming Institute of Boston, an organization that seeks to develop and promote urban farming as a commercial sector that creates green collar jobs for residents and to engage urban communities in building a healthier and more locally-based food system. 

Yardtime Entertainment, Inc.: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant to Yardtime Entertainment, Inc., an organization that seeks to support the formerly incarcerated and their families and reconnect them to the community. 

Young Man with a Plan: A $50,000 two‐year general operating support grant payable to the Preparatory Foundation, Inc. for Young Man with a Plan, an organization that seeks to create a new culture of brotherhood, aspiration and achievement for Black and Latino males in Boston through sustained mentoring, coaching, and individualized success planning. 

Youth Guidance: A $25,000 one‐year general operating support grant to Youth Guidance, an organization that creates and implements school‐based programs that enable at‐risk children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, succeed in school and life. 


The Boston Foundation Board of Directors also acknowledged more than $3 million in payments or requests for payment made by special funds at the Foundation in accordance with the specific terms of each fund. These special funds have advisors/advisory committees that make recommendations for the re-granting of these funds. Examples of these grants included: 

Andover Village Improvement Society 
$25,000: To renovate and revitalize the entrance to the Goldsmith Woodlands and associated projects 

Foster’s Pond Corporation
$15,000: For the 2021 Aquatic Weed Control program 

One Love Foundation in Honor of Yeardley Love, Inc.
$25,000: To expand programming efforts with and for the disability community 

Roxbury Cultural District
$30,000: For support to establish a District Increment Financing district 

Whittier Street Health Center
$25,000: For repairs to the Blue Hill Avenue satellite facility 

CONEXION, Inc. 
$8,000: For Leadership Development Programming 

A Better City 
$50,000: For support of Bring Back a Better Boston 

Interaction Institute for Social Change 
$150,000: For Advancing Racial Equity in Organizations: An Online Learning Series 

YW Boston 
$150,000: For support of the UncoverBoston program 

Museum of African American History, Inc. 
$25,025: For the Third Annual MAAH Stone Book Prize 

Foundation for Business Equity, Inc. 
$100,000: For technical assistance being provided to Business Equity COVID-19 Emergency Fund grantees 

Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. 
$148,209: To be distributed to initiatives that are working to support restaurants and food businesses owned by people of color 

Boston Women’s Fund, Inc.
$25,000: For support of the executive director 

The acknowledgments also included several other grants announced previously in other Boston Foundation communications, including:

Live Arts Boston: $145,000
Food and Fuel Fund: $35,000
Forward Fund (King Boston): $40,000
COVID-19 Response Fund: $630,000