The quality of and access to health care and early education—both for children and the adults who care for them—play a critical role in ensuring children are physically and emotionally healthy, developmentally on track, and well prepared to thrive in school and adulthood. The early education and health-care systems can be difficult to access, confusing to navigate and unaffordable; and these challenges disproportionately impact families of color.
To build stronger and more equitable systems, the Boston Foundation is focused on the full ecosystem of what builds a healthy childhood, from addressing racial disparities in health care and social supports for mothers and birthing people, to advancing high-quality education, to providing more and earlier mental and behavioral health care. We believe a healthy life starts with healthy beginnings, and working together to improve early education and care for children and their families will build a strong, more equitable and healthier Boston.
Access to and support of an education and career path that provides household-sustaining income is a critical foundation for individuals, families and communities to thrive in Boston. But access to—and the opportunities created by—the education, job placement and training systems in Boston have historically been, and remain, deeply uneven. High-quality and equitable preparation, resources and support for students and job seekers and advocacy to improve job quality for workers are critical to closing the opportunity gap—and ultimately the wealth gap—in our region.
To build equitable pathways to success, the Boston Foundation is focused on strengthening the education-to-career continuum—from convening, coordinating and strengthening programs and organizations that engage and educate high school and postsecondary students, to investing in projects and partnerships that expand the model of job training, to helping adults re-enter the workforce. We believe that support and investment in the education-to-career continuum opens pathways to an entrepreneurial, prosperous and more equitable Boston.
Communities with rich, diverse ecosystems of homes, local businesses, and arts and cultural spaces create vibrant neighborhoods that are essential not only for individual and collective well-being, but for the equitable access to wealth. Affordable housing, climate resilient neighborhoods, reflective cultural spaces and access to capital are critical areas of investment in historically underserved communities to not only grow stable and vital communities, but also to ensure individuals find enrichment and fulfillment, and ultimately build wealth in their communities.
Through affordable housing preservation, establishing and strengthening pathways to home ownership, helping to build and grow thriving cultural spaces, and fostering opportunities for Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latino-owned small businesses to thrive, the Boston Foundation is focused on building stable, enriching and equitable communities across the region.
Movement leaders, safety-net organizations and healthy nonprofit infrastructure help weave a strong social fabric. In historically underserved communities, investment in effective leadership can shift power and amplify the work of individuals and communities alike.
Through the focus on three distinct and interdependent areas of community leadership the Boston Foundation is working to reknit the social fabric and make our communities whole by: 1) Providing movement leaders with beyond-the-grant support to amplify the voices of marginalized communities; 2) Investing in community-led grantmaking for vulnerable residents to gain access to essential needs and a secure safety-net; and 3) Advancing policies and practices that enable nonprofit leaders to center equity and strengthen their organizations.
When you give to and through the Boston Foundation, you access TBF’s full resources, from our deep knowledge of Greater Boston to a top-notch investment team and a vibrant network of fellow donors and community leaders. Whatever your philanthropic goals, we customize approaches to suit your interests and financial parameters.
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We rely on community and regional nonprofits to help us home in on the real needs of our time and the most effective ways to meet those needs to approach equity. These organizations and their people are valued thought leaders and tactical experts; through them we are able to apply fiscal resources to actionable solutions.
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TBF values the perspectives of professional advisors, including their up-to-the-minute understanding of financial and philanthropic trends. We partner closely with them to help their clients achieve charitable goals. We share our local and civic expertise and facilitate networking and educational opportunities for our advisor community.
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The fusion of all we do—matching philanthropists with nonprofits, forming and leading coalitions, commissioning and producing reports, supporting nonprofit effectiveness, cultivating community leaders, identifying and sponsoring diverse artists and venues—is best described as civic leadership. The Annual Fund for Civic Leadership makes it possible.
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