Current initiatives are:

Allied Health Workforce Initiative
Launched in 2007, the Allied Health Workforce Initiative is a three-year $1.5 million workforce development initiative in the allied health field (i.e., medical assistants, radiological technicians, respiratory therapists, etc.). The Foundation has partnered with Boston hospitals to more effectively invest in the development of current workers to address the critical shortage of in this workforce area.

Boston Public Schools Arts Expansion Fund @ EdVestors
The Boston Foundation does most of its arts education funding through the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors as part of a long-term effort to build a stronger, more connected system of in-school arts opportunities and to enhance the school district’s capacity to support schools and coordinate nonprofit partnerships. By working in collaboration with Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, individual donors and other foundations, the Foundation seeks to maximize its impact while sharing knowledge of best practices. Arts Expansion Grants support elementary, middle and K-8 schools working to: increase the number of students or the frequency or duration of arts classes; work with teaching artists to provide high quality arts experiences; or, partner with nonprofit arts organizations. The Fund’s grantmaking approach and guidelines were developed from the February 2009 Understanding Boston report, The Arts Advantage: Expanding Arts in the Boston Public Schools. Please see the EdVestors website for more information.

Bruce J. Anderson Foundation
The Bruce J. Anderson Foundation provides grants for preventive programs, direct services, and new initiatives in the fields of mental health (treatment, research and suicide prevention focused on young adults), environmental protection, historic and archival preservation, and the arts. Grants, which range from $5,000 to $12,000, are made for organizations and activities focused on two geographical areas: Cape Ann and the Nashua River Watershed. Grants are made once yearly through a Request for Proposals process; the RFP is generally released in January of each year.

Brother Thomas Fellowship Program
The Brother Thomas Fellowship Program supports and celebrates a diverse group of Greater Boston artists working at a high level of excellence in a range of disciplines – the visual, performing, literary, media and craft arts – to enhance their ability to thrive and create new work. Funds come from an endowment established at the Boston Foundation by Brother Thomas Bezanson, a Benedictine monk and world-renowned ceramic artist who wanted the sale of his work to benefit other artists. Each Brother Thomas Fellow receives an unrestricted two-year award of $15,000. This fellowship program is not open to application. An anonymous panel of nominators suggests eligible artists who are then invited to submit work for consideration by a multi-disciplinary panel convened at the Boston Foundation.

The Civic Engagement Initiative
The Civic Engagement Initiative was established in 2002 as a three-year $1 million effort to increase nonpartisan voter registration and mobilization in low-income communities and communities of color with low rates of voter participation. Since then, its collaborating funders have continued to invest in community-based organizations, such as community development corporations, health centers, service providers and ethnic alliances that include voter registration activities as one component of their work. There are no current funding opportunities at this time.

Curtis International Council Fund
The Curtis International Council Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Boston area devoted to the study of international affairs, international institutions, or countries and regions abroad. Two to four grants in the $10,000 to $15,000 range will be awarded every other year. Applications will be accepted in September 2011 based on a Request for Proposals posted here in July.

East Boston and Chelsea Environmental Fund
The East Boston and Chelsea Environmental Fund at the Boston Foundation supports environmental projects, programs and/or organizations based or working in Chelsea and East Boston, Massachusetts. Priority is placed on educational or recreational activities that impact the youth of the two communities. The goal of the Fund is to develop strong environmental stewardship and leadership in the East Boston and Chelsea communities, especially among the next generation of residents. Grants ranging in size from $5,000 to $25,000 are distributed annually in March through a Request for Proposals process.  It is anticipated that the fund will be depleted and the last grants will be made in 2011.  The RFP is generally released in October of each year.

SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce
SkillWorks: Partners for a Productive Workforce is a five-year (2003–2008), $15 million investment partnership led by the Boston Foundation together with 13 other local and national foundations, the City of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. SkillWorks is the largest effort in Boston’s history to substantially improve workforce development services for both disadvantaged job and skill seekers and business. There are no funding opportunities at this time.

StreetSafe Boston
StreetSafe Boston is an unprecedented collaboration between local and regional funders, the City of Boston, the Boston Police Department, the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Centers for Youth and Families, the Boston Housing Authority, YMCA of Greater Boston, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción and the Black Ministerial Alliance. Over the next five years (2008-2013), the initiative will mobilize significant financial and community resources to engage and address the needs of proven- and high-risk 16-to-24-year olds in a subset of neighborhoods. See the StreetSafe Boston Website for further details.

The Youth Public Policy Initiative
The Youth Public Policy Initiative seeks to build the capacity of Boston-area youth-serving organizations and networks to impact public policy that advances positive educational, social, and workforce outcomes for high-risk youth. Through this three-year initiative (2007-2010), the Boston Foundation will utilize research, technical assistance, convening and grantmaking strategies to build a robust network of organizations and collaborations working to develop, articulate and implement a shared advocacy agenda. There are no current funding opportunities at this time.