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Want to Help Syrian Refugees? Join a Conference Call for Donors on Monday
New England International Donors (NEID) invites all Boston Foundation donors to participate in a conference call on Monday to learn about opportunities to support refugees and displaced people in Europe. More than four million have fled the civil war in Syria, while another seven million have been displaced within that country. The one-hour call, which will feature U.S. and United Nations officials and a Syrian activist, begins at 11:30am on September 28. Please RSVP to neid@tpi.org to confirm your participation and receive the call-in details.
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Save the Date
October 22: A reception honoring the nominees and recipients of the 2015 Brother Thomas Fellowships underwritten by the Brother Thomas Fund at the Boston Foundation, 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
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Foundation's Summer Arts Highlights
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| The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. stages free performances on the Boston Common. Photo courtesy Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. |
Summer was a full season for the arts at the Boston Foundation, with the hiring of a new arts and culture director (see article below), a breakfast honoring the late artist and philanthropist Fay Chandler, a Facebook chat with the principals of two arts organizations, an evening of music at the Hatch Shell with the Landmarks Orchestra and ZUMIX, and our sponsorship of the Handel & Haydn Society's free performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Next month, the Foundation will unveil light installations it has commissioned for five bridges along the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line as part of its Centennial Celebration.
Boston Globe Art Critic Sebastian Smee reflected on the New England art scene at a breakfast on Sept. 9. Organized in connection with the "Finding Fay" festival, the event attracted more than 60 art lovers, Boston Foundation donors, and friends of Fay Chandler. Mrs. Chandler, who did much of her charitable giving from Donor Advised Funds at the Foundation, passed away in March at the age of 92. Watch a video of the event here.
In July, Jo Frances Meyer of the Landmarks Orchestra and Steve Maler of Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. visited our offices for a Facebook chat about their upcoming seasons. Read it online. Later that month, the highlight of Boston's Summer Arts Weekend was the free Handel & Haydn Society performance of Beethoven's Ninth in Copley Square. It was the capstone performance of the Society's 200th anniversary year, and the Foundation was honored to be the lead sponsor.
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Foundation Hosts New Arts Fund
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| The Landmarks Orchestra performing on the Boston Esplanade. |
We are raising an $8 million endowment for the new Free for All Concert Fund at the Boston Foundation, which will ensure the permanent legacy of the late conductor Charles Ansbacher, founder of the Landmarks Orchestra. The fund's mission is to ensure "regular and permanent access to the rich world of classical, orchestral music and related cultural events." The Boston Foundation and the Ansbacher Foundation are offering a challenge grant to match the first $2 million in gifts to the fund. Please contact Pam Hurd for information about making a gift from your Donor Advised Fund or donate online here.
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Boston Foundation Welcomes New Arts Director Allyson Esposito
Allyson Esposito, who directed cultural grant making for the City of Chicago, has joined the Boston Foundation as its Director of Arts and Culture. In that position, she will work to strengthen the cultural sector in the city and state through strategic grant making, partnerships and community engagement.
"I have loved Boston for a very long time," says Esposito, who assumed her new duties in August. "It's probably the place I've spent the most time other than Chicago." Her first order of business, she says, is to connect with as many cultural organizations, grantees and key players as possible in order to understand what the critical needs are. "I'm excited to get to know the community, experience the work, and to understand what the Boston Foundation's relationship to the arts has been and how it can help address these needs and fill existing gaps," she says.
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Boston Developer Builds Human Capital
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| Anthony Pangaro of Millennium Partners |
Millennium Partners has developed many of the tall buildings that dot Boston's skyline. Its portfolio of luxury residences includes the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences and One Charles in the Back Bay, and the glassy 60-floor Millennium Tower rising from the site of the old Filene's department store in Downtown Crossing.
While the firm was a pro at developing luxury residential complexes, it felt it needed some expert guidance when it came to philanthropy. "We made charitable contributions on a regular basis, but it was always on the basis of people approaching us," says Anthony Pangaro, Principal of Millennium Partners-Boston. The firm's donations typically took the form of physical improvements to the neighborhoods surrounding their properties, but three years ago, with Millennium Tower on the drawing boards, the partners began thinking about whether they could build social capital as well. Desiring to be more strategic about the firm's corporate giving, Pangaro approached The Philanthropic Initiative, a philanthropic consultancy and operating unit of the Boston Foundation.
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Book Event Features Author
Some 100 donors and guests gathered at the Boston Foundation on September 9 to hear Philip Warburg, an author, lawyer and former president of the Conservation Law Foundation, talk about his new book about solar energy.
Harness the Sun: America's Quest for a Solar-Powered Future traces solar energy's remarkable ascent and introduces readers to the remarkable pioneers who are transforming the way we power the American economy. Larry Tye, author and journalist, also spoke. Ronnie and Robert Petersen were acknowledged for their $1 million Centennial Circle to the Permanent Fund for Boston to endow the Petersen Fund for the Environment.
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What Kind of Giver Are You?
Do you want to focus your philanthropy? Be more effective and strategic in your giving? Then spend a few minutes online at givingadventures.org, a new interactive tool developed by The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), the Boston Foundation and two other community foundations.
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It's Time to Plan:
Boomers Will Inherit $8.4 Trillion
If you are a baby boomer, have you thought about making legacy gifts to charity? It's time. Your generation collectively stands to inherit about $8.4 trillion, according to a MetLife study.
"Boomers contribute 43 percent of all donations to charity, so it makes sense that they will want to plan for legacy gifts as well," says Donna Driscoll, the Boston Foundation's Director of Estate and Gift Planning. "Donor Advised Funds, trusts and bequests are among the planned giving options available."
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