Boston Foundation announces quarterly grants with a major investment in college completion for graduates of Boston’s schools

BOSTON – The Boston Foundation announced its quarterly grants today following a meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board approved $5.2 million in grants from the Foundation’sPermanent Fund for Boston, which supports its grantmaking in the Greater Boston area, and some $15 million from other funds held by the Foundation.

More than $1.5 million in grants went to nonprofit organizations participating in the public/private Success Boston initiative, which is focused on helping graduates of the Boston Public Schools succeed in college. That included a two-year grant of $450,000 to ACCESS to work with Boston’s graduates and college students to improve their chances of attaining a higher education degree. Bottom Line, Inc. and Hyde Square Task Force each received grants of $300,000 to support Boston’s students and graduates over the next two years.

Success Boston was launched in 2008 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Public Schools, the Boston Foundation, the Boston Private Industry Council and many of Boston’s higher education institutions. Its goal is to dramatically increase the number of Boston Public Schools graduates completing college by taking a comprehensive approach to helping students prepare for college, navigate the difficult transition from high school to college—and go on to earn a higher education degree.

In another grant in the area of higher education, $200,000 was awarded for the fifth and final year of the Massachusetts Achieving the Dream initiative, which is designed to strengthen community colleges in the state.

Other education grants in the K-12 area included $50,000 to Teach for America to help bring a corps of promising future leaders to Boston to teach in the city’s classrooms over the next year and a one-year grant of $50,000 to Steppingstone Foundation to launch its own College Success Academy.

Strengthening diverse audiences, artists and cultural organizations

A number of grants went to strengthening the community’s arts and cultural landscape. The Boston Children’s Chorus, which harnesses the power of music to bring diverse communities together, received a three-year grant of $300,000 for general operating support. Another three-year grant of $300,000 went to EdVestors, Inc., which is working closely with the Boston Foundation and the Boston Public Schools to expand regular arts instruction for all of the city’s students. And a one-year grant of $40,000 went to Commonwealth Shakespeare Company for its summer and year-round programming, including the Shakespeare on the Common production.

Career advancement and economic security

Organizations dedicated to the economic security of low-income individuals in Boston also received a major boost. A three-year grant of $225,000 went to Community Work Services, which provides job training, placement and support services designed to lead to greater economic self-sufficiency.

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition was awarded a two-year grant of $175,000 to support a think tank dedicated to opening employment opportunities to immigrants. And the Perkins School for the Blind received a three-year grant of $240,000 for the creation of a new “Cooperative Employment Program” for vision-impaired young adults.

Increasing Greater Boston’s competitiveness

As part of the Foundation’s goal to create vibrant urban neighborhoods, a two-year grant of $125,000 went to theInitiative for a Competitive Inner City, Inc., for its work dedicated to increasing opportunity and prosperity for Boston’s residents. And a two-year grant of $150,000 went to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation for the Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium.

Other grants of note included a three-year grant of $250,000 to Social Finance, Inc. to create instruments that link social investors with opportunities that hold the promise of positive social outcomes, and a two-year grant of $175,000 to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay to develop a broad agenda for the further development of Boston Harbor and its many assets.

In addition a grant of $100,000 went to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the Mass in Motion Municipal Wellness & Leadership Grants program.

Grants made in the June docket

A summary of all the grants approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors today by strategy follows.

Strategy: Accelerate structural reform and promote innovation in public schools in Boston.

    Teach for America, Inc., $50,000. A one-year general operating support grant to support Teach for America’s overall growth plans and its targeted expansion within autonomous schools in Boston.

    National Council on Teacher Quality, $25,000. A one-year grant to support the Council’s study of schools in the United States, which will evaluate the fundamentals of teacher preparation programs.

Strategy: Increase the college graduation rate for low-income, minority, and first-generation college students from public schools in Boston.

    Boston Foundation/Achieving the Dream, $213,500. For the 5th year of Achieving the Dream in Massachusetts, a national community college reform initiative, to support initiative implementation including campus-based interventions and policy efforts to promote greater student success.

    Steppingstone Foundation, Inc., $50,000. A one-year grant for general support to implement their strategic plan, launch the College Success Academy and develop their National Partnership for Educational Access in the Boston chapter.

    Success Boston Grants

    ACCESS, $450,000. A two-year grant for support of Success Boston, through financial aid advising and FAFSA support, coordination of Success Boston coaches, and management of the student tracking database, and continued expansion of the High School Advising curriculum.

    Boston Private Industry Council, Inc., $150,000. A one-year grant for continued transition support for Success Boston.

   Bottom Line, Inc., $300,000. A two-year grant for implementation of Bottom Line’s 3-5 year strategic plan.

    The Education Resources Institute, $145,000. A one-year grant for participation and expansion of Success Boston support.

   Freedom House, Inc., $100,000. A one-year grant for implementation of Freedom House’s strategic plan, capacity building, and expansion of PUSH, a college transition support program.

   Hyde Square Task Force, Inc., $300,000. A two-year grant for general operating support and support for its Success Boston program.

    Northeastern University, $150,000. A two-year grant to the Center for Labor Market Studies’ Boston Public Schools Graduates Longitudinal Tracking Study, a series of reports on the postsecondary enrollment, persistence and completion behaviors of Boston Public School alumni in support of the Success Boston initiative.

Strategy: Promote the career advancement and economic security of low-income individuals.

    Community Work Services, $225,000. A three-year grant to this agency that provides job training, placement and support services that lead to greater economic self-sufficiency.

   Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, $175,000. A two-year grant for the New American Integration Institute: A Think Tank with Grassroots Impact.

    Perkins School for the Blind, $240,000. A three-year grant for the creation of a new Cooperative Employment Program for 19-22-year-old vision impaired young adults.

   X-Cel, Inc., $40,000. A one-year grant for the College Prep Program, a college transition program that takes X-Cel’s GED graduates as well as GED graduates from other organizations and prepares them academically and personally for success in post-secondary education.

Strategy: Increase Greater Boston’s competitiveness, prosperity and efficiency, and create vibrant urban neighborhoods with opportunities for all residents.

    Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Inc., $125,000. A two-year grant for general support of the Initiative’s local work in Boston.

   Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, $150,000. A two-year grant for the Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium.

    University of Massachusetts-Boston, $25,000. For support of the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management’s C2B Initiative, which will seek to help Massachusetts cities to preserve and grow their business base by improving the way city governments interact with their small and mid-sized businesses.

Strategy: Encourage healthy behaviors among Boston residents and increase access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.

    Health Resources in Action, $100,000. A two-year grant for the hiring of an Advocacy Director to expand the effectiveness and membership of the Healthy People/Healthy Economy coalition and the the "data by district" legislative project.

    Massachusetts Department of Public Health, $100,000. For the Mass in Motion Municipal Wellness & Leadership Grants Program.

Strategy: Increase neighborhood stability and the production and preservation of affordable housing for vulnerable populations.

   Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, Inc., $20,000. A one-year grant for launch of Boston’s ReStore, a donated and recycled building materials and furniture store.

   Harborlight Community Partners, $50,000. A one-year grant to provide general support to this organization which provides housing and other services to low-income seniors in North Shore communities.

   Somerville Community Corporation, $225,000. A three-year grant to provide general operating support for this organization which serves Somerville neighborhoods affected by the MBTA Green Line extension.

Strategy: Reduce the incidence of violence in Boston neighborhoods, especially among youth.

   Martha Eliot Health Center, $60,000. A one-year grant in support of the Martha Eliot Health Center’s Jamaica Plain Violence Intervention and Prevention Collaborative.

Strategy: Strengthen and celebrate the region’s diverse audiences, artists and nonprofit cultural organizations.

    Boston Children’s Chorus, Inc., $300,000. A three-year grant to provide operating support for the Chorus.

   Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Inc., $40,000. A one-year grant for its 2011 summer activities, including the Shakespeare on the Common production, and expansion of year-round programming.

    Discover Roxbury, $25,000. A one-year grant for ArtROX!, a year-long series of arts programming that will engage residents and visitors, and support the growth and development of Roxbury’s community of artists.

   EdVestors, Inc., $300,000. A three-year grant for the Boston Public Schools Arts Expansion Fund, which is aimed at increasing regular arts instruction for all students in Boston Public Schools.

    From the Top, $25,000. A one-year grant to support the piloting of the Center for Developing Arts Leaders which will seek to develop the young leaders in the area of classical music in Boston.

    Handel & Haydn Society, $50,000. A one-year grant to support the agency’s capacity to build new community partners with diverse organizations and diversify its income streams and communications models.

    YMCA of Greater Boston, $50,000. A one-year grant for the Boston Foundation’s proactive Neighborhood Arts and Cultural Initiative pilot in Roxbury and Chinatown.

Special Opportunity Grants

    Boston Foundation, $125,000. For support of My Summer in the City 2011, a funding initiative that supports extended summer hours and youth programming in the City of Boston.

   CEOs for Cities, $20,000. A one-year grant for its efforts to engage Boston stakeholders in its work.

   Charles River Conservancy, Inc., $15,000. A one-year grant for support of the Swimmable Charles Initiative, to develop a public swimming area on the Charles River.

    Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, Inc., $75,000. A one-year grant for general support of this grassroots community organization serving primarily residents of the Villa Victoria housing community.

   La Alianza Hispana, Inc., $225,000. A three-year grant for general support of La Alianza Hispana with a focus on elder services.

   New England Blacks in Philanthropy, $25,000. A one-year grant to complete the development of the organization’s strategic plan and to begin implementing the recommendations of the strategic plan.

    Project R.I.G.H.T., Inc., $40,000. A one-year grant to provide general operating support.

    Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Inc., $175,000. A two-year grant for implementation of this organization’s strategic business plan.

    Social Finance, Inc., $250,000. A three-year grant to provide general support to Social Finance.

   South End/Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust, $25,000. A one-year grant for support of the Berkeley Garden Planting Project to attract birds.

   Union of Minority Neighborhoods, $30,000. A one-year grant for the Boston Busing/Desegregation Truth Project.

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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, with assets of $796 million. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Foundation and its donors made more than $82 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of close to $83 million. The Foundation is made up of some 900 separate charitable funds established by donors either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes. The Boston Foundation also serves as a major civic leader, provider of information, convener, and sponsor of special initiatives designed to address the community’s and region’s most pressing challenges. For more information about the Boston Foundation, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.