Boston Foundation Food and Fuel Fund lends helping hand in the heart of winter
February 10, 2016
BOSTON – With the Greater Boston region having already experienced two snow storms and a rash of sub-freezing temperatures this winter season, the Boston Foundation has issued $125,000 in grants from its 2015-2016 Food and Fuel Fund.
“Historically, we and our non-profit partners have supported strong efforts to feed, warm, and house those most in need in our city and region,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Foundation. “However, those needs become magnified in the winter season when the weather is harshest and living conditions most dire for those in need. So we are honored to house the Food and Fuel Fund and through it help our nonprofit partners provide crucial aid to families in this most crucial time of year.”
The need and usage breakdown of this first round of 2015-2016 Food and Fuel grants is as follows:
- Fuel: Decreasing LIHEAP benefits and an increase in families seeking money for fuel assistance are causing increasing levels of need for fuel assistance programs. The majority of funding was allocated to this area due to this rising need and decreasing support. Organizations selected offer a combination of direct fuel and energy assistance, weatherization services, and advocacy, and serve the geographic areas of Greater Boston and Lynn. Grantees included the National Consumer Law Center, $20,000; Action for Boston Community Development, $20,000; Citizens Energy, $15,000; Lynn Economic Opportunity, Inc., $15,000; and the Salvation Army’s Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund, $15,000.
- Housing: This round supported the winter shelter needs of homeless youth, an incredibly underserved population due to the inadequacy of adult shelters for youth safety and service needs, via a $15,000 grant to Bridge Over Troubled Waters for its warming center.
- Food: Grantees in this category fill service gaps for women and the HIV/AIDS community by providing meals and nutrition services, as well as engaging participants in long-term supports. Grantees were the Women’s Lunch Place, $15,000, and the Boston Living Center, $10,000.
The Food and Fuel Fund was created in 2008, following the downturn in the economy and news reports of dramatic increases in the price of food and fuel for Massachusetts residents at a time of shrinking resources. The fund, which has issued nearly $3 million in grants to a range of organizations, supports nonprofits working to meet basic needs in food, fuel, and housing over the winter months. Many of these organizations experience increased demand for services as costs rise and families’ needs become more immediate. Grantees include a combination of high-performing organizations that provide emergency services for these immediate needs as well as advocacy efforts for long-term impact. The fund supports populations that are particularly vulnerable during the winter months, including the elderly and those with physical disabilities.
For more information, please visit the Food and Fuel Fund page. To contribute to the fund, please click here.
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The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, is one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with net assets of some $1 billion. In 2015, the Foundation and its donors made more than $110 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of approximately $120 million. In celebration of its centennial in 2015, the Boston Foundation launched the Campaign for Boston to strengthen the Permanent Fund for Boston, Greater Boston’s only endowment fund supporting organizations focused on the most pressing needs of Greater Boston. The Foundation is proud to be a partner in philanthropy, with nearly 1,000 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 that address the region’s most serious challenges. The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), an operating unit of the Foundation, designs and implements customized philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. For more information about the Boston Foundation and TPI, visit www.tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.