Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) wins $50,000 Out of the Blue grant from the Boston Foundation

Watch a video to see what happened when Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul Grogan called Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) to let them know they were receiving the Out of the Blue grant.

Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced that Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) was selected by a Foundation staff vote as the winner of the 2017 Out of the Blue grant, an unsolicited $50,000 grant recognizing a deserving nonprofit. Members of the Boston Foundation staff nominate and then vote on recipients for the annual Out of the Blue grants. Based in Washington, DC but with a sizable field office in Boston, KIND provides legal protection to children who enter the U.S. immigration system, providing them with legal resources and representation, either through KIND staff or in partnership with law offices that provide pro bono services for KIND clients. In Greater Boston, KIND and pro bono partners are representing more than 600 children, helping them navigate the legal process.

“The work that KIND performs ensures that some of the most vulnerable members of our society have the protection they deserve to get due process in the legal system. It is challenging in the best of times, and even more so in the current anti-immigration political climate. It is both a joy and an honor to present KIND with this year’s Out of the Blue grant,” said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation.

“KIND is honored to be awarded this prestigious grant from The Boston Foundation.   Unaccompanied children are five times more likely to gain U.S. protection with an attorney by their side, however without due process, many children may be sent back to the very danger they have fled.  KIND works to ensure no child appears in court without an attorney by their side. The Out of the Blue grant will enable KIND’s Boston team to help even more children in need of vital legal services and gain the protection they deserve,” said KIND President Wendy Young.

Out of the Blue grants were first presented in 2002. Nominations for the grant are made by Foundation staff members, and all nominees must meet the award criteria. Out of the Blue grant recipients must:

• Demonstrate courageous and effective leadership within the organization, and an impactful leadership role in the community;

• Align with the mission and value statements of the Boston Foundation;

• Be located in and serving Greater Boston, or directly impact Greater Boston;

Organizations may only receive an Out of the Blue grant once; repeat winners are not allowed. 

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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 2016, the Foundation and its donors made $100 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and received gifts of more than $107 million. In celebration of its Centennial in 2015, the Boston Foundation launched the ongoing Campaign for Boston to strengthen the Permanent Fund for Boston, the principal endowment fund focused on the most pressing needs of Greater Boston. The Foundation is proud to be a partner in philanthropy, with more than 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, think tank and advocacy organization, commissioning research into the most critical issues of our time and helping to shape public policy designed to advance opportunity for everyone in Greater Boston. The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), a distinct 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 tbf.org or call 617-338-1700.

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, and is the leading national organization that works to ensure that no refugee or immigrant child faces immigration court alone. We do this in partnership with over 477 law firms, corporate legal departments, law schools, and bar associations, which provide pro bono representation to unaccompanied children referred to KIND for assistance in their deportation proceedings. KIND has received more than 14,500 child referrals since we opened our doors in 2009, and trained over 20,000 pro bono attorneys. KIND also helps children who are returning to their home countries through deportation or voluntary departure to do so safely and to reintegrate into their home communities. Through our reintegration pilot project in Guatemala and Honduras, we place children with our local nongovernmental organization partners, which provide vital social services including family reunification, school enrollment, skills training, and counseling. KIND also advocates to change law, policy, and practices to improve the protection of unaccompanied children in the United States, and is working to build a stronger regional protection framework throughout Central America and Mexico. We educate policymakers, the media, and the broader public about the violence that is driving children out of the Northern Triangle and their need for protection.  For more information about KIND, visit www.supportkind.org