Boston Foundation COVID-19 Response Fund announces 22 new grants, totaling $550,000

Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced a new round of 22 grants from the COVID-19 Response Fund, including four grants made in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation in support of nonprofits led by or serving Latinx communities in the region.

The 22 grants, the largest slate since the launch of the Fund last month, brings to 91 the number of $25,000 general operating support grants from the Fund, totaling nearly $2.3 million.

The pace of donations continues to match the pace of grant making, with contributions to the COVID-19 Response Fund now exceeding $6.8 million since the Fund launched on March 13^th.

“As the COVID-19 crisis continues throughout our region, it is starkly clear that its short- and longer-term impacts are being felt particularly acutely in Greater Boston’s Black and Latino communities,” said Paul S. Grogan, President, and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “These first grants in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund mark another stage in our deep commitment to supporting the nonprofits that are serving  those who are struggling most.”

The full list of grantees released today includes: 2Life Communities, Black Economic Justice Institute, Inc., Boston Asian Youth Essential Service, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, Children’s Services of Roxbury, Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc., De Novo Center for Justice and Healing, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center Corporation*, Elizabeth Stone House, Families for Justice as Healing, Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, Justice Resource Institute, Inc., The Latino Health Insurance Program, Inc.*, Mujeres Unidas Avanzando, The Neighborhood Developers*, New Beginnings Reentry Services, Inc., Plummer Youth Promise, Prisoners’ Legal Services, Quincy Asian Resources, The Right to Immigration Institute*, and Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID). (Grantees listed with an * are receiving support in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund.)

The focus of the Fund continues to be on organizations led by and serving communities of color, immigrants, and other groups that data demonstrate are most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic’s assault on our health and well-being. For more information on the Fund, and to see a list of grantees to date, visit https://tbf.org/Covid19Fund

Update on Donations

The COVID-19 Response Fund continues to grow. With the support of hundreds of donors, it has reached more than $6.8 million in donations.

This week, the Fund welcomed four new major donors, Pluralsight One Fund, Turner Construction Company, Breckinridge Capital Advisors, and AspenTech, joining a list of more than 50 companies and foundations providing support. In addition, the Fund has received more than $2.3 million in support from donor-advised fundholders at the Boston Foundation and other DAF sponsors, and nearly 400 individuals, families and organizations donating by check and credit card.

Round 5 Grantees List:

Each grantee receives a $25,000, one-time general operating support grant from the COVID-19 Response Fund. Note: A link to a running list of all grantees from the COVID-19 Response Fund can be found at tbf.org/covid19fund.

2Life Communities (Brighton): to protect the health and safety of some 1,600 low-income seniors living in service-enriched independent housing on campuses in Brighton, Newton, and Framingham, ensuring immediate and direct access to food, medicine, supplies, health care, and home health assistance.

Black Economic Justice Institute, Inc. (Dorchester): to deliver emergency supplies of food, products, gift cards (grocery and pharmacy,) and face masks as well as information about how to use them properly to the community’s most vulnerable people: seniors, the newly unemployed, and immigrants.

Boston Asian Youth Essential Service (Boston): to connect youths and their families, including elderly family members, to resources and immediate financial support to ease the overwhelming financial burden triggered by the COVID-19 crisis.

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) (Chinatown): to support Asian immigrant children, youth, and adults in Boston and Quincy, through Telehealth meetings, case management, referrals, and gift cards to help alleviate financial stress.

Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk County (Boston): to support children and families impacted by violence/abuse, using tele-mental health, a COVID-19 Toolkit, and in-person emergency services as well as developing a #CommunitySafetyNet tool to empower community members to recognize and report signs of abuse.

Children's Services of Roxbury (Roxbury): to support homeless and low-income families with tele-mental health and support services to parents and children, navigation assistance for COVID-19 related healthcare systems, basic needs delivery, and housing support.

Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc. (Somerville): to support low-income families in Somerville and Cambridge, including undocumented immigrants, by providing financial assistance for rent and other emergency needs.

De Novo Center for Justice and Healing (Cambridge): to provide financial assistance to clients, nearly all of whom are undocumented workers affected by layoffs and closures.

Elizabeth Stone House: to provide support to clients who are survivors of domestic violence, through help with basic needs, counseling, and shelter.]

Families for Justice as Healing (Roxbury): to support incarcerated and returning women and girls through advocacy, food and mutual aid for impacted families, and financial assistance for people released from jail or prison.

Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, Inc. (Dorchester): to support low-income families with gift cards for grocery stores, diapers and baby wipes, as well as remote parent support networks.

Justice Resource Institute, Inc. (Needham): to provide thousands of low-income individuals with supplies including food, diapers/adult briefs, toilet paper, wipes, hand sanitizer, disinfectants, cleaning supplies, masks, PPE, gloves, thermometers, and other basic needs.

Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA) (Dorchester): to support 200 low-income Latina women and their families (MUA's current enrollment) with financial support and gift cards.

New Beginnings Reentry Services, Inc. (Boston): to provide critical housing, case management, counseling, and online educational opportunities for formerly-incarcerated women before and after their early release due to the coronavirus.

Plummer Youth Promise (Salem): to support youth in foster care and those who have aged out of care with basic needs, including grocery gift cards, cleaning products, and social work services.

Prisoners' Legal Services (Boston): to support advocacy and resources for incarcerated individuals at high risk for infection because of crowded, unsanitary conditions, as well as those who are sick or elderly.

Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. (Quincy): to support new immigrants to Quincy via weekly wellness calls to clients and elders, translation services, food gift cards, and in some cases personal protective equipment for those who need to go a food bank or food market, bank, or health appointment.

Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (VietAID) (Dorchester): to support the Vietnamese community, including older adults (most of whom are limited English speakers) and families, including assistance in navigating systems such as unemployment, wellness calls to older adults, stipends to young people, and home delivery of groceries.

The following grants were made in partnership with the Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation:

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center Corporation (East Boston): to provide support for a COVID-19 testing site, increased COVID-19 prevention education (multilingual), expanded food access/food support services, and increased psychosocial support for families, seniors, undocumented individuals.

The Latino Health Insurance Program, Inc. (LHIP) (Framingham): to provide COVID-19 emergency services to Latinx communities in MetroWest and Boston via TeleHealth and phone service in their preferred language: Spanish, Portuguese, or English.

The Neighborhood Developers, Inc. (Chelsea): to support some 6,000 low-income people in Chelsea, Revere and abutting cities with a hotline to help constituents apply for unemployment benefits, cash payments to vulnerable households for rent and food delivery.

The Right to Immigration Institute (Waltham): to provide immigrants and refugees with legal representation on housing, employment, and safety matters, especially domestic violence and hate crimes.