The Equality Fund recognized with $1 million grant from Eastern Bank Foundation to expand grantmaking

The Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation announced today that it has been awarded a $1 million grant from Eastern Bank Foundation. The funds, to be distributed over five years, will be used to expand the Equality Fund’s grantmaking reach at a critical time for LGBTQ+-serving and -supporting organizations in Greater Boston.

“This gift from Eastern Bank Foundation gives the Fund an even stronger base of support from which we can work to meet the needs of organizations across the region,” said Scott Knox, Executive Director of the Equality Fund. “Even as our grantmaking and engagement have grown over the past decade, we are also seeing the continued threats to LGBTQ+ people here, and this generous gift will help us continue to meet the increasing need.”

”Every day, we lend our support to promote a better, fairer and more just community where inclusion for everyone is based on the simple idea that all people deserve an opportunity to prosper," said Nancy Huntington Stager, President and CEO of the Eastern Bank Foundation. "We believe those closest to an issue often have the best ideas on new solutions that ensure the Commonwealth thrives, and the Equality Fund’s leadership in serving the LGBTQ+ community will help to ensure critical needs are met.” 

Since its inception in 2012, the Equality Fund has awarded nearly $2.3 million in grants to organizations across Massachusetts. Thanks in part to this transformative investment, the Equality Fund will award $575,000 in grants to support critical services to Greater Boston's diverse LGBTQ+ community. The largest LGBTQ+ philanthropic fund in the state, the Equality Fund, has also sought to inform and advance the conversation about the LGBTQ+ community in Massachusetts, through research, convening, and advocacy work. Eastern Bank Foundation has been a long-time champion for the LGBTQ+ community and was one of the Equality Fund's first supporters.