Introducing Our New Pathway
This spring, President and CEO M. Lee Pelton announced a new chapter in the Boston Foundation's work. Our New Pathway places a critical focus on repairing past harms and building new systems, all with a focus on creating a more equitable Boston. Learn more about the new core strategies and underlying commitments that will guide our work with donors, nonprofits, and community.
A Conversation with Mayor Michelle Wu
On April 27th, the Boston Foundation hosted a thought-provoking conversation on civic leadership with someone who understands the term first-hand - Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. The mayor talked with Lee Pelton about her first months as mayor, and the critical elements of being an effective leader.
English for New Bostonians Turns 20
A longtime TBF partner, English for New Bostonians is celebrating two decades of addresseing the urgent needs of Greater Boston immigrants, offering ESOL classes to unlock opportunities and empower Boston's growing immigrant population.
Repairing a Disturbed Urban Nature Site
In an often overlooked corner of Cambridge, a Boston Foundation donor is building partnerships and connecting with local leaders to turn an old clay pond, known as Jerry's Pond, into a 26-acre oasis just a stone's throw from the MBTA Alewife station.
Recent Events hosted by the Boston Foundation
Register to attend our events and webinars at tbf.org/events.
BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE: HOW GOVERNANCE CAN ADVANCE EQUITY: A Three-Part Series
March 30, April 22, May 18, 2022
In November 2021, nearly 80 percent of Bostonians who voted supported a non-binding referendum to return to an elected school committee. With a new mayoral administration in place and a home-rule petition to switch to an elected format pending, the Boston Foundation launched a series of convenings to encourage robust conversation and learn about school governance in Boston.
¡AVANCEMOS YA! ADVANCING LATINO PROSPERITY IN MASSACHUSETTS
May 12, 2022
The Latino Equity Fund hosted a forum to release and discuss a report from Boston Indicators and the Gastón Institute called ¡Avancemos ya! Persistent Economic Challenges and Opportunities Facing Latinos in Massachusetts. Following a presentation of research findings, WBUR’s Cristela Guerra facilitated a panel of experts who explored strategies to expand the tremendous assets Latino communities bring to the Commonwealth.
EARLY CHILDHOOD COFFEE & CONVERSATION SERIES WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS
April 1 and May 6, 2022
In the fifth and sixth gatherings of this monthly series, discussion focused on challenges and innovations in the early childhood workforce. The first explored how to use research and data in co-imagining new kinds of systems, development, support and compensation. The second focused on the role of cities in solving the early childhood education and care crisis with representatives from Cambridge and Somerville highlighting their cities’ roles, as well as Director Kristin McSwain sharing goals of the City of Boston’s new Office of Early Childhood.
SUCCESS BOSTON: A SHARED COMMITMENT TO A NEW EQUITY FRAMEWORK
May 2, 2022
More than 100 people, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, attended a special event at the Boston Public Schools headquarters in Nubian Square to launch Success Boston’s new equity framework and to celebrate the commitment of 15 local higher education institutions to the postsecondary success of all Boston students, particularly those from historically and currently underserved groups. The plan includes a goal of a 70 percent college completion rate for all student demographics among Boston Public Schools graduates.
BOSTON FOUNDATION DIALOGUES ON REPARATIONS, PART 2: EXPLORING REPARATION MODELS AROUND THE COUNTRY
April 12, 2022
In the second installment of our series on reparations, we more closely explored the diverse ways reparations models are being rolled out in communities around the country at both the municipal and state level, and what lessons Boston and Massachusetts might take from other models.
WE RISE TOGETHER: TOWN HALL ON ASIAN RESILIENCE, POWER AND SOLIDARITY
March 24, 2022
The Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation hosted an event to honor the resilience, strength and power of Asian American communities. A series of speakers, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and national leaders Ai-Jen Poo and John Yang, reflected on the progress made in fighting anti-Asian racism to date, celebrated the leadership and contributions of local AAPI leaders, highlighted the importance of multiethnic and multiracial coalition building, and discussed strategies to continue advancing equity and solidarity throughout our region.
A Day to Embrace
On Wednesday, April 27th, I had a fascinating discussion with Mayor Michelle Wu about new leadership in Boston, excerpts of which are in this issue.
That same afternoon, on what would have been Coretta Scott King’s 95th birthday, Mayor Wu and I joined hundreds of people for an extraordinary King Boston event. The Boston community came together on the Boston Common to celebrate perseverance, power and hope. In breaking ground on The Embrace memorial that afternoon, we marked a moment of progress with a chance to reflect on the history, opportunity and possibility in our city. In an age of turbulence and change, such a day helps us all see how our actions and our words can combine to bring something remarkable to Boston and the world.
The Power of Partnership: Success Boston
On May 2, Mayor Michelle Wu was among those on hand at the Bruce C. Bolling Building as Success Boston, Boston’s citywide college completion initiative, recommitted to the goal of a 70 percent college completion rate for Boston Public Schools graduates.
Success Boston is a unique partnership of the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, the BPS and 15 colleges, all committed to the new completion rate. The announcement reaffirmed the original goals of the initiative, with an added dimension—the 70 percent benchmark applies to all student groups, including those historically marginalized, not just the overall class. To date, Success Boston has had extraordinary success raising the college completion rate for BPS graduates from 35 percent for the BPS Class of 2000 to 54 percent for the BPS Class of 2012, nearly doubling the raw number of BPS students completing postsecondary work.
This is a regular column that highlights some ways our many partners are promoting equity in all areas of community life.
An historic groundbreaking
King Boston welcomed hundreds of community members and partners to break ground on a new historical monument dedicated to the racial justice legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King on April 27th. The 22-foot-high monument, The Embrace, was designed by Hank Willis Thomas and Mass Design Group and will be set on Boston Common, America’s first public park, linking the Common’s vibrant 400-year history as a gathering space to a new Boston rooted in equity, healing, and well-being.
Attendees included Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Massachusetts State Senator Sonia Chang Diaz, King Boston co-chair Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown, King Boston co-founder Paul English, Senior Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and King Boston co-founder Rev. Liz Walker, Former Massachusetts State Representative Marie St. Fleur, King Boston Executive Director Imari Paris Jeffries, Boston Foundation President and CEO Lee Pelton, and philanthropists Demond and Kia Martin, along with a number of guests and other members of the community.