The Link
April 2024
At The Philanthropy Connection, our commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and families in the greater Boston area remains unwavering. As we embark on another year of grant-making, we are thrilled to share the incredible journey we’ve undertaken toward selecting this year’s deserving recipients.
Our unique grant-giving approach empowers each and every TPC member with a voice and a vote throughout the process. It’s a testament to the collective power of our community, where every perspective is valued, and every contribution counts. This year nearly 100 TPC members dedicated their time and expertise to review over 100 applications, conduct site visits, and discuss each organization in depth until our final 20 organizations were selected.
It’s important to remember that these grants are made possible through the generous contributions of TPC’s members. The more members and member investments we have, the more grants we can provide, and the more nonprofits we can support. Members can also make additional investments in TPC throughout the year, further enhancing our ability to make a difference in the community.
As all current TPC members prepare to review the 20 finalists and vote for the final 10 grant recipients, we invite EVERYONE to join us in celebrating the spirit of philanthropy at our Grants Awards Celebration on May 22. It’s a momentous occasion where we come together to honor the incredible work of our grantees and reaffirm our commitment to driving positive change in our community. RSVP to join an evening of inspiration, gratitude, and celebration as we announce this year’s grant recipients and embark on a new chapter of impact together.
Thank you for being an integral part of The Philanthropy Connection and for your unwavering dedication to creating a brighter future for all.
Events
TPC’s Grantees in Today’s Immigration Landscape
Members and guests, please join TPC on Tuesday, April 30 for a Grantee Dialogue on Today’s Immigration Landscape. During this virtual conversation, we will hear from two of TPC’s current grantees, Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice and Project Citizenship, about their work with immigrants and how it is impacted and influenced by current issues and conditions.
Date: Tuesday, April 30
Time: 6:30PM – 7:30PM (Note: The time was incorrect on our first invitation email.)
Location: Virtual – Zoom
TPC’s 2024 Grant Awards Celebration
Join us for TPC’s biggest event of the year on May 22 at The Row Hotel in Somerville, our 2024 TPC Grant Awards Celebration.
Together we will learn the results of members’ votes and connect with each of the 10 organizations that will be receiving a $25,000 grant.
This isn’t just a chance to celebrate our grantees; it’s an opportunity to reconnect with fellow members and forge new connections while enjoying light bites and drinks.
We’re asking all members to invite their friends and colleagues who share our passion for creating positive change in Greater Boston. If we each bring one guest, TPC can double its impact! Every member who brings someone will have a chance to win a door prize.
Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Time: 6:00PM – 9:00PM
Location: The Row Hotel at Assembly Row, 360 Foley Street in Somerville (T-accessible and free parking)
Volunteer with Dignity Matters on May 16!
After the weather canceled our March volunteer day, we are organizing a TPC Volunteer Day at Dignity Matters in Framingham on Thursday, May 16 2024, at 10AM. Dignity Matters’ mission is to assist homeless women and girls by providing underwear and menstrual products when they need them most.
Who? Dignity Matters – we are looking for 12 TPC volunteers
What: Help Dignity Matters prepare for distribution by packaging bras as well as loose menstrual products.
When: Thursday, May 16, 10am
Where: 861 Edgell Road, Framingham, Suite 204 (On the second floor of a non-elevator building so volunteers must be able to handle stairs.)
How do I sign up? Sign up on Dignity Matters’ volunteer site.
Questions? Email Diane Roseman (diane.roseman@gmail.com) or Rosemary Driscoll (rosemary@driscollresearch.com)
Support Young Man with a Plan’s Health & Wellness Endeavor
Young Man with a Plan (YMWAP) is dedicated to supporting young Black and Latino men in Boston through holistic mentoring programs. They’re embarking on a Wellness Project, including expanding their space with a fitness area, shower, and kitchen.
To ensure the success of this project, they need assistance in equipping these new areas with basic supplies. You can help by checking out their Amazon lists:
Check out TPC’s impact on School on Wheels Massachusetts
One of the joys of membership in TPC is the opportunity to experience the day-to-day work and impact of our Grantees. On March 18, a group of TPC Members helped stuff 50 backpacks with School on Wheels Massachusetts. These backpacks will be distributed to students impacted by homelessness and poverty. Last year, School on Wheels Massachusetts (SOWMA) distributed over 10,000 backpacks, which is just one of the ways SOWMA works to end the cycle of homelessness through education.
Their mission is to support the academic, social and emotional growth of students impacted by homelessness and poverty. In addition to the backpack program, they train volunteers to serve as personal tutors for students living in family shelters, transitional housing, or who are unaccompanied minors. Volunteer mentors help high school and college-age students prepare for post-secondary education and careers.
Looking for another way to support SOWMA?
Another way you can support School on Wheels is by participating in their annual fundraiser, the Run, Walk & Wag Road Race on Saturday, May 4th at Borderland State Park in Easton. To get an idea of what the event looks like, check out their website: Run, Walk & Wag Road Race
Last Grantee Spotlight for the Grantee Class of 2023-2024
As we conclude our year-long spotlight on last year’s class of grantees, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to each organization for their impactful work. If you believe in sustaining this momentum, please renew your membership, make an additional contribution, or encourage your network to invest in their community as a new TPC member.
Girls’ Leap
Girls’ LEAP began as a community response to a wave of assaults against women and girls in Cambridge in the 1990s. Recognizing the lack of resources available to protect young girls in their community, Deborah Weaver and Peggy Barrett co-founded Girls’ LEAP.
Girls’ LEAP partners with local schools and community centers to deliver empowerment and self-defense training to girls aged 8-18 in Greater Boston.
They believe all girls and gender-expansive youth deserve to grow up safe and free from violence – and that empowerment is violence prevention.
RIA, Inc.
In 2012 a small group of women attended a meeting to learn more about the buying and selling of people for sex and wondered how they might organize to help. This group conducted a community readiness assessment which identified the dramatic needs and gaps in services across the regions of MetroWest and Central Massachusetts. One year later, RIA House, Inc. -ready • inspire • act – was born. Today, RIA, Inc. is a women-led and survivor-informed organization that provides life-saving services including peer advocacy and mentorship, clinical care and case management, support groups, and financial assistance via the She-Fund. RIA, Inc. was also the first ever TPC Catalyst Award recipient, a second-year grant that was determined by past TPC nonprofit grantees.
How Advocacy Makes an Impact
Advocacy includes more than you may think. Nonprofit organizations can play a critical role in shaping public opinion and advancing public policies. These organizations offer the perspective of truly understanding the needs of their constituencies who often have limited – or even no – voice in the decision-making process. Our legislators and those in regulatory agencies may even look to them for guidance.
A number of TPC’s grantees are already doing advocacy-related work. Examples from two of our grantees which will be showcased in our April 30 Philanthropy Dialogue illustrate this. Project Citizenship offers free, high-quality legal services to permanent residents helping them become US citizens; Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice provides pro bono emergency asylum filings, housing, and job training to women and children fleeing violence and torture and who may have been detained or separated from family. Both of these extraordinary organizations advocate for policies that support immigrant populations. They educate their communities about public policy through their newsletters, letters to the editor, and by partnering with law firms, community organizations, the Department of Justice, immigration services, the Mayor’s and Governor’s offices, and more.
Their impact can be huge even when the effort may seem simple. They may recommend that the state adjust the immigration form requirements, allowing for less specific documentation, because some of it may not be available, or providing more space on the form to make it easier to fill out. This recommendation can result in many more immigrants having the ability to become citizens. Other advocacy efforts address more obvious issues facing immigrant populations – increasing emergency and permanent housing as well as job training options.
What can TPC members do? As members of TPC, we can learn more, advocate for changes, and inform friends, family, and our state and federal officials about the needs and obstacles people seeking citizenship and asylum confront in attempting to build their lives. By asking your elected officials their positions on these matters, you can alert them that you, their constituent, are concerned and aware. You can also write letters to the editors and share your position on social media, highlighting your commitment to immigration justice. There are many options for learning more and advocating to make a difference.
Have you signed up for our Dialogue event on April 30? Register to learn more from these organizations.
DEI Spotlight: Earth Day
As April 22nd is Earth Day, this month we are focusing on Massachusetts-based work to address climate change and environmental justice issues. We will also highlight current TPC Grantee organizations working on related issues.
Learn:
- Communities of color, low-income residents, and communities with a high percentage of non-English speakers are disproportionately impacted by harmful environmental and climate change factors, including air pollution, heat and health impacts, and housing conditions.
- On the first day of Governor Healey’s administration, she established the role of Climate Chief and created the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience. Melissa Hoffer was named as the first-ever Climate Chief and is working on statewide, whole-of-government initiatives to address climate change.
- Follow the progress Massachusetts has made and the significant work to be done to meet the state’s 2030 climate goals in the Massachusetts Climate Report Card.
Give and Take Action:
- Current TPC grantee, Boston Food Forest Coalition, has a variety of ways to get involved. BFFC is a coalition of neighbors who build, protect, and tend food forest parks in Boston. Their four-part approach involves food forest development, stewardship teams, community land trust, and education.
- Celebrate Earth Week by Volunteering at a Massachusetts State Park: DCR Park Serve Day
In Abundance: An Analysis of the Thriving Landscape of Collective Giving in the U.S.
Did you know that the number and impact of collective giving groups in the United States has boomed in the last five years, and they are only expected to continue growing? The Johnson Center, Colmena-Consulting, and Philanthropy Together recently published a report detailing how the collective giving movement is transforming philanthropy, engaging everyday givers in high-impact giving. Leslie Levenson and Kelsea Médard, who served as TPC’s Co-Presidents last year, participated in the study alongside our national affiliate, Philanos.
As they found, “Participants are contributing not only their treasure, but also their time, talent, testimony, and ties (summed up as the “5Ts of philanthropy”) to the groups they belong to, to the nonprofits and causes those groups support, and, ultimately, to their larger communities.” Some of their most interesting findings included:
- Being a part of such groups, overwhelmingly led by women, increased members’ civic action.
- As a result of joining, more and more women now consider themselves ‘philanthropists’.
- Equity is a major factor in giving: 60%+ of groups factor systemic equity into their decision-making process and 80% of members stated it drove their participation.
- The groups increasingly provide general operating support, a key pillar in trust-based philanthropy.
- 91% of participants reported they feel more connected to their community after joining their group.
This is just a glimpse – researchers found a wealth of positive impacts from collective giving. Be sure to check out the report and learn more.