The Link
June 2024
CELEBRATING OUR NEWEST GRANTEES
Last month, TPC reached our most exciting moment of the year – the unveiling of our 2024-2025 class of grantees! On Wednesday, May 22, over 120 enthusiastic members, guests, and grantees gathered at The Row Hotel in Somerville. Leading up to this evening, more than 100 TPC members engaged in a rigorous selection process, ultimately narrowing the candidates to 20 exceptional finalists. In a true testament to our democratic values, every member—regardless of their membership investment amount—had an equal vote in selecting our final 10 grantees.
Our members utilized collaboration, curiosity, and community-mindedness to choose 10 impactful grantees from an initial pool of 100 applications. These 10 outstanding nonprofits are each receiving a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
These grants were made possible by our generous members. Our grant pool is formed directly from our membership investments. We have been proud to provide 10 grants of $25,000 in recent years, but the more members that join TPC, the more we could grant to community organizations.
Thank you to our members – those who have been a part of TPC since the beginning, those who joined recently, and everyone in between – for doing your part to make this such a rewarding grant cycle. And we extend our gratitude to those who have spread the word and invited their friends and family to learn more about TPC.
Join us in celebrating these 10 grantees by learning more about each of them, below.
Grantee Highlights and Key Needs
We encourage you to visit their websites to learn more about their work, sign up for their newsletter, or find other ways you can help magnify their impact.
Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC) Mission: Working at the intersection of racial justice and climate resilience, BFFC transforms vacant land into public edible parks, known as “food forests,” for permanent protection in their nonprofit land trust.
Key Need: Their vision is to build 30 food forests in Boston by 2030. They can only make it happen by working hand-in-hand with you. Consider a donation to build their coalition, join their work as a volunteer, or help build a food forest.
Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ) Mission: Offering restorative justice as a powerful court alternative through direct service provided by community volunteers.
Key Need: There are several ways you can support the work of C4RJ.
- Volunteer on a C4RJ team as a facilitator or circle-keeper. If you’re interested in volunteering, please complete this online form
- Help C4RJ build a partnership with your community
- Raise awareness and advocate for restorative justice
- Offer financial support
Dignity Matters Mission: Collecting, purchasing, and supplying menstrual products, bras, and underwear to women and girls who are homeless or disadvantaged.
Key Need: Urgent need for menstrual pads for July. Last month, Dignity Matters gave 600,000 free menstrual care items and undergarments to women across Massachusetts and need help to restock pads.
- Send pad via their Amazon Wish List
- Bring pads to a Drop-off Bin near you
- Make a donation to buy pads in bulk. $3 gives women a month of dignity!
Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice Mission: Provide expert pro bono legal services to asylum-seeking families that have been separated, detained in family detention centers, and/ or subjected to expedited removal through the dedicated docket.
Key Need: To raise $4,000 to support the technology needed for this on-site program in shelters. This money will fund laptops for paralegals, white noise machines to maintain confidentiality with our clients, and printing. Donate here!
Mill City Grows Mission: Fostering food justice in Lowell by increasing access to land, locally-grown food, and education.
Key Need: They are cooking up some new volunteer activities tailored for TPC Members–you can learn more about this soon. In the meantime, Mill City Grows has many ongoing volunteer opportunities.
One Can Help Mission: Providing the missing resources that at-risk youth, foster children, and underserved families involved in the juvenile court and/or child welfare systems urgently need.
Key Need: Make a donation and learn more about their incredible work and impact here in their annual report.
Rise Above Foundation Mission: Providing enriching activities and opportunities to Massachusetts children in foster care.
Key Need: Amazon wish list care packages support youth who have obtained their high school diploma or equivalency and are continuing their education or vocational training. Care Packages filled with study snacks, school supplies, hygiene items and gift cards will be shipped to 200 Greater Boston young adults this year.
Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice (SCIJ) Mission: Training college students to represent asylum seekers and advocate for a socially just immigration system.
Key Need: SCIJ needs support from amazing people like all of our TPC members. You can help in these ways:
- Make a donation
- Volunteer or Make a Connection
- Buy SCIJ swag
- Encourage a Brown, UMass Boston, or WSU student to join
Women’s Money Matters Mission: Empowering women to improve their financial health for a more secure future.
Key Need: To help Women’s Money Matters build a world where all women are financially empowered, you can:
Young Man with a Plan (YMWAP) Mission: Helping young men “in the middle” make academic and social-emotional gains and access sustainable futures.
Key Need: This year YMWAP is focused on health and wellness. They have a lot of exciting plans, but are in need of funding to bring them to fruition. Please consider a donation with an extra need for sustained funding as a monthly giver.
Join us in supporting these remarkable organizations by getting involved in ways that matter most. Together, we can amplify their impact and drive meaningful change in our communities.
Events
Raising the Floor Documentary: Viewing & Discussion on Direct Cash Assistance and its Meaning for Philanthropy
Join us for a private film screening of the documentary short, RAISING THE FLOOR. This 30-minute film offers a moving narrative on the majority Latinx community of Chelsea, MA that came together during the COVID-19 pandemic to create innovative solutions to feed, support, and uplift one another. The collective action of the community, including former TPC grantee La Colaborativa, led to bold policy initiatives demonstrating the positive impact of direct cash assistance. At the height of the program, The Chelsea Eats program was the largest guaranteed income program in the country, providing a successful blueprint for other communities.
Following the screening, we will hold a vibrant discussion and Q&A with Lourdes Alvarez, Communication and Community Outreach Manager for the City of Chelsea and Eliza Novick, Director of the Shah Family Foundation. Light refreshments will be provided. We encourage you to invite your friends and colleagues who may be interested.
This will be a private film screening for members and friends of the TPC community.
Date: Tuesday, June 25
Time: 6PM – 8PM (Film screening 6:30-7)
Location: Shah Foundation, 276 Newbury Street, Boston
Systems Change & Advocacy: Our Grantees
TPC set a goal in our last strategic plan to increase our funding focus on organizations working at the systems level to address inequities affecting the lives of individuals and families in the Greater Boston area. For instance, those who integrate advocacy efforts into their work or those working to disrupt existing inequitable systems. As we kick off our 2024-2025 grant year, the Education Committee wants to highlight two of our new grantees that are doing just that.
Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice (SCIJ)
SJIC’s mission is to provide representation for all asylum seekers by training college students to become immigration advocates and to fight for a socially just immigration system and community transformation. Their model of training college students helps to increase immigration service providers, expand access to representation, and then increase advocacy for immigration justice. Two years ago they were one of the organizations that successfully advocated for the Work and Family Mobility Act (WFMA) which allowed Massachusetts residents to apply for driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status. They continue to take part in efforts that support our immigrant populations. To learn more about their advocacy efforts go to: Community Organizing — STUDENT CLINIC FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE (scijimmigration.org)
Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC)
BFFC is working to address disparities that exist in Boston neighborhoods by creating community-designed and -led food forests. BFFC works with neighborhoods to transform vacant lots into food forests that help address impacts of climate change, and access to quality food – two issues exacerbated by the historical under-investment in these neighborhoods. By working closely with local leaders to design and own food forests for the long term, they are disrupting inequitable systems and ensuring communities across Boston have access to fresh foods and natural space. To learn more about how BFFC is working to transform neighborhoods go to: Our Work — Boston Food Forest Coalition
These are just two examples of the work our grantees are doing at the systems level to combat inequities across our communities. The Education Committee will continue to highlight more. If you are interested in helping TPC expand our support for systems change work in the Boston area, please email the education committee at smeehan@