The Link
October 2024
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP AND CONTINUE YOUR IMPACT
At TPC, autumn means our annual membership renewal season. Membership makes all of TPC’s work possible. It’s an opportunity for all of us to achieve more together than we could individually.
Did you know TPC builds its grant pool from scratch each year? The amount we can grant depends entirely on what we raise through memberships. That’s where we, as members, come in.
Now is the time to renew your commitment to Greater Boston nonprofits. Your membership addresses critical issues like immigration, food insecurity, and education. It is also a commitment to TPC’s democratic, member-led grantmaking approach.
This year, we encourage you to consider two ways to further your impact:
1. Increase Your Membership Investment: By increasing your contribution, you directly expand our ability to fund local nonprofits, creating change in our community.
2. Introduce TPC to a Friend: Sharing our mission is the most effective way to grow our community and expand our grantmaking. And for this month only, $200 will be added to the grant pool for every new member who joins! (Learn more below.)
Renew today. Together, we can make 2025 our most impactful year yet!
Need help or have questions? Click here to view the renewal instructions or email us.
October Special Opportunity: $200 Match for Each New Member!
Great news! As a special boost from an anonymous donor, $200 will be added to the grant pool for every new member who joins this month! By joining TPC this month, you’re unlocking extra funds to support our grantees.
- Considering joining? This is a great time to join TPC and expand your impact.
- Already a member? Invite a friend! It’s the perfect time to tell friends about TPC! Use this template to share info about TPC.
Call for Young Philanthropists! TPC’s 2024 Fellowship Application is due October 28.
The Philanthropy Connection’s Fellowships empower young women to deepen their commitment to philanthropy through the opportunity to learn from and contribute to collective giving.
Our Fellows come from a wide range of backgrounds and have varied experiences, but they all want to invest time in supporting philanthropy in Greater Boston and helping TPC redefine what it means to be a philanthropist: anyone who donates her time, talents, and/or treasures in an effort to improve the lives of others. We encourage any woman (age 21-35) who is interested in becoming part of the women’s collective giving movement to apply.
We appreciate theTPC members and sponsors who cover Fellows’ membership costs. Through their support, Fellows enjoy full benefits of TPC membership and more! Participation in grant-making, committee work, and membership events provides opportunities to connect with like-minded women, learn about the needs of the Greater Boston non-profit community, and deepen the skill sets that Fellows bring to the table.
Why does TPC offer Fellowships? Because we are deeply committed to fostering the next generation of women philanthropists. If you know someone who may be a good candidate, please forward this announcement to her. If you are interested in applying, please see the information below.
- To read more about our Fellowship, click here.
- To access the Fellowship Application, click here. Application Deadline: October 28, 2024
Events
Lunch and Learn: TPC’s Funding Process for Nonprofits
Nonprofits interested in applying for a TPC grant are encouraged to join TPC’s Grants Committee on Monday, November 18th for a virtual Lunch & Learn on TPC’s funding process. We will be going over the upcoming grant process and answering questions for non-profits who are interested in applying for a grant.
Attendance is not required to be considered for funding. Please share this event with nonprofits leaders in your network. Learn more about eligibility criteria on our website.
Topic: TPC’s Funding Process for Nonprofits
Date: Monday, November 18
Time: 12-12:30 pm
Location: Zoom (link will be provided to registrants)
Grant Team Info Sessions
TPC’s Grant Teams are just around the corner! Are you new to TPC and interested in learning more about being on a grant team? Or a seasoned member curious about updates to the grants process? Join TPC’s Grants Committee for one of our info sessions on our upcoming grant cycle
- Tuesday, November 19
- 6:30 – 7:00 PM
- Zoom (link will be provided to registrants)
- Thursday, November 21
- 12:00 – 12:30 PM
- Via Zoom (Link will be provided to registrants)
Philanthropy Dialogue: Balancing Support for Immediate Needs and Systemic Change
As TPC’s grant season begins, join us for this very timely and relevant dialogue about how to approach support for immediate needs in our communities while also contributing to systemic change for lasting impacts. The featured speaker is Charles Lerner, founding executive director of Boston Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and later of Massachusetts CASA Association. His lived and professional experiences span the nonprofit spectrum and he has an informed viewpoint to share on questions such as: how can funders better recognize and understand the systems work nonprofits undertake? What sort of metrics around advocacy does he report to his own funders? Why is it so important to have both micro-level work and advocacy efforts? Please come with your own questions for a full and robust conversation.
Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Location: Zoom (link will be provided to registrants)
October Happenings
Grantee & Member Mixer
Over 50 TPC members, grantees, and guests gathered at Cisco Brewery for an evening of connection and celebration. It was an inspiring night filled with strong, passionate women, new friendships, and even new members joining TPC! A special thanks to everyone who brought a guest—your support helps grow our vibrant community!
October Grantee Dialogue
Members and guests engaged in an eye-opening panel discussion about systemic barriers affecting marginalized communities. Grantees One Can Help and Women’s Money Matters shared powerful insights on the challenges families face in the legal and child welfare systems and gaps in financial literacy and empowerment for women. The event left attendees inspired by real-world examples of how these organizations provide critical support and how TPC members can take action to create lasting change.
Fall Volunteer Efforts
TPC members have made a tangible impact this fall through various hands-on projects.
- At the Uphams Corner Food Forest, members joined forces with the Boston Food Forest Coalition to winterize the garden, protecting plants and preparing the space for future growth.
- In Lowell, TPC volunteers and Mill City Grows transformed overgrown areas into productive gardens supporting local food justice efforts.
- Dignity Matters celebrated the ribbon cutting of their new Westborough facility. The new space features offices, sorting areas, and a warehouse for streamlined deliveries and distribution. Mark your calendars for TPC’s next volunteer day on February 13, 2025!
Thank you to all the volunteers for your dedication and hard work in fostering healthier, more sustainable communities!
Grantee Spotlights
Volunteers are a core element of grantee Women’s Money Matters’ work. Their programs are fully remote, which offers volunteers a range of opportunities and ways to help out from wherever they may be. They also have limited in-person volunteering opportunities! To get started, you just need a desire to help another woman in your community make the most of the money she has – financial expertise isn’t required.
Specific opportunities include being a Coach, the backbone of their one-on-one coaching model. Coaches are thoughtfully paired with program participants for the program and work directly with their partners to help them reach their specific financial goals.
An initial step could be starting as a Presenter. This involves selecting a workshop topic from already prepared lesson plans and materials and facilitating one or more specific workshops as part of the program’s curriculum. Presenters are there to lead the lesson and conversation – you select the workshop topic that you feel most passionate about! Presenters can facilitate as many or as few workshops as they would like and are available, so this is a great way to volunteer if you aren’t ready to commit to being a coach.
To learn more, find some helpful FAQs, and initiate the volunteer process, follow this link to their website: Volunteer With Women’s Money Matters.
One Can Help (OCH) was created in 2006 by juvenile court attorneys and social workers who wanted to ensure that poverty did not prevent the vulnerable children and families they worked with from taking positive steps forward.
By providing urgently needed individualized resources, OCH tackles an enormous societal issue and helps level the playing field at the same time. Through a unique and innovative partnership with juvenile court-appointed attorneys, social workers, and advocates who know exactly what their clients need to succeed right now, OCH is able to ensure that critical resources responsibly achieve their targeted goal.
The best way to support organizations like this is to renew your TPC membership and give directly to One Can Help
Coming up in December: TPC Dialogue on Systemic Change
How does one balance supporting people’s immediate needs and driving expansive systemic change? Many TPC members grapple with this question, which our board discusses as they set TPC’s strategic priorities.
TPC’s Education Committee recently discussed it with one of TPC’s former grantees, CharlesLerner, founding executive director of Boston Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and later of Massachusetts CASA Association. Charles’s career trajectory spans the full spectrum of nonprofit impact, and he provided a very informed viewpoint from his lived and professional experiences.
At Boston CASA, Charles managed the day-to-day needs of a startup nonprofit supporting foster children. He achieved impressive outputs: a tenfold increase in the annual budget, five times growth in volunteers, and almost quadrupling the number of children paired with advocates. At Mass CASA, Charles now focuses on strengthening the systems that can support the success of CASA organizations and foster children statewide. He creates volunteer training, educates about the interactions between poverty, race, and foster care, and advocates for state legislation.
After moving to focus on systemic work, Charles provided the following insight: for those interested and ready to deepen their volunteerism and involvement in their chosen causes, systems work can offer impactful opportunities. The work can be overwhelming and complex but also very meaningful.
TPC is excited to have Charles participating in an Education Zoom Dialogue on December 3rd. Register below and, in the meantime, read Mass CASAS’s year in review or listen to Charles speak at the 2024 Disrupting Poverty Conference (minute 16:27).
If you are interested in learning more or helping to implement future TPC Dialogues, please reach out to the Education Committee Co-Chairs, Sue Meehan or Sarah Rahman.