Boston Resiliency Fund awards more than $20 million to local organizations

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee today announced that the Boston Resiliency Fund has distributed over $20 million to 247 organizations working to support individuals most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new grants announced today represent the tenth round announced by Mayor Walsh and an additional $826,000 in funding for 21 community-based organizations providing food, basic necessities, and additional support for Boston's most vulnerable residents. 

"The Boston Resiliency Fund has been a lifeline for many organizations that are helping residents with their basic needs during this public health crisis," said Mayor Walsh. "By distributing over $20 million to organizations, the Fund has had an extraordinary impact in our community, supporting over 225,000 families in need." 

Since the first round of fund distribution, the Resiliency Fund has raised over $31 million from over 6,300 donors and distributed more than $20M to date to 249 organizations; in total, 46 percent of grantee organizations are led by a person of color and 57 percent of grantee organizations are led by a woman. The Fund serves every neighborhood in Boston, but has focused on the neighborhoods hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"We are very proud that Fair Foods keeps our costs low and has been delivering food to 5,000 families a week. We know that good food provides security and healing for our communities and with the support of the Boston Resiliency Fund, we will be able to carry on with this work," said Nancy Jamison of Fair Foods. "I am so touched and inspired by all of the people that donated to the Fund and made this possible. Let's continue to mobilize and work together during this pandemic and beyond to ensure that nobody is hungry in the City of Boston."

"We are incredibly grateful to Mayor Marty Walsh and the City of Boston for thinking outside the box and moving so quickly in supporting organizations that are reaching out to the most vulnerable in our community during this time," said Pastor Sheila Donegan, Founder of Boston Dream Center. "Our board of directors connected and quickly made the decision to empty our savings account to provide mini-grants for people most impacted by the economic shutdown. In the last two and a half months, we have provided funds to hundreds of families. This grant from the Boston Resiliency Fund will allow us to continue to provide for many more with expedited and much needed money to people that are grappling with urgent needs."

Continuing the Boston Resiliency Fund's commitment to equity, 52 percent of the 21 organizations receiving funding this week are led by a person of color, and 47 percent are led by a woman:

Boston BullPen Project:The Boston BullPen Project is providing funding to help people avoid eviction, homelessness, and medical crises while maintaining their dignity. 

Boston Dream Center, Corp.: The Boston Dream Center is providing families and individuals with up to $250 mini grants for essential needs. 

Breaktime: In partnership with the Culinary Training Program at Community Work Services (CWS), Breaktime will be producing and transporting approximately 1,000 nutritious hot meals each day to organizations such as Sojourner House, Children's Service of Roxbury, Rosie's Place, and MANNA. Simultaneously, this work will create living-wage, career-launching jobs for young adults experiencing homelessness along with returning citizens and adults with disabilities. 

Brighton Marine: Brighton Marine is providing restaurants and grocery gift cards to Allston-Brighton residents with food insecurity, supporting both local residents and community members.  

Cape Verdean Community UNIDO DBA Cape Verdean Association of Boston: This grant will cover food costs and stipends for drivers. Cape Verdean Community UNIDO will partner with health centers to serve families who have tested positive for COVID-19 and provide them with meals and PPE, and will also continue to provide and deliver ethnic meals, toiletries, and essential needs to elderly, undocumented immigrants, and low-income families.

Codman Academy Foundation on behalf of Codman Academy Charter Public School: This grant would fund Chromebooks for Codman Academy Foundation, allowing teachers to fully take advantage of systems like Google Classroom. 

Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network (CPLAN): CPLAN is using the funding to address the basic needs of over 100 parents of color. CPLAN is helping underserved Boston parents obtain food, cleaning supplies, internet access and laptops for their children and emergency financial stipends. CPLAN will also provide online workshops and parent coaching including technical support around technology-based, distant learning tools. In addition, their bilingual team will offer virtual social emotional family activities to strengthen families' mental health. 

Commonwealth Land Trust: This grant will fund targeted substance addiction supports, to be implemented on-site at permanent supportive housing locations in Boston. These services will include on-site group and individual sessions, and groups and related activities. 

Conservatory Lab Foundation: This grant would fund Chromebooks for Conservatory Lab allowing teachers to fully take advantage of systems like Google Classroom. 

Eastie Farm: This grant will allow Eastie Farm to continue their work serving families with meals prepared by local restaurants Bon Me and Tawakal Halal Cafe, as well as groceries and produce through local distributors, to over 600 East Boston households who are homebound. 

Fair Foods: Fair Foods currently utilizes four trucks to deliver 60,000 pounds of fresh food per week citywide. The organization has transitioned to a free distribution model since the COVID-19 pandemic and additional staff is needed to meet the demand across the city of Boston. 

Jewish Family And Children's Service: Jewish Family and Children's Service Family Table is stretching its capacity to serve more households each month due to the crisis. These funds will be used to purchase necessities including food, diapers, and wipes, support the delivery of food to clients, and support an increase in staff hours to coordinate food relief.

Judge Baker Children's Center (JBCC): Serving children with disabilities at the Manville School, JBCC will use the grant to provide weekly gift cards for food relief and to cover telehealth visits for caregivers, foster parents, and families who would not be able to access care without financial assistance.

Maverick Landing Community Services: This grant will provide food and supplies for one month of running the food program including expansion to a second drive by site to the Umana parking lot with partners 

 New England Blacks in Philanthropy: New England Blacks in Philanthropy will use the funding to purchase, package and deliver PPE items to seniors, youth, and families through community partners around the city.

 Nuestra Comunidad Community Development Corporation (CDC): Nuestra Comunidad CDC has assessed resident needs for resources and this grant will allow them to they will purchase meals and grocery store gift cards for over 350 households in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury.

Project Isaiah: Since launching in Boston in April, Project Isaiah has provided approximately 185,000 meals to residents in congregate living settings through partnerships with the Boston Public Health Commission, Family Aid Boston, Greater Boston Food Bank, Pine Street Inn and others. The funding will allow Project Isaiah to continue this work. 

St. Mary's Center for Women and Children: This grant will support additional costs such as food, sanitation and supplies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic across three of St. Mary's Center for Women and Children's programs. 

The Salvation Army Boston South End Corps: This grant will enable the Salvation Army South End Corps to provide more food and hygiene kits to Boston residents.

Visiting Nurse Association of Boston: The funding will expand and strengthen services needed to care for some of the area's most vulnerable elder individuals with chronic conditions and other illnesses, including COVID-19, and support costs such as equipment and medical supplies for patients in need. Through a combination of telehealth and in-person visits, these services can lessen the number of exposures between clinicians and patients, while being able to identify any new or worsening health issues to avert complications. 

Women's Lunch Place, Inc.: Women's Lunch Place continues to operate six days per week with essential employees and additional staff  hired to increase capacity to provide additional meals. The funding will provide one month of outreach services.

The Fund is still accepting donations from individuals, organizations and philanthropic partners who wish to contribute and offer their support. All of the donations will be awarded to local organizations. Organizations are encouraged to complete a statement of interest to be considered for future grants. 

"It is both encouraging and inspiring to know that the citizens of Boston, corporate and individual, have responded in such a way as to allow for an impressive outreach effort to folks in neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by COVID," said Jack Connors, Jr., member of the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee."The Boston Resiliency Fund's insistence on using an equity lens is appropriate and a part of the healing process to which we all must contribute."  

As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are quickly evolving and potentially long-lasting, the City and the Steering Committee will work closely with non-profit partners and service providers to understand how their needs will change. As a result, the priorities of the fund may change as the needs of Boston residents evolve.

The Boston Resiliency Fund exists within the Boston Charitable Trust, an existing 501(c)(3) designated trust fund managed by the City of Boston's Treasury Department. For more information on how to make a donation, please visit: boston.gov/resiliency-fund. For general inquiries, please emailbrf@boston.gov.

Map of physical location and self-reported service areas of all Boston Resiliency Fund grantees to date; live map can be found at: boston.gov/brf