$1.4 million in grants awarded through Boston Resiliency Fund

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee today announced the distribution of an additional $1.4 million in funds to support 18 organizations that provide critical services and support to residents, vulnerable populations, and Boston families whose wellbeing is most immediately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

This round of funding is aimed at providing continued support for community health centers to allow them to increase their capacity for testing, organizations working to ensure food access for residents, support for home-bound elders and community-based organizations in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. To date, including this most recent funding award, the Boston Resiliency Fund has distributed $15.2 million in 96 emergency grants to 165 organizations.

"During these hard times, we're working to ensure that every person in Boston has access to the care and support they need," said Mayor Walsh. "Through the Boston Resiliency Fund, we are supporting local efforts of all scales - from large citywide operations to our community-based organizations, all of which are providing critical services to residents. With this funding, we are allocating resources that will allow organizations to bolster their operations and keep residents working, moving our city forward for everyone."

Since its creation in March, the Boston Resiliency Fund has raised over $27 million from over 4,945 individual donors. The Fund will continue accepting donations from individuals, organizations and philanthropic partners who wish to contribute and offer their support, and 100 percent of donations will be awarded to local organizations, with the majority of future grants to be made through the end of  May. Organizations are encouraged to complete a statement of interest to be considered for future grants.

Today, 18 organizations will receive grants to expand their capacity or adjust their service model to meet the immediate needs of Boston residents during this public health emergency. 37 percent of the organizations receiving grants today are led by a person of color and 47 percent are women-led organizations. To date, 39 percent of all organizations receiving grants are led by a person of color and 64 percent are women-led organizations.

"The South Boston Association of Nonprofits (SBANP) is grateful to Mayor Walsh and for donations through the Boston Resiliency Fund. Our grant will make sure the residents of South Boston have access to food during this crisis," said Anna White, co-president of the South Boston Association of Nonprofits. "Through the leadership of the Association, member organizations will collaborate to ensure that food access is available at locations throughout the community. Food requests to our member organizations increase daily and this funding ensures the food needs in our neighborhood will be met."

"In the midst of current events, our staff here at Fathers' Uplift have seen critical needs emerging in our community firsthand. While we have engaged in efforts to provide direct assistance to families hit hardest by the economic, emotional, mental, and physical impact of COVID-19, the need is significant," said Charles Daniels and Samantha Fils-Daniels, co-founders of Fathers' Uplift. "From delivery of supplies, to emergency cash assistance, to the provision of mental health services in the fact of a massive spike in anxiety and distress, our resources have been stretched thin. We are grateful and excited to have the partnership of the City of Boston through the Boston Resiliency Fund to ensure the needs of our constituents in at-risk neighborhoods of Boston are cared for."

The grants range in size and will be awarded to the following organizations:

Continued support to community health centers and healthcare systems: Boston Resiliency Fund has now dedicated $1,000,000 to expand COVID-19 testing and conduct culturally appropriate outreach and education at 13 community health centers across City of Boston neighborhoods.

• Charles River Community Health
• Fenway Health
• Greater Roslindale Medical & Dental Center
• Harbor Health Services, Inc.

Ensuring Boston's children and families have access to food and basic needs:

• Daily Table: will expand their prepared meals program to produce an additional 500 meals per day (2,500 per week) and deliver them to a meal pick-up site in Dorchester. 
• Greater Boston Food Bank: will expand its capacity to continue receiving and distributing healthy food to those in need in Boston, including a new partnership to distribute produce boxes to Boston Housing Authority residents and the Age Strong community. . 
• South Boston Association of Nonprofits: will support South Boston families in need by coordinating access to food pantries, daily senior lunch deliveries and weekly prepared meals and grocery deliveries. Partner agencies include:  Fourth Presbyterian Church,  Gavin Foundation, Julie's Family Learning Program,  Paraclete Center, South Boston Neighborhood House,  South Boston Action Center,  South Boston Aide Network,  South Boston Boys and Girls Club, and St. Monica's Food Pantry. 

Support for organizations doing work in Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Roslindale, neighborhoods experiencing higher rates of COVID-19:

• Fathers' Uplift, Inc.: will provide at-risk families with financial assistance in the face of economic hardship and will offer mental health and wellness options. Their services are specifically targeted towards fathers of color and their families in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury. 
• My Brother's Keeper Boston, in partnership with MBK 617: will continue to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color and will provide gift cards for basic necessities and essentials.
• Nehemiah Project for Hope and MA Association of Haitian Parents: will deliver weekly groceries and basic toiletry needs to families in the Haitian Community. 

Support for food delivery to older Bostonians who are unable to leave their homes:

• 2Life Communities: will prepare and deliver seven home-delivered meals per week to over 900 low-income seniors who live in their Brighton facilities and are unable to leave their apartments.
• Bunker Hill Associates: will deliver grocery items for the most vulnerable or immunocompromised residents living in senior buildings in Charlestown who are unable to leave their home to get groceries. 
• Haitian American United: will work with two Haitian cuisine caterers based in Boston to prepare two meals for community elders at least three times per week. In addition, two Haitian drivers will be hired to deliver food to families.
• Rose's Bounty Food Pantry: will continue making personal deliveries to the elderly now that senior centers are closed, and will keep open their drive-through pantry. 

Support for Boston's vulnerable populations including immigrants, homeless individuals and domestic violence survivors:

• Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK): will financially assist clients who are undocumented or pending status, many of whom are living below the poverty level.
• Cathedral Church of St. Paul: will medically screen and welcome up to 200 unhoused people, in shifts, providing them hot meals and bagged lunches, water, access to restrooms and outlets for charging phones.
• Common Cathedral: will work to meet the increased demand for access to boxed take-out meals, a safe place to rest and bathrooms for homeless individuals in and around Boston Common.
• Somali Development Center: will coordinate the pick-up and delivery of meals from a local Somali restaurant by hiring drivers that have lost their means of income due to COVID-19.

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 email brf@boston.gov.

To learn more about other funds serving Boston nonprofits, please visit Philanthropy Massachusetts' resource page. In addition, the COVID-19 Response Fund at The Boston Foundation and the COVID-19 Family Support Fund at the United Way are working to rapidly distribute resources to organizations and individuals in Greater Boston that are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak.