Be Connected: Stories from our employees supporting the Boston Resiliency Fund

Each week, we will share updates, quotes, and photos of the inspiring work that our employees are doing in service to our City.

This week’s story is about the team effort behind the Boston Resiliency Fund.

We continue our series of stories and photos of the inspiring work that our employees are doing in service to our City. This week’s story is about the team effort behind the Boston Resiliency Fund.

The Boston Resiliency Fund is a City of Boston initiative coordinating philanthropic efforts to provide essential services for Boston families, seniors and frontline workers who have been most impacted by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, the Fund focused on making an impact in three areas:

food and other basic needs
public health, and
technology for remote learning.

This ongoing work requires collaboration between employees across the City of Boston. Employees from over 25 departments help review applications, process grants, and work with grant recipients — you can find a list of them here.

Given the emergency nature of this work, it was important that grant recipients receive the funds quickly so that they could continue serving Boston residents and focus on the task at hand. The Treasury Department was able to create a new, nimble process to grant over $24M to 320+ nonprofits in just 4 months.

BRF Zoom — *Employees from over 25 different departments connect virtually to discuss the Fund.*

The cross-departmental team stays connected through weekly Zoom meetings, where the group discusses the grant applications, reflects on any lessons learned, and shares stories from the grant recipients who are able to continue their critical work in the community as a result of their effort and teamwork. The Resiliency Fund has been able to collect and amplify these stories thanks to the support of the Mayor’s Office of Scheduling and Advance, who has been checking in with the grantees by phone, and the City’s Digital team, who has prepared videos highlighting some of these organizations, including Breaktime, Catie’s Closet, Heading Home, and the COVID-19 Immigrant Collaborative.

BRF Grantees — *Grantees have been able to continue their important work in the community with the support of the Fund.*

“The Boston Resiliency Fund is a true team effort, across so many City departments, to support our incredible non-profit partners and the broader Boston community,” said Casey Brock-Wilson, the Director of Strategic Partnerships, “These stories, videos and pictures help us feel connected to each other, and to the mission of the Boston Resiliency Fund.”

We are grateful to all of the employees and departments who have contributed to this team effort, and to those who have donated to the Fund. Visit this page to learn more about the Boston Resiliency Fund. For more information on the grants awarded so far, you can find a map and a full list here.

Share your employee story with us for next week!