ABCD Receives NBA Foundation Grant to Advance Economic Empowerment in the Black Community

The NBA Foundation announced that ABCD is among 12 impactful organizations from coast to coast whose initiatives align with its goal of furthering economic power in the Black community and will share a $4.8 million grant that is effective January 2023 - June 2025. 

Created in 2020, the NBA Foundation began with a $300 million pledge by the 30 team governors to empower Black youth over a 10 year period. This is the Foundation’s seventh round of grantees. According to racial equity activist and Director of the Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, Richard Lapchick, Ph.d, the NBA in 2021 was comprised of 73.2 percent African American players. Lapchick is the son of the Original Boston Celtics center Joe Lapchick.  

See a full list of grant recipients here. Stay tuned for updates about ABCD initiatives funded by the NBA Foundation grant.

ABCD Wants to Hear from You:

Help Us Better Serve the Community

ABCD’s 2024 - 2026 Community Assessment and Strategic Planning Report development (CARSP) is underway. We encourage stakeholders – clients and community partners – to complete the survey and participate in the data gathering process that will inform ABCD’s strategic plan for the next three years.

This survey was developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) and includes questions common to all Community Action Agencies (CAAs), as well as questions specific to ABCD and our stakeholders. Clients and community partners are receiving the survey link via text, email, the dedicated CARSP webpage and through social media outreach. Paper surveys and flyers with a QR code are available at our neighborhood sites. The survey is available in multiple languages.  

The Community Needs Assessment process takes place between October 2022 and April 2023 and is comprised of multiple elements through which ABCD is able to learn about the community’s strengths and challenges; assess community attitudes and opinions and give low-income residents the central voice in the assessment process. Community Needs Assessment elements include:

• Community Survey & Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Secondary Sources, Data Gathering
• Key Informant Interviews
• Focus Groups.

This year-long process will result in a Strategic Priorities Report at the end of 2023.

ABCD Launches Free Tax Preparation Season in Collaboration With the Boston Tax Help Coalition to Put Cash Back Into the Community

On January 27, the Boston Tax Help Coalition of which ABCD is a co-founder, kicked off the 2023 tax season at the offices of coalition member Urban Edge in Roxbury. The Boston Tax Help Coalition is a public-private collaboration with the City of Boston, which seeks to ensure the full participation of all Boston residents in the City’s economic vitality and future. In addition, ABCD is a member of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) network and offers free tax preparation services in the Mystic Valley area, which kicked off the same day. Both the Boston and Mystic Valley coalitions fall under the federal VITA program. Those who may qualify for free tax preparation services include: 

• People who earned $60,000 or less in 2022
• People with disabilities
• Limited English-speaking taxpayers.

(L-R) ABCD Mattapan Family Service Center Director Bianny Suncar; Center for Working Families Director and community member Alan Gentle; community member Pablo Rivas; community member Mencia De Jesus Rivas Soto; ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler; Chief, Worker Empowerment, City of Boston, Trinh Nguyen; Boston Tax Help Coalition founder, Mimi Turchinetz, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development; community member Muhamed Elenanzi; Urban Edge CEO, Emilio Dorcely and Financial Coach Jewish Vocational Services, Aldaberto Jaimes.

(L-R) ABCD Director of Field Operations and Legislative Affairs Josh Young; 2022 ABCD Community Hero and Community Engagement Manager at Urban Edge Leneva Penton; ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler and Chief of Worker Empowerment, City of Boston Trinh Nguyen

ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler addresses the audience.

Bob Coard, Melnea Cass Honored at

the Embrace Boston Memorial

The crowd gathers at the unveiling of The Embrace at the 1965 Freedom Plaza on the Boston Common.

(L-R) Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler

ABCD is pleased to be an early major sponsor of The Embrace monument that was recently unveiled at the 1965 Freedom Plaza on the Boston Common honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. The Embrace monument symbolizes the hug that Dr. King shared with his wife Coretta after he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Long-time ABCD President/CEO Robert M. Coard and ABCD co-founder Melnea Cass were among the 69 local civil rights and social justice leaders to whom the plaza is dedicated for their role as a “voice for the people” in Boston from 1950 to 1970. 

“For ABCD, this unveiling was an especially proud moment,” said ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler. “ABCD exists because Melnea Cass and Bob Coard shared an uncommon vision and resolve.  They were motivated by the belief that people working together could make their community a better place. For those few hours, the atmosphere at 1965 Freedom Plaza felt like the beloved community of which Dr. King spoke. People with diverse viewpoints and backgrounds celebrating and championing equity, justice and love.” 

Gathered at the 53rd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast (L-R) Executive Secretary/Director of Development at Seaport Advisory Council Louis Elisa, Boston City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler and U.S. Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey.

Thank You for Giving

A heartfelt THANK YOU to ALL of our 2022 donors from ABCD on behalf of the children, youth, families, and elders that we serve. Your donations large and small directly impact vulnerable households in Greater Boston by supporting our work to empower low-income people, providing them with the tools to overcome poverty, live with dignity and achieve their full potential. 

During this holiday season, ABCD matched 119 Adopt-A Family donors with 146 families. Our toy drive distributed 6,500 toys. We know that we don’t do this work alone. Collaboration is at our core. As a nonprofit rooted in the principles of community leadership for the past 60 years, ABCD delivers services through a network of locally-led neighborhood sites. From Allston to Mattapan to Everett, Malden, Medford and beyond, we are present in neighborhoods throughout the region, providing services across multiple generations and in partnership with the community.

We look forward to building upon existing relationships and aligning more closely with our community partners across all sectors in the coming year.

Whether you know someone that wants to work directly in the communities we serve or support our broad range of programs, below you’ll find a sampling of our most recent openings to explore and share with your network. Just click on a job title to learn more about the position and qualifications.

Accounts Payable Processor - Finance Department

The Finance Department takes care of functions that include but are not limited to wage deductions, record keeping and verifying the reliability of pay data. The Accounts Payable Processor works under the general supervision of the Accounting Supervisor to process the weekly accounts payable and a variety of payable-related documents.

Programs Analyst - Climate Equity & Impact

The Climate Equity & Impact department provides heating and energy services to income eligible residents of Boston, Brookline, Newton and the Mystic Valley. The Programs Analyst is responsible for assisting the department director with day-to-day data, systems and reporting activities and analysis. Daily activities include assessing statewide/network-wide data request and analysis, maintaining and updating program software billing and reporting systems, and coordinating project management tools and software.

Program Coordinator - Health Services - Community Prevention

The Health Services department is committed to maintaining the optimal health of low-income residents of Boston and surrounding communities through several cutting-edge, community-based disease prevention and health promotion programs. The Program Coordinator is responsible for the daily operation of ABCD’s Community Prevention programs, which provide prevention and risk reduction education to target youth populations in Boston. 

Legal Assistant - Legal Department

ABCD’s Legal Department oversees all legal and legal related external matters for the agency. The Legal Assistant performs a variety of tasks to support ABCD’s General Counsel. Tasks include but are not limited to conducting legal research, drafting reports, policies, correspondence, and other legal documents and maintaining responsibility for ABCD’s contracts database.

Boston & Medford Teens Can Get a Paid Summer Job through ABCD's SummerWorks Program

ABCD Field of Dreams Lets Companies Play Ball at Fenway for a Great Cause

Contact ABCD Connect for information about programs and services.

Action for Boston Community Development | 617.348.6000 | bostonabcd.org