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A Message from the President and CEO |
Greetings!
Why is life so complicated? And it seems to get more so every day as our world gets smaller and the problems bigger. When watching the news or reading the paper it’s easy to get discouraged.
However, just the opposite needs to be the case. We need to figure out, in whatever way we can, how to engage and make a difference. And that’s what I’m seeing more of every day. And that’s what the Greater Lowell Community Foundation is all about.
At the end of last year, the GLCF Program Committee convened to assess the effect of the racial equity grants from 2021 and 2022, (18 grants; $189,500) and to determine what the focus of the next two-year grant cycle should be. From that analysis it was clear that the grants were in fact having a positive impact, but we needed to do more and also share the lessons learned. Accordingly, the Foundation extended the racial equity grants for another two-year cycle and from that recently awarded a third round of grants for $102,500. On April 11th, the Foundation hosted a panel discussion on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Some eighty nonprofit leaders in our community attended and participated in a rich panel discussion. The review comments were very positive and noted the need to continue these discussions as there is more work to be done. We agree.
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Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
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Register now for GLCF's Annual Meeting 2023
Equity and the Rule of Law: A Conversation with Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell
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Open to all community members, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation is set to host its annual meeting on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. The event will highlight Equity and the Rule of Law: A Conversation with Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
On January 18, 2023, Andrea Joy Campbell was sworn in to be the 45th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pledging to build economic prosperity and stability for all residents, prioritize the mental health and well-being of children, stop cycles of incarceration and violence and ensure the people across the state have access to the AG’s Office regardless of their zip code, language or ability.
Andrea served as legal counsel to Governor Deval Patrick, working to improve our education and transportation systems and move forward an agenda of equity across the state.
In 2015, Andrea successfully ran for the Boston City Council becoming the first woman to represent District 4 on the Council. Her first piece of legislation was the Community Preservation Act, which still generates over $20 million annually for new affordable housing, historical preservation, and parks and open space. In 2018, she was unanimously elected City Council President – the first Black woman to hold the title.
The event is free, but registration is required as seating is limited.
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Request for Proposals: 2023 Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund Grants
The purpose of the GLCF Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund is to advance the community health of residents in the following nine (9) GLCF communities: Ashby, Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, and Westford.
Grant awards will be three-year grants of up to $20,000/year (disbursement years: 2023, 2024 and 2025) to address systemic health issues in Nashoba Valley. The Foundation will award $80,000/year through this grant program.
GLCF is especially interested in funding proposals that address:
- racial disparities in healthcare
- addiction/substance abuse
- domestic violence
- food insecurity
- mental health
- suicide screening and prevention
- obesity
Collaboration with other organizations is encouraged. Proposals should address efforts to build capacity (if applicable) and include a plan for sustainability of service or replacement funding to allow continuous service after the grant period.
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PHOTO: Alternative House, through a 2022 grant from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s Nashoba Healthcare Fund Grant cycle, partnered with the Pepperell Police Department. With this funding, Alternative House expanded the tools necessary to assist survivors of domestic violence in the Pepperell community. |
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On April 11, nearly 80 nonprofit leaders in Greater Lowell attended GLCF's panel discussion: Navigating Your Organization’s Road to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
Panelists Yun-Ju Choi, Executive Director, Coalition for a Better Acre; Amanda Kuffoh, Sr. Director of DEI and Professional Development, UTEC; JuanCarlos Rivera, Director of Operations, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell; Jessica Wilson, Executive Director, Mill City Grows and Isa Woldeguiorguis, Executive Director, The Center for Hope and Healing joined Moderator Sheila Och, Chief Engagement and Equity Officer, Lowell Community Health Center for a discussion of DEI initiatives in their organization.
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Tom Leggat Opportunities Fellowship Update |
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Fellowship Update: Travel to Nepal |
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Ashik Tamang, of Lowell, was the recipient of the Tom Leggat Opportunities Fellowship from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. His project was to use the $5,000 to bring school supplies and hygiene kits to the refugee camp in Nepal where he lived for nine years.
In Ashik's own words:
A visit that’s so close to my heart and had been looking forward for past three years.
With the funding that I received from the Tom Leggat Opportunities Fellowship in 2020 through the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, I was able to celebrate this beautiful opportunity with the students at Shree Batika Balbikas Kendra funded by GBO in Patharisanischare Bhutanese refugee camp that once I resided in.
In the presence of Hon. Camp secretary Mr. Champa Singh Rai, School Principal Ms. Amrita Nepal, Social worker Mr. Bal Bdr. Gurung, school staff and parents, we were able to distribute school supplies and hygiene kits to 75 students (Nursery to UKG) and additional 8 students (1st grade to middle school).
Upon meeting and discussing with the school administration about school and the things that our little students might further need, I was told that the BRCF (Bhutanese Refugee Children Forum) has been running weekly (Saturday) activities for our students however, it has currently been halted due to financial difficulties therefore, any help would be appreciated. Hence, I am really looking forward to this beautiful collaboration and would also like to request my dear friends here to join in this if you would like.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude and many thanks to Leggat family and GLCF for providing me this once in a life time opportunity. And also many thanks to my mentors Maria Cunha and Analise Saab Brown, and my relatives and friends that helped me put this together and also the school staff for being so co-operative and organizing this event in the smoothest way possible.
I would also like to take this opportunity and convey many thanks and appreciation that our students, parents, and school staff have send to Leggat family and GLCF.
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Photos courtesy of Ashik Tamang |
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Mosaic Lowell Updates
The Mosaic team has been very busy onboarding our first Director, Jessica O’Hearn! Jessica joined Mosaic on March 27th and has been busy meeting and listening to members of Lowell’s Arts and Cultural community as we begin to implement the Mosaic Lowell plan.
Upcoming Listening Session
Mosaic’s next listening session is taking place on Tuesday May 2nd from 9-10 at Lala Books. In collaboration with the City of Lowell and Lowell Forward, Mosaic is hosting this listening session focused on arts & culture for the city's new master plan. Join us & share your thoughts! You can RSVP by emailing Mosaic Administrator Laura Tavares at laura@mosaiclowell.org.
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GRANT HIGHLIGHT -
Discovery Museum's Especially for Me (EFM)
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Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s Discretionary Grants Program includes the following strategic funding categories: Racial Equity and Inclusion, Leclair Elder Services, and Children’s Services and its purpose is to improve the quality of life for residents in GLCF’s 21 communities.
Founded in 1982, the Discovery Museum provides play-based learning experiences and STEM school programs to children and families. Their dedication to early learning includes hands-on exhibits on such topics as light and color, air, water, sound, and simple machines; the fully accessible Discovery Woods nature playscape and treehouse; and more than 300 onsite programs, all designed to help children develop their curiosity about the world and confidence in learning. Discovery Museum serves children, typically between the ages of 0 and 12, and their adult caregivers. The Discovery Museum received a grant funding from the 2022 GLCF Discretionary Grants Program for Children’s Services to support the Museum’s Especially for Me (EFM) program.
The Museum’s Especially for Me program is a free program series which provides tailored learning experiences to families with children on the autism spectrum, who are Deaf/hard of hearing, or who are blind/have low vision. A total of 1,563 people attended an Especially for Me event in 2022. Of these, a quarter were from towns within Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s catchment communities. The most represented communities were Chelmsford, Acton, and Lowell.
Some comments the Museum received on a feedback survey included:
- “It is just so great to be in a place where my daughter is not an object of curiosity. So many experiences of people getting mad at me when she doesn't engage how they expect.”
- “There is not a lot of activities I could bring my son to where he truly can be himself and have fun, but I saw so much joy in his face going to this event.”
- “What an absolutely phenomenal service for the community. It’s so hard to be a parent of a child with disabilities in that you feel like you always need to explain their behavior or apologize for it. Providing families, a place they feel welcome and understood is priceless!”
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Token or trendsetter? This is a question that many leaders who are women, and especially BIPOC women to wear complex intersectional identities, have to contend with. This discussion will explore how to navigate opportunities when you reach a never before achieved leadership status in your company. We will begin with an overview of the research about “the only” and provide tools to shift power dynamics in the workplace by reframing how you see yourself.
Yaro Fong-Olivares (she/her), M.S. – is an Afro-Caribbean and Chinese immigrant from the island of Hispaniola (now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Washington Heights, and now living in Massachusetts. Her most salient identity is as a priest of Yemaya in the Lucumi spiritual tradition. She serves as Executive Director of Gloria Cordes Larson Center for Women and Business at Bentley University, an organization dedicated to advancing intersectional gender equity from the classroom to the boardroom.
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How to Build a High Performance Board
Presented by: Diane Remin, Founder and President, MajorDonors.com
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
8:30am-9:30am
Zoom Seminar
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Since 1997, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation has supported this community with grants to nonprofits, scholarships to deserving students, and leadership to help determine, address, and resolve a wide variety of needs and opportunities.
With more than 390 donor-driven funds and expert staff, the Foundation provides vital resources that build on our community’s strengths, addresses its challenges, and brightens futures by helping deserving students to achieve their dreams.
To achieve more, we need your partnership through a generous annual sponsorship.
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Give to the Future: Make a Planned Gift |
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Everyone has a legacy. What’s yours? |
Your legacy can be shaped to support the causes you care about now and provide financial and estate savings.
To discuss creating a personalized estate plan that supports issues important to you, please call Jay or Howard at the Greater Lowell Community Foundation at 978-970-1600.
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100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202
Lowell, MA 01852
PHONE 978-970-1600
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