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A Message from the President and CEO | |
Dear Jennifer,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. It is a holiday about being thankful for all the blessings we are so fortunate to have: family, friends, faith, and much more. It’s a holiday that can’t be commercialized because the giving we exchange with each other can’t be bought in a store. The kindness and love we offer come from our hearts and souls to those near and dear to us and those we don’t even know. We care about each other, and we care about our community.
No act of kindness is ever too small. Every show of affection is ever-lasting. What a wonderful world it would be.
Wishing you a joyful and safe holiday season,
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Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
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The Barr Foundation announces Creative Commonwealth Initiative Partners (Philanthropy News Digest, 11/25)
GLCF honors community for giving back (Lowell Sun, 11/12)
Yun-Ju Choi to leave Coalition for a Better Acre (Lowell Sun, 11/12)
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell driving out food insecurity (NBC Boston, 11/2)
GLCF Honors Greater Lowell Award Recipients at Inclusive Cultural Economy Event (Action Unlimited Chelmsford, 11/10)
InsideLowell Contributor Honored by GLCF (Inside Lowell, 11/9)
Hidden Battles Foundation - Veterans Services in NH (NH Business Review, 11/9)
Mosaic Lowell - Tax workshop (Lowell Sun, 11/10)
GLCF Receives National Recognition (Inside Lowell, 10/30)
State Senator Ed Kennedy Attends GLCF event (State Sen. Ed Kennedy, 11/01)
Boys & Girls Club works to drive away food insecurity
(Lowell Sun, 10/29)
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Last chance to register. Seating is limited. Registration closes on Dec. 1 at noon | |
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Join the Greater Lowell Community Foundation for a panel discussion on Building a Culture of Inclusion Among Greater Lowell’s Nonprofit Boards.
GLCF funded a Board Diversity Initiative (BDI) grant as part of Racial Equity and Inclusion grants. BDI is a collaborative project of the Lowell Plan, the Lowell Alliance, the Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA), and the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce (GLCC) with support from the Non-Profit Alliance (NPA) of Greater Lowell and modeled in part after Community InRoads’ Cultural Inclusion Program for Nonprofit Boards.
This panel discussion will include best practices and lessons learned from:
- Ensuring a welcoming and inclusive culture is in place for new board members from different backgrounds.
- Aligning the interests and skills of professionals in the community with the needs of local nonprofit boards.
- Ensuring new board members understand the roles and responsibilities of serving on a board.
- The importance of having an on-boarding process and a culture that makes new members, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, feel welcome and engaged.
Moderator:
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Joseph Banh, Lowell Plan Public Matters®, Program Director, The Lowell Plan
Panelists:
Allison Lamey, Executive Director, The Lowell Plan and Lowell Development & Financial Corp. • BDI program partners • Joan Kulash, E.D., Community InRoads • Lorie Mendoza, Community InRoads Cultural Inclusion Program Graduate and former E.D. of Si Se Puede
This event is free and open to the leadership of our Greater Lowell nonprofit partners.
Seating is limited and registration is required.
(Max. of 2 individuals per organization)
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GLCF Joins “Creative Commonwealth” Partnership – with Cambridge and MetroWest
Expanded initiative now includes eight community foundations. Next three years to feature new and deepened investments, experiments, and learning to advance more equitable, vibrant, and sustainable arts and creativity in communities across Massachusetts.
It is a joy to announce Cambridge Community Foundation, Community Foundation for MetroWest, and Greater Lowell Community Foundation as participants in Barr’s Creative Commonwealth Initiative. Each carries active commitment to arts and exciting aspirations that Barr will support through a three-year, $525,000 grant beginning in 2024. Their involvement promises new resources targeted to arts and creativity in even more parts of the state, as well as greater opportunities for alignment and collaboration through this novel partnership of private and community foundations.
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GLCF Honors Greater Lowell Award Recipients At Inclusive Cultural Economy Event
Lowell, MA – On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) hosted its annual Celebrate Giving at UTEC in Lowell, Mass. The event focused on Creating an Inclusive Cultural Economy and featured a keynote by Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council.
The event included awarding four 2023 GLCF honors: Business Philanthropy Partner Award, Steven Joncas Community Connector Award, and Bankers’ Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement and the GLCF Newell Flather Legacy Fund Grant Awards.
Juniper Networks, with a facility in Westford, received the 2023 GLCF Business Philanthropy Partner Award for their continued annual grants partnership that connects Juniper’s employees with local needs by awarding multiple grants through GLCF to Greater Lowell nonprofits. Marci Barnes, Site Lead for Juniper Networks’ New England Innovation Center (NEIC) accepted the award.
The 2023 Steven Joncas Community Connector Award recipient was Frank Carvalho of Tyngsboro. The award recognizes an individual or organization in our community that has advanced the power of philanthropy in Greater Lowell. Carvalho’s dedication to supporting community members in their dream to contribute to the city’s economy was highlighted with this award.
The 2023 Bankers’ Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement recipient was Ellen Andre of Chelmsford. The award recognizes an individual who is making a positive change in the Greater Lowell community. GLCF honored Andre for her volunteerism and exemplary efforts of improving the quality of life in Greater Lowell.
The second annual GLCF Newell Flather Legacy Fund Grant was awarded to two organizations: Angkor Dance Troupe for their Youth Program and Project Learn for their Book Nook initiative. The Newell Flather Legacy Fund was established by the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation in 2022 at GLCF to support nonprofit projects focused on the arts, immigrant, and refugee communities, and/or advancing equity and inclusion in the city of Lowell.
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Volunteers Needed:
2024 LHS Scholarship Selection Committee
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Support Our LHS Seniors by Reviewing Scholarship Applications from the Comfort of Your Home (Training Provided)
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation is seeking volunteers to assist with reviewing scholarship applications for students at Lowell High School. Last year, the Community Foundation awarded over $609,251 in scholarships at Lowell High School. These awards could not have been made without the help of the volunteer Honors Night Selection Committee.
The committee consists of parents, teachers, scholarship donors, and representatives from Greater Lowell businesses and the community. Participating offers an incredible opportunity to learn more about the accomplishments and work of many deserving students attending Lowell High School. Reviewers will read and score scholarships online in the month of March.
It does require a time commitment: last year the average number of scholarship applications assigned to each committee member was 45.
Contact: Fatima Palermo, Scholarship Coordinator at 978-970-1600 or email: Fatima@glcfoundation.org.
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Six Tips for Year-End Giving | |
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At the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF), we can help make your year-end giving simple and rewarding. A trusted partner for giving for more than 26 years, we’re proud to be a place where charitable giving becomes local, personal, and meaningful.
We can help you think strategically about how you give and how to make our community a better place. We work to ensure that your donations make the greatest impact on the causes you care about while maximizing your tax advantages.
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GRANT HIGHLIGHT - GLCF's 2022 Juniper Networks Community Grants Program - Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell Grant | |
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Through GLCF’s partnership with Juniper Networks Community Grants Program, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell received a $10,000 grant in 2022.
The grant funding supported the Boys & Girls Club’s “Club Love” program. With rising costs of food, families often resort to low-cost fast food which lacks nutritional value. Club Love’s objectives and goals were to increase nutrition knowledge, food attitudes and beliefs, cooking and shopping skills, and food behaviors of their member families. The program was able to address all these focus areas by providing comprehensive support to its members with examples of accessible nutritious meals, easy recipes with step-by-step instructions and ingredients. Each Friday, Family Care packages provided Club families with food to prepare over the weekend. A total of 105 packages were distributed. The overall feedback from member families was positive and they expressed gratitude for the Club’s interest in improving food habits and cooking skills.
As a result of Club Love, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell has learned that food insecurity is a crisis that continues to exist among their families. The Club has also started a new initiative called "Club Love on Wheels" operating a food truck that is owned and operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell. The objectives of the program are to provide free nutritious foods to kids and teens in Lowell, to provide workforce development programs for teens interested in culinary arts, and to inform more families about programs at the Boys & Girls Club. Club Love on Wheels will be visiting various parks in Lowell on weekdays throughout the year.
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Inaugural Festival and Event Planners Resource Group
In partnership with DIY Lowell, Mosaic Lowell hosted an inaugural Festival & Event Planners Resource Group to discuss sharing resources and knowledge with over 30 organizers in attendance. If you know of any event organizers interested in attending the next gathering on December 6, they can learn more HERE!
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Inaugural Festival and Event Planners Resource Group at LTC on Nov 1. | |
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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