• Grantmaking Overview
• Capital Support
• Multi-Year Project Support
• Annual Giving
• Disability Inclusion Initiative
• Youth in the Arts Initiative
• Empowerment Initiative
• College Scholarship Initiative

Project HOPE works with families to end the cycle of poverty for homeless families through advocacy, support and personal empowerment. 

Empowerment Initiative

The Empowerment Initiative was established in 2006 to implement the Trustees’ belief that individuals must be empowered on a personal level in order to make positive changes in their lives. Through this Initiative, the Foundation aims to provide funding for programs that enable and support individual empowerment by:

• building skills
• building relationships 
• providing access to information
• supporting critical thinking and decision-making
• providing ongoing support
• bolstering self-esteem
• instilling hope

The Foundation’s strategy for empowering individuals to make positive changes in their lives involves three approaches.

1. Increasing Access to Education for Adult Learners
2. Building Assets in Youth
3. Supporting Recovery from Domestic Violence

In the adult education area, the Foundation aims to increase access for adult learners pursuing basic education, English language instruction and pre-college readiness courses.  To address barriers to participation and success, the Foundation will fund support services for adult learners.  These services may include, but are not limited to, counseling, case management, child care, transportation, tutoring and mentoring.  The Foundation will also fund projects that employ a systemic approach to increasing access to education for adult learners, for example, through research and pilot projects, interagency collaboration and public policy work.

In the youth development area,  the Foundation aims to build assets in youth through funding programs that encourage disadvantaged and disenfranchised youth to build relationships and gain the confidence, skills and independence necessary to succeed and meet their goals.  The Foundation will support efforts that reflect best practices of youth development programs including ones that:

• offer activities that are engaging and that foster learning
• have mechanisms in place to help youth move forward as young adults
• promote youth contribution and collaboration
• foster supportive relationships
• set high expectations and clear limits

In the domestic violence area, the Foundation aims to support recovery from domestic abuse by funding programs that involve goal setting, skill building, developing financial independence and peer and mentoring support.  The Foundation will also consider funding programs that employ a systemic approach to reducing the impact of domestic violence, for example, through research, interagency collaboration and public policy work. 

The inaugural round of Empowerment funding yielded 13 grants totaling $360,000.  The 2007 grant cycle produced 23 grants for a total of $635,000. All proposals are solicited through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.  Any organization offering a program that fits our funding objectives is invited to contact the Foundation by phone to discuss its work.

2007 Empowerment Initiative grants include:

• Boston Center for Independent Living (Boston, MA):
  $25,000 to expand its Youth Services Program, which assists students with disabilities as they transition to adulthood through advocacy, skills training and mentoring.
  visit the Boston Center for Independent Living website
• Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (Boston, MA):
  $25,000 to the Adult Education New Skills Program, to enhance its tutoring component through a combination of peer tutoring and distance learning via the Internet.
  visit the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center website
• Casa Myrna Vasquez (Boston, MA)
  $25,000 for the SOAR Program, an economic development program that helps domestic violence victims regain control of their finances.
  visit the Casa Myrna Vasquez website
• Center for Teen Empowerment (Boston, MA):
  $25,000 for the Dorchester Youth Organizing Initiative, an effort that trains and hires youth to work on developing and implementing strategies to address community issues.
   visit the Center for Teen Empowerment website
• Community Rowing, Inc. (Watertown, MA):
  $25,000 for the G-ROW program, which combines rigorous after-school training in rowing with relationship building, leadership development, and academic support for girls.
  visit the Community Rowing, Inc. website
• ESAC (Jamaica Plain, MA)
  $25,000 each year for 2 years to the GED Plus Program, an effort that helps students earn the GED and provides work-related and life skills training to ensure their long-term personal and education success. 
  visit the ESAC website
• Elizabeth Stone House (Jamaica Plain, MA)
  $30,000 for its Residential Support Services, which include support and guidance from staff, life skills classes and support groups.   
  visit the Elizabeth Stone House website
• The Food Project (Lincoln, MA):
  $25,000 for its three Youth Development Programs, through which participants gain basic job skills, sophistication about healthy eating choices and food systems, contribute to local communities, and learn communication, teamwork and life skills.
  visit The Food Project website
• Harbor COV (Chelsea, MA)
  $30,000 for the Community Education and Support Initiative, a joint initiative with Bunker Hill Community College that provides academic and community support services to victims of domestic abuse.
  visit the Harbor COV website
• Jewish Family and Children’s Services (Waltham, MA):
  $30,000 for the Gesher L’Olam Program which provides work/volunteer opportunities, literacy training, and self-advocacy training to individuals with disabilities.
  visit the Jewish Family and Children's Services website
• Jewish Vocational Services (Boston, MA)
  $30,000 for Employment Services for Adult Education Students, which provides case management, employment and job-retention aid for recently-arrived refugees who are enrolled in ESOL classes.  
  visit the JVS website
• Mujeres Unidas en Accion (Dorchester, MA):
  $25,000 towards the cost of support services for its Adult Basic Education Program.  The services include transportation, support groups, educational counseling and childcare.
  visit the Mujeres Unidas en Accion website
• MYTOWN (Boston, MA)
  $25,000 for its Youth Guide Development Program which trains Boston Public High School students to educate the public about Boston history through leading tours and workshops.
  visit the MYTOWN website
• Odwin Learning Center (Dorchester, MA):
  $30,000 toward the addition of a Case Management Component in its adult education program.
  visit the Odwin Learning Center website
• One Family, Inc. (Boston, MA):
  $35,000 for the Day Retreats component of One Family Scholars Program, an effort that assists homeless and nearly-homeless women in reaching their educational goals in order to lift their families out of the cycle of poverty.
  visit the One Family, Inc. website
• Partners for Youth with Disabilities (Boston, MA):
  $25,000 for the Mentoring Through Peer Leadership Program which engages disabled and non-disabled youth to become active in their communities and to learn about the value of community service by becoming mentors/leaders to individuals with disabilities.
  visit the Partners for Youth with Disabilities website
• Project HOPE (Dorchester, MA):
  $30,000 to expand the support services of the Adult Learner Program as enrollment increases over the coming year.
  visit the Project HOPE website
• The Second Step (Newton, MA)
  $25,000 for the Community Program, an effort that provides case management, mentoring and financial assistance to women who have been affected by domestic violence.  
  visit the Second Step website
• Summer Search (Boston, MA)
  $35,000 per year for 2 years toward the Summer Search program which offers teens an experiential outdoor summer program, mentoring, community events and college prep.
  visit the Summer Search website
• Tenacity (Brighton, MA):
  $30,000 for the After-School Excellence Program which provides at-risk Boston Public Middle School students with academic/literacy support, life skills development, and tennis instruction to encourage personal and social development.
  visit the Tenacity website
• Thompson Island Outward Bound (Boston, MA):
  $25,000 to support new staff at four Boston Public Middle Schools involved in the Choices Program.
  visit the Thompson Island Outward Bound website
• West End House Boys and Girls Club (Allston, MA)
  $25,000 for the Brian J. Honan Fellowship, a year-long experience that empowers teens through public service, leadership training and a summer internship.
  visit the West End House website
• Women's Express (Cambridge, MA)
  $30,000 toward SHOUT!, a job-training journalism mentoring program which produces Teen Voices magazine. 
  visit the Women's Express website