Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (Atlanta, GA)

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation continues its long-term commitment for racial justice and supporting democracy by investing $470,000 in new grants to seven organizations that are focused on creating systemic change and ending the disenfranchisement of Blacks, Indigenous People, and all People of Color.

The foundation is making the following grants in Georgia:

  • Blue Institute—to train young people of color to lead campaigns that reflect constituencies critical for winning new voting blocs. ($25000)
  • Color of Change—to support the #JusticeforAhmaud campaign. ($50,000)
  • Movement for Black Lives—to provide financial, communications, organizing, and direct service support to Black organizations unifying for real change in response to George Floyd’s death. ($50,000)
  • NAACP Georgia—to support policy work needed for police reform. ($100,000)
  • Out of Hand Theater—to support the July 2020 launch of the Equity Design & Innovation Institute created by Out of Hand Theater to pilot a program to train individuals to become Equity Ambassadors by providing them with the skills to disrupt and change inequitable systemic policies and cycles of discrimination, inequality, and inequity. ($20,000)
  • Southern Center for Human Rights—to support a dual focus on stopping the spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities and helping youth transform systems causing harm in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia. ($150,000)

The foundation is also making the following grant in Montana:

  • Montana Racial Equity Project—to increase racial equity through workshops and to expand police reform work throughout the state. This work builds on the Blank Family Foundation and the Blank Family of Businesses efforts to combat hatred and discrimination by partnering with the Equal Justice Initiative and engaging in educational programming that explores the legacy of slavery, racial terrorism, segregation and contemporary issues of mass incarceration, excessive punishment and police violence. ($75,000)

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and each of the Blank Family of Businesses recognize that dollars alone will not solve centuries of systemic racism. These financial investments represent an initial commitment to long-term, meaningful efforts to achieve a more equitable and just society.

Blue Shield of California (Oakland, CA)

Governor Newsom’s announcement of multiple actions to address domestic violence in California, including support for the Relief and Resilience Fund, is encouraging news for all Californians—particularly those affected by domestic violence. Blue Shield of California Foundation catalyzed the fund’s focus on domestic violence with seed funding of $1.45 million that has already been distributed to 130 domestic violence shelters across the state.

As a result of today’s crisis, the threat of family violence is greater than ever. During and beyond this pandemic, the foundation’s commitment to ending domestic violence in California remains steadfast. As the state’s largest private funder of domestic violence service providers, we understand how vital these frontline organizations are to people, families, and communities experiencing abuse. This Fund helps to ensure that doors remain open and vital services continue to be available to those in need. In addition, its focus on gender equity and economic recovery of women will help to address key drivers of domestic violence that the Foundation continues to prioritize.

This important demonstration of support for survivors of domestic violence—and those at risk—is a sign that California is not turning away from those who are struggling most. It also shines a light on the strength of the domestic violence field and its critical role in giving survivors and families a way out and a way forward. Shelters, service organizations, and advocates are always essential – even more so in this difficult time.

Since 2002, Blue Shield of California Foundation has given more than $100 million to support survivors, promote healing for those already impacted by violence, and help break the cycle of abuse that perpetuates through generations. It is thrilled to welcome new partners and allies to this vital effort to make California the healthiest state with the lowest rates of domestic violence.

Contact: bscfpublicaffairs@blueshieldcafoundation.org.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation (Detroit, MI)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation awarded the following grants:

  • Baldwin Family Health Center—part of the 2020 Rapid Response: Safety Net Telehealth Initiative. ($50,000)
  • Ford Hospital, Joseph Miller, MD—to evaluate the performance of hospital emergency departments during a medical surge scenario. ($10,000)
  • Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services—to validate the effectiveness of leveraging Michigan’s existing statewide health information exchange infrastructure to improve the speed and accuracy of Michigan’s current medicolegal death investigation process. ($43,000)

Contact: Elba Huerta at foundation@bcbsm.com.

The Boston Foundation (Boston, MA)

The Boston Foundation approved $1,020,000 in single and multiyear discretionary grants to 18 organizations. In addition, the board recognized $1 million in grants from the foundation’s Open Door Grants program that would usually be announced at the June meeting, but had been distributed last month to get the funds to nonprofits more quickly.

Concern over how shutdowns and other disruptions will affect Boston students and schools shaped many of the education grants in the docket. It includes support for programs that provide summer activities and combat summer learning loss including:

  • Boston After School and Beyond ($100,000)
  • Boston Public Schools ($70,000)
  • Camp Harbor View ($50,000)
  • Perrone Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership at the Center for Artistry and Scholarship, Inc. ($40,000)
  • Philanthropy Massachusetts ($25,000)

Boston’s affordable housing issues, exacerbated by the economic dislocation of COVID-19, are also a focus of the docket. Grants will go to:

  • Chinatown Community Land Trust ($25,000)
  • Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Inc. ($75,000)
  • Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants ($60,000)
  • Metro Housing | Boston ($70,000)

The full list of discretionary grants and selected grants from other programs of the foundation is below.

  • The BASE—to combine athletic training with education and career resources to empower student-athletes to achieve their full potential both on and off the field. ($100,000)
  • Boston Affordable Housing Coalition, Inc./Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants—to preserve and improve at-risk subsidized buildings as permanently affordable housing with maximum resident participation and control. ($60,000)
  • Boston After School & Beyond, Inc.—to ensure that every child can develop his or her full potential, to expand organizational capacity, support contingency and expansion planning, and implement summer learning in Boston, Massachusetts. ($100,000)
  • Boston Dance Alliance, Inc.—to support a series of convenings and conversations on dance and disability and implementation of related strategic initiatives. ($80,000)
  • Boston Private Industry Council, Inc.—to staff and execute the strategic priorities of TechHire Boston, an initiative meant to expand learning and generate more career opportunities so that diverse talent can meet Boston’s IT workforce demands. ($50,000)
  • Boston Public Schools—to support the Boston Public Schools’ partnership with the University of Virginia which will provide professional development for leaders of struggling and low performing schools. ($70,000 over two years)
  • Camp Harbor View Foundation—to provide an environment in which young adolescents from many of Boston’s at-risk neighborhoods can experience fun, friendship, new exposures, and mentoring opportunities offered by a caring and experienced staff. ($50,000)
  • Center for Artistry and Scholarship, Inc.—to sponsor the Perrone Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership to partner with the Boston Public Schools to build a leadership development pipeline for Assistant Principals. ($40,000)
  • Chinatown Community Land Trust, Inc.—to stabilize the future of Boston’s Chinatown as a neighborhood for working class families and a regional hub for the Chinese community. ($25,000)
  • The Education Trust—to expand excellence and equity in education from preschool through college, to support the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership. ($50,000)
  • Empower Success Corps—to equip ESC consultants with the skills and knowledge to integrate a DEI lens in their engagements with community-based nonprofits. ($50,000 over two years)
  • Diversity—to support its operations and capacity to prepare and place nontraditional and diverse talent into IT/tech internships that convert into full time job opportunities. ($50,000)
  • Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Inc.—to educate and mobilize individuals and communities to increase affordable and sustainable homeownership across Massachusetts. ($75,000)
  • Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority—for 6,000 pre-loaded $5 Charlie Cards to be distributed in Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. ($30,000)
  • Metro Housing|Boston—to mobilize wide-ranging resources to provide innovative and personalized services that lead families and individuals to housing stability, economic security, and an improved quality of life. ($70,000)
  • Philanthropy Massachusetts—to support its Summer Program, which ensures that underserved and at-risk youth have access to quality summer enrichment opportunities, regardless of racial, ethnic, or socio-economic background. ($25,000)
  • The Reebok Foundation—to support Build Our Kids’ Success, a before school physical activity program for elementary and middle school aged students in Boston Public Schools. ($50,000)
  • uAspire, Inc.—to support the college affordability needs of Success Boston students and provide training and technical assistance to Success Boston coaches. ($45,000)

The foundation also acknowledged more than $1 million in payments or requests for payment made by special funds at the foundation in accordance with the specific terms of each fund. These funds have advisors/advisory committees that make recommendations for the re-granting of these funds. Other grants include:

  • Boston Branch of the NAACP—for the NAACP Convention 2020. ($50,000)
  • Museum of African American History—for the Third Annual MAAH Stone Book Prize. ($25,025)
  • Environmental League of Massachusetts, Inc.—for the Civic Action Project. ($25,000)
  • Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.—for the Listen for Good Initiative. ($15,000)
  • STRIVE Boston—for general operating support. ($20,000)
  • TSNE MissionWorks—for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management’s Stepping into Boldness Series. ($25,000)

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point (High Point, NC)

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point approved $635, 457 in grants to local nonprofits. The foundation approved the following Traditional Cycle Grants:

  • Children’s Home Society—to assist with of teen pregnancy prevention services. ($25,000)
  • Family Services of the Piedmont—to assist with the Integrated Primary Care Program. ($190,000)
  • Guilford Nonprofit Consortium—to strengthen nonprofit organizations through. ($20,000)
  • Guilford Nonprofit Consortium—to support the Healthy Minds Initiative. ($84,824)
  • Guilford County DHHS—to promote wellness, reduce pregnancy, and increase access to health care for teens. ($84,760)
  • Ready for School, Ready for Life—to assist with operational support. ($25,000)
  • UNC-Greensboro—to support the Healthy Homes program. ($28,586)
  • West End Ministries—to create a behavioral health program to provide on-site crisis intervention and counseling. ($25,000)

In addition, the board of directors also approved the following Small Grants:

  • Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater High Point—to expand a gardening program to support vulnerable youth. ($3,087)
  • Open Door Ministries—for replacement bunk beds to improve the overall health of clients served in the shelter. ($10,000)

Contact: Tina Markanda at 336.822.7740 or tmarkanda@healthyhighpoint.org.                                

Montana Healthcare Foundation (Bozeman, MT)

Montana Healthcare Foundation announced its new grantees. Organizations include:

  • Bitterroot CASA, Inc —to recruit and train new CASA volunteer advocates.
  • Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana—to develop a climate and health online certificate program and CME opportunity.
  • Flathead City-County Health Department—for behavioral health system mapping.
  • Montana Food Bank Network, Inc—to support the rural food box program in Hardin, Montana.
  • Montana Free Press—to support statewide coverage against COVID-19.
  • MSU Office of Rural Health—to support Montana RIDE (Regional Initiatives in Dental Education).
  • Partnership Health Center—to implement a medical-legal partnership.
  • Red Lodge Area Community Foundation—to address rural isolation and mobility needs in Carbon County, Montana.
  • University of Montana Foundation—to support the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute.

For more details on these projects, click here.

Contact: 406.451.7060 or info@mthcf.org. 

Tufts Health Plan Foundation (Watertown, MA)

Tufts Health Plan Foundation approved an additional $900,000 to support recovery and rebuilding efforts addressing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The foundation’s commitment to COVID-19 response now reaches nearly $2 million.

The foundation also announced 13 new grants, totaling $1.7 million for support of collaborative community efforts and systems change to advance healthy aging.

The new grants go to:

  • Cheshire Medical Center—to support coordination activities for broadband connectivity; align Covid-19 responses with Building Resilience Against Climate Effects effort; and integrate age-friendly planning with activities around housing, economic opportunity, and Alzheimer’s and related dementias. ($185,000 over three years)
  • Connecticut Community Care—to create a statewide community-driven Age Well Collaborative promoting livable/age-friendly communities, healthy aging, advocacy, and age-positive messaging. ($150,000 over three years)
  • Ethos (Southwest Boston Senior Services, Inc.)—to make technology and virtual programming accessible for older adults to reduce isolation and provide internet access and training to older people with modest incomes. ($80,000 over two years)
  • FSG—to study how service adaptations in response to COVID-19 can contribute to inclusive and equitable age-friendly practices in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative. ($100,000)
  • Greater Seacoast Community Health—to develop a regional age-friendly plan for Strafford County and towns in Rockingham and Carroll counties in Massachusetts. ($120,000 over two years)
  • Harvard University Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation—to create a statewide inventory of nutrition programs for older people to make it easier for health care providers, payers, and social service agencies to connect patients to Food is Medicine services. ($110,000 over two years)
  • Healthy Waltham—to expand Waltham Connections’ Senior Pantries; increase communications around opportunities that address social isolation; and adapt the Waltham Senior Civic Academy curriculum to a virtual format. ($100,000 over two years)
  • The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester Inc.—to establish a citywide collaborative focused on connecting and expanding access to mental health services for older adults. ($165,000 over three years)
  • ONE Neighborhood Builders—to develop new design, financing mechanisms, and community development options to increase the supply of accessible, affordable housing for diverse older adults. ($100,000 over two years)
  • The Open Door—to support the rollout of a Medically Tailored Groceries program for low-income older adult clients with chronic health conditions. ($85,000)
  • Pioneer Valley Regional Ventures Center—to Convene a Pioneer Valley Age-Friendly Collaborative to engage member communities in planning for an aging population. ($195,000 over three years)
  • Trust for America’s Health—to engage state public health and aging leaders across New England in a practitioners’ community to learn about and grow age-friendly efforts. ($50,000)
  • University of Massachusetts Foundation—to create a citywide age-friendly initiative building community capacity to develop and implement action and evaluation plans that promote health, independence, and quality of life for older residents. ($300,000 over three years)

The foundation continues a two-for-one match for donations by Tufts Health Plan employees and board members to organizations addressing the coronavirus pandemic. This match now is expanded and includes donations to nonprofits working on anti-racism and social justice efforts. Since March, more than $245,000 has been contributed to community organizations.

Contact: Alrie McNiff Daniels at 617.301.2715 or alrie_daniels@tufts-health.com.

Share this