2020 Grant Recipients

A Better Chance

New York, NY

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

$20,000 to provide support to overcome important challenges that are a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the physical distancing necessary to achieve one goal: the retention of all of its 2,206 Scholars.

Since 1963, A Better Chance has been opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in this nation. Its mission is to increase the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society.

www.abetterchance.org

Academy of the Pacific Rim

Boston, MA

Amount granted: $45,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

To provide emergency support for the school to address food insecurity, access to technology and micro-grants to alumni in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Academy of the Pacific Rim (APR) is a charter public school serving 540 students in grades 5-12 in Hyde Park, a neighborhood in Boston. Its mission is to “empower students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to achieve their full intellectual and social potential.” This vision is accomplished by holding students to high expectations and standards academically and ensuring that all students have the supports and opportunities to develop socially and emotionally. APR programs move students along a path that consistently leads to agency and further education.

Apollo Theater

New York, NY

Amount granted: $50,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant categories: Education, Visual Arts and Music

 

To support the Pathways Program, which includes apprentice and internships programs for underserved youth in the arts, production and arts administration.  

The Apollo Theater is one of the most legendary and influential cultural forces in America.  Its mission is to preserve and develop the Theater through world class live performances and education programs that: 1) honor the influence and advance the contributions of African-American artists; and 2) advance emerging creative voices across cultural and artistic media. Since it opened 86 years ago, the Apollo remains a leading arts organization in NYC, a community anchor and economic driver for Harlem, a global touch point for African American culture, and one of the world’s most well-known, enduring and well-recognized brands.

Boston Collegiate Charter School

Boston, MA

Amount granted: $25,550`

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

$25,550 to allow the school to purchase literacy intervention reading systems for all grades that will be available to all students who are learning remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 1998, BCCS serves a diverse student body of 700 students from Boston in grades five through 12 and maintains a waitlist of over 1,700 students. Its mission is to prepare each student for college by providing high quality differentiated instruction to all students. All BCCS students receive challenging college-preparatory and career exploration programming, which begins in fifth grade and extends beyond graduation to include robust alumni support.

www.bostoncollegiate.org

Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Cambridge, MA

Amount granted: $100,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Visual Arts and Music

 

To support the 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert dedicated to the memory of The Ellis L. Phillips Foundation’s former President, Ellis L. (Larry) Phillips.

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is widely recognized as the leading orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to performing new music, and its signature record label, BMOP/sound, is the nation’s foremost label launched by an orchestra and solely devoted to new music recordings. Founded in 1996, BMOP’s mission is to illuminate the connections that exist naturally between contemporary music and contemporary society by reuniting composers and audiences in a shared concert experience.  The concert, scheduled for 2021 will feature new organ music and will be held as a fitting tribute to the service of Larry Phillips to the organization.

Community Cooks

Somerville, MA

Amount granted: $28,500

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Human Services

 

To create a rebranding initiative for the organization. 

Community Cooks, based in Somerville, MA offers free, home-cooked meals to vulnerable populations seeking assistance from direct-service programs. In contributing nutritious and much-needed food, Community Cooks aim to: feed hungry neighbors who might otherwise go without; build a bridge of caring between volunteers and community members in need; and support conditions for program participants to achieve success by alleviating their hunger needs.  Community Cooks is a diverse network of 900 volunteers who prepare and deliver 142 home-cooked group meals each month to 43 Greater Boston direct-service organizations, working on a range of social issues including homelessness, domestic violence, substance abuse and issues affecting at-risk youth and low-income seniors.  

Council of Urban Professionals

New York, NY

Amount granted: $50,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

To support The CUP Fellows Program, a yearlong transformative leadership development training program for early-to-mid career professionals of color across sectors who are deeply committed to supporting their communities through impactful contributions to the nonprofit and public sectors.

The Council of Urban Professionals’ (CUP) mission is to inspire, elevate, and empower the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. Now in its 13th year, CUP supports the career progression of professional women and people of color in New York and Los Angeles by: 1) delivering compelling skill-building programs focused on accelerating careers and enhancing visibility, and 2) curating groups of top diverse professionals for impactful conversations and networking opportunities that result in community building, thought leadership, business development and a platform for recognizing diverse talent and inspiring service. 

Dutchess Outreach

Poughkeepsie, NY

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Human Services

 

$20,000 to support the increased requests for food as a result of COV19.

Dutchess Outreach has operated emergency food access and relief programs and services in Dutchess County for more than 46 years. During the COVID pandemic, Dutchess Outreach increased its outreach efforts to fulfill the increasing needs of its neighbors who suffered food insecurity.

www.dutchessoutreach.org

Feeding Children Everywhere

Longwood, FL

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Human Services

 

$20,000 to cover the cost of meals, shipping, and handling for 500 Full Cart grocery boxes to families in the New York City area who have been identified as needing food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feeding Children Everywhere is dedicated to the vision of a hunger-free world. Since 2010, FCE has activated more than 800,000 volunteers to package and distribute over 127 million meals to children and families in need. FCE offers a wide range of programs, from international development to domestic meal distribution to disaster relief to micro farming grants. One of its most successful programs has been its Full Cart program, which provides grocery boxes each containing 125 meals of non perishable food to the doorsteps of families who are in the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), but had a low balance on their SNAP accounts.

www.feedingchildreneverywhere.com

Food Bank of Central New York

Syracuse, NY

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant categories: Human Services, Rural Human Services

 

To support mobile food pantries in and around Syracuse. 

Helping to feed the hungry since 1985, the Food Bank of Central New York (FBCNY) is a multi-faceted organization, working to eliminate hunger by meeting the complex needs of those in communities who are food insecure. For the past 30 years FBCNY has accomplished this through nutritious food distribution, child nutrition programs, outreach, education, and advocacy. Its mobile food pantry (MFP) program delivers food directly to individuals in need and is designed to reach individuals in underserved areas or areas designated as food deserts.