2007 Grants
Arts and Culture
American Textile History Museum
$200,000 as the first installment of a $500,000 pledge toward the museum’s $3.9 million capital campaign, to support reconfiguring of the museum’s exhibition space. Three additional installments of $100,000 each are scheduled for release in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Cultural Organization of Lowell, Inc.
$15,000 for production costs of “Where Elephants Weep,” an opera by Cambodian composer Him Sophy. The opera was premiered in Lowell with support from local institutions including University of Massachusetts Lowell, Middlesex Community College, Lowell National Historical Park, Greater Lowell Community Foundation, and the Merrimack Repertory Theatre.
Lowell Art Association
d/b/a Whistler House Museum of Art
$35,000 for preservation of a collection of art works by Arshile Gorky, and for a security upgrade for the museum. The restored Gorky collection will be placed on permanent loan at the Whistler House.
Lowell Festival Foundation, Inc.
$20,000 for basic operations for the Lowell Folk Festival, the largest free festival of its kind in the United States. In addition to this core support, a reserve grant of $40,000 was approved toward the salary of a new coordinator for the festival.
New England Quilt Museum
$25,000 for marketing activities for the museum, including new logo, brochure and website design.
Revolving Museum, Inc.
$40,000 for the ARTVentures project, a citywide public art program to be stationed at three underutilized locations in downtown Lowell.
Subtotal Arts and Culture: $335,000
Percentage of Total: 26.5
Community and Economic Development
Coalition for a Better Acre, Inc.
$25,000 in salary support for a newly created community liaison position, to enable the organization to take on new development projects in the Acre and elsewhere in Lowell. (Projected additional support of $25,000 in 2008.)
JFYNetworks
Boston, MA
$20,000 in planning support for a “green environment ” jobs training program for young adults in Lowell.
Justice Resource Institute Inc.
Concord, MA
f/b/o GRIP Project, Lowell
$35,000 for the JUMP Project, an employment training program for area homeless teens.
ONE Lowell Corporation
$40,000 for staffing costs associated with the Lowell Vote and Advocacy program, to increase civic participation among the city’s newcomer populations, and to educate the general public on alternatives to the city’s current winner-take-all electoral process.
Subtotal Community and Economic Development: $120,000
Percentage of Total: 9.5
Development of Philanthropy
Greater Lowell Community Foundation, Inc.
$30,000 in salary support to enable the community foundation to hire its first full-time program officer.
Jericho Road Project, Inc.
Concord, MA
$25,000 in continued support for Jericho Road, which draws on a pool of skilled volunteers to provide management consulting and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations in Lowell. (Second installment of a three-year, $75,000 comitment.)
Subtotal Development of Philanthropy: $55,000
Percentage of Total: 4
Education
Mary Bacigalupo Educational Program
via University of Massachusetts Foundation, Inc.
$10,000 for programmatic activities of the Mary Bacigalupo Educational Program, including volunteer work for the MacAuliffe and Robinson Schools in the Centraville neighborhood. This program was established in memory of Mary Bacigalupo, in recognition of her many contributions to the civic life of Lowell.
Primary Source, Inc.
Watertown, MA
$17,000 for a curriculum development project to incorporate Southeast Asian studies in the Lowell Public Schools. This grant was complemented by the Freeman Foundation, which underwrote a summer study tour for Lowell school teachers.
Troubadour, Inc.
Brookline, MA
$25,000 in support of a residency project at the Murkland Elementary School in Lowell incorporating songwriting and poetry into the language arts curriculum.
United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, Inc.
$20,000 as the third and final installment of support for an after-school “apprenticeship” program serving middle school students at the Wang and Robinson schools in Lowell. This project was developed in collaboration with the nonprofit Citizen Schools in Boston and Community Teamwork in Lowell. (Total project support of $70,000, 2003-2007.)
University of Massachusetts Foundation, Inc.
UMass Lowell, Center for Field Services and Studies
$10,000 in support for a pilot iteracy initiative led by Professor Allyssa McCabe, serving preschool children enrolled at the Bartlett Community Partnership School in Lowell.
University Press of New England
via Trustees of Dartmouth College
$5,000 in last-dollar support for the publication of Southeast Asian Refugees and Immigrants in the Mill City, a collection of essays edited by UMass Lowell professors Jeffrey Gerson and Lan Pho commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the beginning of Cambodian and other Southeast Asian immigration to Lowell.
Subtotal Education: $87,000
Percentage of Total: 7
Evironment
Community Gardens Greenhouse
via Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Inc.
$20,000 for the Community Gardens Greenhouse project and its training and assistance for community groups in the Acre and other Lowell neighborhoods.
Friends of Shedd Park
via Community Teamwork, Inc.
$30,000 for a citizen-led endeavor to construct a new playground and aquatic spray park at Shedd Park. Established in 1910, the 50-acre Shedd Park is the city’s largest public green space.
Lowell Canalwaters Cleaners, Inc.
$25,000 in capacity-building support for this largely volunteer organization, for the purchase of cleanup equipment and for expansion of educational programming related to Lowell’s historic network of locks and canals.
Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Inc.
$2,500 for a fundraising event for a public art installation by artist Wopo Holup, as part of the design of the Concord River Greenway in Lowell. (Prior support of $40,000 for the Concord River Greenway, 2003-2004.)
Merrimack River Watershed Council
$25,000 for development activities, including fundraising salaries and the purhcase of new computer software.
Proprietors of the Lowell Cemetery
$32,600 toward the restoration of the Moses Greeley Parker and Theodore Edson Parker mausoleums. Theodore Edson Parker (1859-1938) was the founder of the Parker Foundation and a nephew to Moses Greeley Parker, a Lowell physician, investor, and philanthropist. The 1841 cemetery was the city’s first public park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Subtotal Environment: $135,100
Percentage of Total: 11
Housing
Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, Inc.
$25,000 for antidiscrimination training, monitoring and client advocacy in the Greater Lowell region. (Total support of $50,000, 2004-2007.)
Merrimack River Valley House, Inc.
$25,000 in second-round support for predevelopment expenses for an addition to the historic rest home, to provide additional housing for seniors in the Greater Lowell region. (Total project support of $50,000, 2005-2007.)
Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc.
$25,000 to enable the Housing Partnership to hire a new program officer.
University of Massachusetts Foundation, Inc.
UMass Lowell, Center for Family, Work and Community
$25,000 to support the establishment of a Technical Assistance And Research Center for Housing at University of Massachusetts Lowell, to serve as a resource to the City’s planning department, citywide and regional developers of affordable housing, and to their consituencies.
Subtotal Housing: $100,000
Percentage of Total: 8
Human Services
Adolescent Consultation Services, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
$10,000 in final support for the Education and Advocacy Program in Lowell, to provide follow-up services to court-involved young people and their families. (Total project support of $45,000, 2005-2007.)
Big Brother-Big Sister of Greater Lowell, Inc.
d/b/a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell and Nashoba Valley
$40,000 in second-year support toward the salary of a development director, as part of the organization’s long-term growth plan. (Total project support of $90,000, 2006-2007.)
Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Inc.
$30,000 toward the salary of CMAA’s development director, who will devote a portion of time to joint fundraising with other Asian-led nonprofits in Lowell.
Christ Church United in Lowell
$28,000 in continued support for the Church’s emergency financial assistance program for individuals in Lowell ($22,000), and for a summer program for young people ($6,000).
Greater Lowell Family YMCA
$40,000 for capital improvements, as part of a comprehensive renovation of the agency’s Lowell facility. (Support of $115,000, 2004-2007.)
Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, Inc.
Boston, MA
$40,000 to establish a volunteer mentoring program for court-involved young people served by the organization’s Eliot Center in Lowell.
Light of Cambodian Children, Inc.
$25,000 for a summer camping program for Asian and Latino children in Lowell ($15,000), and core suppprt for the organization during its first fully staffed year ($10,000).
Lowell Boys Club Association
d/b/a Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell, Inc.
$40,000 for a nutrition program combining cooking classes, snacks and evening meals for young people and their families.
Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
$20,000 in startup assistance for a domestic violence prevention campaign in Lowell’s Portuguese-speaking community, involving outreach to local clergy.
United Teen Equality Center
$75,000 in second-phase support toward a capital campaign for a new facility for the youth-led organization. (Total capital support of $225,000, 2006-2007; projected additional support of $75,000 in 2008.)
United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Merrimack Valley
$18,000 for Summer Experiences in Greater Lowell, a combined funding program for nonprofit organizations offering summer camping programs for Lowell children.
University of Massachusetts Foundation, Inc.
National Youth Sports Program at UMass Lowell
$30,000 in emergency assistance for the long-established summer program, to compensate for a loss of federal support.
University of Massachusetts Foundation, Inc.
UMass Lowell, Psychology Department
$25,000 for Aspirations, a research and support program led by Professor Ashleigh Hillier serving young people with autism
spectrum disorder.
Subtotal Human Services: $421,000
Percentage of Total: 33
Membership Organizations
Associated Grant Makers of Massachusetts, Inc.
d/b/a Associated Grant Makers
Boston, MA
$5,100
Association of Small Foundations
Washington, DC
$470
Council on Foundations, Inc.
Washington, DC
$2,280
Neighborhood Funders Group
Washington, DC
$400
Subtotal Membership Organizations: $8,250
Percentage of Total: 1