Arts and Culture

A Brush With History, Inc. d/b/a Brush Art Gallery and Studios
$20,000 in core operating support during a time of leadership transition and strategic planning for the organization.

Light of Cambodian Children, Inc.
$15,000 for the translation, publication and recording of two narrative poems by the late Agadippo Ly Van dealing with the lives of Cambodians in Khmer Rouge era. This project was undertaken in collaboration with the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

The Revolving Museum, Inc.
$20,000 to assist the museum in its move to the Western Avenue Studios in Lowell.

Subtotal Arts and Culture: $55,000
Percentage of Total: 11.1

Community and Economic Development

Acre Family Day Care Corporation
$25,000 for an income diversification campaign to increase the number of private-pay families making use of the organization’s network of family child care providers.

Cultural Organization of Lowell, Inc.
$10,000 in second-year support for “What’s Up in Lowell” underwriting campaign on WGBH radio, to expose a Greater Boston audience to the city’s cultural and entertainment resources. (Total project support $36,340, 2008-2009.)

InnerCity Entrepreneurs, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
$25,000 for implementation in Lowell of the organization’s consulting for small and mid-size companies demonstrating potential for growth.

The Lowell Plan, Inc.
$20,000 for the first class of “Empowering Leaders: Lowell Matters,” a networking and training program for emerging leaders working in the city’s nonprofit and public service sectors.

Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
$5,000 for a conference in Lowell for the economic development directors of eleven “gateway” or secondary cities in Massachusetts. The October conference focused on the creative economy and coincided with the launch of the second annual Massachusetts Poetry Festival, based in Lowell.

Third Sector New England, Inc. 
f/b/o Massachusetts Census Equity Fund
$20,000 for nonprofit outreach in Lowell to ensure an adequate Census count, as part of a larger, statewide initiative funded by private foundations in collaboration with the US Census Bureau.

Subtotal Community and Economic Development: $105,000
Percentage of Total: 21.2

Education

Innovation Academy Charter School
Tyngsboro, Massachusetts
$20,000 for an artist-in-residency program at the charter school led by Jerry Beck, the founding director of the Revolving Museum in Lowell, featuring large-scale community art projects and culminating in an Eco Arts Festival at the school’s Tyngsboro campus in 2011.

Lowell Telecommunications Corporation
$15,000 in release of challenge support for the establishment of a youth education program at the local community access television station.

Primary Source, Inc.
Watertown, Massachusetts
$25,000 for work with teachers in the Lowell Public Schools to develop school curriculum on Southeast Asian history and culture.

Trustees of Boston University
Institute of Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Boston, Massachusetts
$20,000 for the first year of a two-semester class for nonprofit executives in the Merrimack Valley. This project was supported in collaboration with the Stevens and Amelia Peabody Foundations.

Subtotal Education: $80,000
Percentage of Total: 16.2

Evironment

Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Inc.
$20,000 in continued support for implementation of the Concord River Greenway in Lowell. When completed, the greenway will link Lowell to miles of walking and biking trails in the Metrowest area of Boston. (Total project support of $62,500, 2004-2009.)

Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Inc.
f/b/o Community Gardens Greenhouse
$10,000 for the establishment of four resident-led gardening groups operating in Downtown Lowell. (Total organizational support of $30,000, 2007-2009.)

Subtotal Environment: $30,000
Percentage of Total: 6.1

Housing

Coalition for a Better Acre, Inc.
$25,000 for the organization’s Home Preservation Center operated in collaboration with Community Teamwork Inc. to assist families at risk of housing foreclosure.

Community Teamwork, Inc.
$70,000 in last-dollar challenge support for the renovation of Millie’s Place, a shelter for homeless families.

Lowell Transitional Living Center
$20,000 for the homeless shelter’s “winter protocol” program, to ensure the safety of homeless individuals during the winter months. This project was undertaken in collaboration with the City of Lowell.

Subtotal Housing: $115,000
Percentage of Total: 23.3

Human Services

Christ Church United in Lowell
$30,000 for the church’s grants program for individuals with emergency needs ($20,000), with the balance for predevelopment costs of an affordable housing project undertaken by the church and for youth programming.

Greater Lowell Family YMCA
$20,000 for capital improvements to the YMCA’s Lowell facility (Total capital support of $120,000, 2001-2009.)

Merrimack Valley Food Bank
$30,000 in release of challenge support for a capital project to result in the addition of 7,500 square feet of useable space at the food bank.

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the Merrimack Valley
$20,000 in release of challenge support for Summer Experiences in Lowell, a coordinated summer camping program serving young people in Greater Lowell.

Subtotal Housing: $100,000
Percentage of Total: 20.2

Membership Organizations

Associated Grant Makers
Boston, Massachusetts
$5,450

Association of Small Foundations
Washington, DC
$495

Council on Foundations
Arlington, Virginia
$2,480

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Sebastopol, CA
$500

Neighborhood Funders Group
Washington, DC
$400

Subtotal Membership Organizations: $9,325
Percentage of Total: 1.9

TOTAL GRANTS 2009: $494,325