E-Newsletter: May 2011

Introduction

May is always an exciting month at the Foundation. It is when we say goodbye to long-time Trustees, and welcome a new class of Trustees to the Foundation. This year we are excited to announce that we have four new members of our Board of Trustees – John Heerwagen, Jim Hanrahan, Andrea Sussman, and Rob Vigoda. You can learn more about them here.

I would also like to thank our departing board members – Kathan Tracy and Laurie Krigman – for all of the work they’ve done for us over the years and wish them luck in future endeavors. Finally, I wanted to announce that we received a grant from the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation to continue running our nonprofit training workshops in the coming years.

All the best,
Judy Salerno, Executive Director

Youth In Philanthropy: A Year in Review

Every year, the Foundation for MetroWest works with youth in schools across our region through a program called Youth in Philanthropy (YIP). YIP teaches students about our community’s needs and issues, the non-profit organizations which help meet those needs, and how to evaluate a nonprofit’s response. This year, the Youth in Philanthropy programs resulted in the distribution of $58,600 in grants to more than 20 selected youth-serving organizations.

One student explained, “We learn concrete things like how to read grants, but more importantly, we learn how to relate to others and address their needs in the most effective ways.”

Youth in Philanthropy consists of 5 school-based programs in Concord and a community-based program called the Youth Action Council which is open to students throughout MetroWest.

In both, participating students learn in detail what the needs of their community are, what non-profits exist, and how to evaluate them for funding. They also participate in community service days where they have the chance to work directly with and learn about local nonprofits. They are responsible for raising a significant portion of their $10,000 grant-making budget by discussing, planning and implementing fundraising activities. “Working together, like you’re on a real board is awesome,” said one student. “It gives you a feel for what working in this field is like.”

After their training on the needs and nonprofits, students evaluate requests for grants supporting local programs serving youth in MetroWest. They visit the organizations making those requests and decide which of them deserve funding consideration. Through this process one student told us, “I have learned that an organization is more than what you see on the paper. It is more than just a good cause, but how well run a program is financially, and how it is organized.”

Of course, the evaluation process involves much discussion and careful review as students have a limited budget. Their hard work results in funding recommendations which they present to the Foundation’s Distribution Committee. Those grants receive final approval from the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and the youth hold a ceremony to present funding checks to the selected organizations.

Youth in Philanthropy is both enlightening and enriching for the students who participate. When asked to reflect on their experience, the students told us:

• “I have learned that I can make decisions that have a tangible impact on my community.”
• “It taught me how much there is behind philanthropy and making nonprofits work, and highlighted needs in my community that I’d never known existed.”
• “It opened my eyes and gave me a chance to actually make an impact rather than daydream about it.”

• Read about the grants the high school students made.
• Read about the grants the middle school students made.
• Read about the grants the Youth Action Council made.

The coordinator of the Youth in Philanthropy program is always looking for a new group of students interested in the lifetime lessons they can learn and the satisfaction of making a real difference in their own backyard. If your child does not attend a school with an existing program, contact Jennifer Ubaldino at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and she will contact you in the Fall with information about applying to the Youth Action Council.

Fund for Wellesley: $100,000 Challenge Grant

The Fund for Wellesley is excited to announce that as a result of their year-end challenge grant and their successful grantmaking, a group of anonymous donors has issued a $100,000 challenge grant. They will be making a dollar-for-dollar match of all donations to the Fund between now and the end of the year.

If you are interested in helping the Fund meet the challenge, please contact Renee Curtin at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). To learn more about the Fund for Wellesley and some of the grants its made, visit www.thefundforwellesley.org.

Nonprofit Trainings

The Foundation has a full schedule of nonprofit trainings coming up for the next few months. All trainings are free and take place from 9 am until Noon in the Wellesley Public Library’s Wakelin Room. The trainings are:

• Friday, May 20, 2011 - Keeping it Local: The Importance of Hyper-Local Strategies in Getting the Word Out
• Friday, June 10, 2011 - The IRS Form 990: An Overview
• Wednesday, July 20, 2011 - Best Practices for Successful Grantwriting
• Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - Writing Effective Grant Proposals

MetroWest Insight Tour

On Thursday, April 14th the Foundation hosted its first MetroWest Insight Tour. A group of 15 staff, board members, and community members had the chance to visit three of our recent grantees, all of whom were located in Framingham.

While traveling by mini-coach from the Foundation to the sites, the Foundation’s Executive Director – Judy Salerno - provided an overview of regional needs and discuss the impact of recent grants from the Foundation. Then everyone had the chance to visit three wonderful organizations:

• Framingham History Center: Located around the Centre Common, the History Center is working to preserve the Framingham’s long history. They are currently running programming commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War – one of the few towns in New England doing so.
• Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Sanctuary: A great local resource, Broadmoor is home to more than 9 miles of trails and some wonderful environmental programming. Their nature center is a great example of green architecture, and one of the first built.
• Wayside Youth & Family Support’s Tempo Young Adult Resource Center: An innovative center where young adults are able to access mental health, legal, and employment services to help them build safe, stable, and healthy lives. Tempo was a finalist in the 2010 Social Innovation Awards.

Getting the chance to learn about the region and the wonderful work being done, was a fun and interesting way to spend the morning, and the Foundation looks forward to offering additional tours in the future. If you are interested in attending the tour, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll make sure to let you know when the next one will take place.

Community Events

• Thursday, May 19, 2011: The Danforth Museum: Bring Your Baby to the Danforth
• Friday, May 20, 2011: More Than Words: Open Mic Night
• Monday, May 23, 2011: OAR: Annual Meeting
• Friday, June 3, 2011: Concord Museum: Garden Affairs Tour
• Monday, June 13, 2011: Nonprofit Awareness Day

Submit an Event

To submit an event, please send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the event details and date.

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