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A Message from the President and CEO | |
Dear Jennifer,
When I was younger, I lived each day, day to day. I went about my business, both personal and professional, in the best way I knew how, never giving too much thought to what legacy I might leave. Well, that was long ago. And I don’t just mean legacy in the context of after I’m gone (as legacy is often defined) because I plan to be around for a while. What I mean is, did I make a difference yesterday? Am I making a difference today? And what am I going to do tomorrow? Do my actions and deeds resonate?
At the Foundation, we have a Legacy Society. The members of the Society have each, in their own way, already left a legacy in our community with their kindness, honesty, and integrity. Furthermore, they have pledged to bequest from their estate funds to create a permanent endowment to carry their name and benefit our community in perpetuity. Their actions and deeds resonate!
Many of the Foundation’s endowed legacy funds are for scholarships for higher education, often time in memory of a loved one. The Foundation’s largest scholarship fund is for Lowell High School, where over $500,000 is awarded annually to hundreds of worthy students. The Foundation is currently working to increase that scholarship fund because education is one of the most valuable assets anyone can possess. Once you have it, nobody can take it away. It is always there to leverage to create opportunities and open doors. And, notwithstanding some of the current criticism of the merits of a college education, make no mistake that a four-year degree (and more) is an increasingly important investment in the 21st-century economy.
So, if you’d like to leave a legacy of helping our community's next generation reach their dream of a college education, please let me know. Your actions will resonate.
Thank you,
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Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
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Introducing the Greater Lowell Community Foundation LGBTQ Fund (Spirit Magazine, Jan./Feb.)
The Community Foundation for MetroWest joins Barr Foundation's ‘Creative Commonwealth Initiative’ (MassNonprofit News, 2/26)
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training- Free Program (Tewksbury Patch, 2/21)
29th Annual Breakfast (Lowell Women's Week, 2/16)
Lowell Gala Highlights Womens Challenges in the Workplace (Minuteman Press, 2/14)
Pinto on 30 years at Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers - and what lies ahead (The Herald News, 2/14)
GLCF announces funding to help new refugees, immigrants (Lowell Sun, 2/5)
Lowell Chamber Orchestra to premiere new edition of Julia Perry’s symphony
(MuseWire, 2/15) (Corsicana Daily Sun, 2/15)
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2024 GLCF Events:
- June 11 - GLCF Annual Meeting
- Oct. 23 - GLCF Celebrate Giving
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GLCF’s 2024 NETSCOUT Grant Cycle Now OPEN with a Focus on Environmental and Sustainability Issues
NETSCOUT will offer THREE grant opportunities (a $10,000 grant, a $3,500 grant, and a $1,500 grant to be awarded to pitch finalists*) through the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) as part of the 2024 Heart of Giving Community Grant Program.
Recognizing the challenges of creating and maintaining clean, safe public spaces; reducing waste and encouraging recycling; building awareness and educating communities on the impact environmental issues; and addressing issues related to the long-term impact of climate change, habitat destruction, and other ecological challenges, this grant funding can be used to support programs or to cover a one-time capital expense to enhance a nonprofit organization’s ability to address environmental and sustainability issues, such as:
- Beautification of Greenspaces
- Educational Programs/Workshops
- Reducing Litter
- Recycling/Upcycling
- Urban Farming or No-Till Farming
NETSCOUT is also interested in creative, inclusive volunteer opportunities. By inclusive, NETSCOUT is looking for both physical or “outside” and “light”, non-physical or “inside” volunteer opportunities.
Examples of non-physical “inside” volunteer opportunities might include: sorting, packing, kitting (with materials provided by the nonprofit); event support; program support; skills-based projects with clear deliverables and timelines, such as developing or testing programs or workshops, or assisting with administrative projects.
Examples of physical or “outside” volunteering might include: hands-on projects and program support; clean-ups, garden or yard work; minor carpentry, repairs, painting.
DEADLINE
Noon on March 7, 2024
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2024 LGBTQ+ Fundraiser BRUNCH
Music • Food • Fun
Saturday, June 15 · 10-11:45* a.m. • Cobblestones
Join us to celebrate our community at the 2024 LGBTQ+ Fund BRUNCH in support of the GLCF LGBTQ+ Fund.
Tickets: $100 per person
Sponsorships are available.
*City of Lowell Pride Flag Raising and Parade to begin at noon.
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Other GLCF Grant Opportunities | |
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Deadline Approaching:
GLCF Seeks Request for Proposals for 2024 Discretionary Grant Cycle Grant applications must be submitted by noon on March 7, 2024.
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation will open its 2024 Discretionary Grant Cycle on February 5 and is seeking requests for proposals from nonprofit organizations. The Foundation will award more than $200,000 through the Discretionary Grant Cycle.
Nonprofit organizations serving the communities of Acton, Ashby, Ayer, Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Lowell, Pepperell, Shirley, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsboro, Westford, and Wilmington are invited to apply.
Grant funding from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s 2024 Discretionary Grant Program includes the following strategic funding categories:
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Racial Equity and Inclusion - The Foundation will award multiple grants of up to $15,000 that focus on racial equity and inclusion. The grant funding should focus on one or more of the following goals:
o Increase understanding of our community’s challenges with racial equity and race relations
o Provide access to stories and diverse perspectives on the lived experience of racial inequity in Greater Lowell
o Strengthen relationships among Greater Lowell residents, particularly across racial and ethnic groups
o Increase awareness of resources and best practices related to advancing racial equity
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Leclair Elder Services - The Foundation will award multiple grants of up to $7,000 each to organizations that support services to seniors (55+) in our service area.
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Children’s Services - Thanks to the generosity of our donors GLCF will award multiple grants of up to $10,000 each to projects that support services for children. The Foundation welcomes proposals that improve the quality of life for children and young adults (birth to age 22.)
Grant applications must be submitted by noon on March 7, 2024. Grant recipients will be announced in June. More information is available on the foundation’s website: www.glcfoundation.org.
For more information about the grant process, contact Sharon, GLCF Grants Manager with any questions at sharon@glcfoundation.org.
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GLCF Site Visit: The Nature Connection | |
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The GLCF Grants Team stopped by The Nature Connection this month to visit their new space in Concord and catch up with staff and meet some of their program animals.
Founded in 1983 (formerly known as Animals as Intermediaries), The Nature Connection’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities through the therapeutic use of nature by bringing the outside, inside through plants, animals and natural materials to people with limited or no access to the outside world. Through regular programs delivered largely to youth at-risk, people with disabilities, and elders with Alzheimer’s/Dementia, we connect individuals with nature’s capacity to heal, teach, and create joy.
The Nature Connection is open to the public, all are invited to participate in their Wednesday programs from 6-7 pm to explore a different nature topic each week through workshops, crafts, or animal encounters.
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GRANT HIGHLIGHT - Merrimack Valley Food Bank's Mobile Pantry | |
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The Mobile Pantry at Merrimack Valley Food Bank is focused on reducing food insecurity among older and disabled people in Greater Lowell. The Mobile Pantry provides free home grocery deliveries every month to older/disabled homebound persons in Greater Lowell, individualized for their dietary restrictions and personal/cultural preferences; distributes fresh produce and other food supplies every month at the Lowell Senior Center for older people in need; and responds to individual and community food emergency situations.
Merrimack Valley Food Bank’s Mobile Pantry received grant funding from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation’s (GLCF) 2023 Discretionary Grants Cycle - Leclair Elder Services, to provide support services to seniors (55+) in the Foundation’s service area. With the grant funding from GLCF, the Mobile Pantry was able to promptly respond to all referrals of older/homebound people for monthly grocery deliveries. Clients were referred by their health care providers, caseworkers, social workers, housing managers, clergy and others who are familiar with the client’s situation. The Mobile Pantry served 300 older/disabled persons who were homebound in Greater Lowell and served another 230 older persons at the Lowell Senior Center every month, through a distribution at the Center of fresh produce and other food items. In FY23, the Mobile Pantry distributed 95,685 pounds of food.
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Mosaic Lowell's Youth Mural Competion
Mosaic Lowell hosted the 3rd annual Youth Mural Competition and Arts Market at Winterfest last month! This year's Winterfest was successfully relocated to the Enterprise Bank parking lot with an incredible turnout of over 2000 people through the art tent alone. Please join us for a reception celebrating the youth muralists at City Hall on Tuesday March 19 at 5:30pm. More details can be found HERE.
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20th Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, April 7 · 11 a.m - 2 p.m. • Four Oaks Country Club, Dracut
The Women Working Wonders Fund is celebrating our 20th Anniversary—and we have some very exciting news! The Greater Lowell Community Foundation has generously offered to MATCH all 20th Anniversary sponsorships and donations, up to $20,000! Your support at any level will help ensure that Women Working Wonders can continue to improve the lives of girls and women in our region.
Join Us:
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Join us for our Women Working Wonders 20th Anniversary: A Celebration of Women in Philanthropy on Sunday, April 7, 2024, 11am - 2pm at Four Oaks Country Club in Dracut. The theme is “Springtime in Paris” and we are delighted to welcome keynote speaker Latoyia Edwards, Emmy Award-winning anchor on NBC10 Boston and NECN.
Sponsor:
- Sponsorships will be doubled!
- WWW 20th Anniversary sponsors will be listed on the WWW website, program, and 20th Anniversary materials, and will receive complimentary reserved seats for our event.
Give:
- Give to WWW – and your impact will be doubled! Women’s History Month in March is the perfect time to celebrate women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. Please consider a donation to support our special annual campaign celebrating our 2oth Anniversary. All donations will be matched up to $20,000 by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, doubling your impact!
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Women Accelerators She-Rise Gala
Thursday, March 21 · 6 - 9pm • Jade Lowell Restaurant
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Join us for an empowering evening at the SheRise Gala at Jade Lowell. This exclusive event will feature a thought-provoking presentation by the renowned speaker, Kim Meninger, addressing women’s challenges in the workplace and beyond.
🎤 Speaker: Kim Meninger, Leadership Coach and Speaker
📚 Topic: Walking the Tightrope: Navigating Challenges in the Workplace
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Become a 2024 Annual Sponsor |
Since 1997, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation has supported this community with grants to nonprofits, scholarships to deserving students, and leadership to help determine, address, and resolve a wide variety of needs and opportunities.
With more than 390 donor-driven funds and expert staff, the Foundation provides vital resources that build on our community’s strengths, addresses its challenges, and brightens futures by helping deserving students to achieve their dreams.
To achieve more, we need your partnership through a generous annual sponsorship.
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Give to the Future: Make a Planned Gift | | |
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Everyone has a legacy. What’s yours? |
Your legacy can be shaped to support the causes you care about now and provide financial and estate savings.
To discuss creating a personalized estate plan that supports issues important to you, please call Jay or Howard at the Greater Lowell Community Foundation at 978-970-1600.
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100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202
Lowell, MA 01852
PHONE 978-970-1600
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