Please share this newsletter with your network. | |
A Message from the President and CEO | |
Dear Jennifer,
Every year, March is designated as Women’s History Month—a month dedicated to honoring women’s contributions to US history. This designation and the corresponding well-deserved recognition date back to the early 1900s, and in 1987, Congress and the President made it official (finally!).
On Monday morning, I had the pleasure of attending the 29th Lowell Women’s Week Breakfast. Over 300 women and a handful of guys attended this annual celebration. I was amazed, as I am every year, to be surrounded by such incredible women. The speakers, the honorees, and the audience at large consisted of accomplished women who do so much for our community. I was humbled to be amongst them.
On April 7th, Women Working Wonders, another group of amazing professional women, will celebrate their 20th anniversary. WWW maintains a fund at the Foundation to raise money and award grants to women in transition, for leadership, and community beautification to effect positive change in our community. Over the past 20 years, they’ve awarded $437,510. For the WWW 20th anniversary fundraiser, the Foundation will match up to $20,000 total of donations received. So please help us contribute to the empowerment of women and girls.
While women have made significant gains over the years, we still have a long way to go in so many ways. Consistent persistence and the words of Rosa Parks are as relevant today as ever, as women’s rights are being challenged (again) across our country. Rosa Parks: “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true…. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
|  | |
Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
| |  |
|
2024 GLCF Events:
June 11 - GLCF Annual Meeting
Oct. 23 - GLCF Celebrate Giving
| | |
|
Strengthening Mental-Health Support for Children & Adolescents in Greater Lowell
Responding to a growing awareness of how the pandemic has impacted the mental and emotional health of children and adolescents, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) awarded grants to help three nonprofits improve mental-health services for local youth. With the grant funding, each organization addressed the need with a unique approach.
ThinkGive was able to teach crucial social and emotional learning skills to more under-resourced children and adolescents. The International Institute of New England (IINE) strengthened the mental-health support it offers teen-aged refugees. And Adolescent Consultation Services (ACS) expanded the mental-health services it provides directly to court-involved children in Greater Lowell. All three nonprofits have noticed an increased need for their services since COVID-19 hit.
“The pandemic really put social and emotional learning (SEL) on people’s radar,” said ThinkGive Executive Director Penny Austen. “Social and emotional learning is how kids acquire the skills to develop a healthy identity, manage their emotions, maintain relationships, and make responsible decisions. It’s a fundamental layer of child development,” she explained.
“Before COVID, many considered SEL a soft skill. Now, with the youth mental-health crises we’re seeing as a result of the pandemic, the importance of social and emotional learning is magnified,” said Austen.
“Greater Lowell Community Foundation is proud to support these three local partners who are focusing their services on the mental health of our youngest friends and neighbors,” said GLCF President & CEO Jay Linnehan. “At the end of 2022, we were able to support seven nonprofits in Greater Lowell that were addressing mental-health needs, and we are now seeing some encouraging results from this funding.”
| |
|
GLCF Launches “Arts Elevate” with the Barr Foundation
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) announced the launch of “Arts Elevate” which is part of the Barr Foundation’s “Creative Commonwealth Initiative.” This partnership is designed to enhance and sustain arts and culture in 20 of the 21 communities in GLCF’s catchment area. The Barr Foundation, established in 1987, is a Boston-based foundation with a focus on Arts & Creativity, Climate and Education. GLCF will receive a three-year, $575,000 grant.
“Barr is thrilled to partner with the Greater Lowell Community Foundation team as it takes important steps to better understand the region’s arts ecosystem and forms strategies that can bring greater resources for artists and arts organizations throughout the diverse communities that make up Greater Lowell,” said San San Wong, Director of Arts and Culture for the Barr Foundation.
Barr invests in community foundations as cornerstone institutions in their regions. These place-based philanthropies hold unique potential as civic leaders and catalysts for positive change. They have knowledge, relationships, and credibility to help infuse arts and creativity into civic life. They can convene organizations across sectors, bring new information and insights to decision makers, raise public awareness of key issues and opportunities, attract donors to generate new funding, and spur collaborations that center arts and culture in community.
| |
|
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.
| |
GLCF Celebrates Read Across America Day | |
|
On Friday, March 1, GLCF's Jay Linnehan was asked to be a Guest Reader at Lowell Community Charter Public School's Read Across America Day.
It was an amazing opportunity to connect students with local community and business leaders in their classrooms through a shared love of reading.
This year I read Emmanuel’s Dream, a true story about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah who was born with a deformed leg but showed his village, and the world, that disability doesn’t mean inability. The story offered a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity.
| |
GLCF Grant in Action:
Discovery Museum's Art and Civic Engagement in Kids: A week-long public art project for families and a speaker event for parents with Inaugural Artist-in-Residence Chanel Thervil | |
|
Thervil’s public art program, “Creating Communal Gifts,” will engage Museum visitors to create a gift for a community space. Thervil will bring these individual creations together to build a one-of-a-kind art installation that will remain on display at Discovery Museum. The program will be offered Monday, April 15 through Friday, April 19, 10:00am to 12:00pm and again at 1:00pm to 3:00pm (drop-in). Advanced reservations are required to visit the Museum and can be made at www.discoveryacton.org.
| |
|
Arts Elevate: Creative Ground
As you many have read, GLCF has launched a new “Arts Elevate” project as part of the Barr Foundation’s “Creative Commonwealth Initiative.” This partnership is designed to enhance and sustain arts and culture in GLCF’s catchment area. Currently the Foundation is researching prospective programs to undertake through Arts Elevate.
Much more information will be forthcoming, but one action that all artists and arts organizations may take now is to set up or update a profile on the Creative Ground, the online directory hosted by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA.) Here are reasons to consider doing so.
| |
GRANT HIGHLIGHT - Rise Above Foundations's Children's Services Grant | |
|
Rise Above Foundation eliminates the financial barrier that exists for youth in foster care to try new activities, pursue a passion, and to just be a kid. By providing youth with access to activities and experiences like sports, summer camp and the arts, Rise Above boosts the mental and social wellbeing of youth. In 2023, Rise Above Foundation received a Greater Lowell Community Foundation Discretionary Grant for Children’s Services.
The purpose of GLCF Discretionary Grants for Children’s Services is to improve the quality of life for children and young adults in GLCF’s 21 catchment communities. With the grant received from GLCF, Rise Above has already served 112 youth in Greater Lowell and is on track to surpass their goal of serving at least 120 youth in the area by June 30, 2024. Support from GLCF has enabled the organization to give these youth access to sports, music, summer camp and more. By engaging youth with positive and pro-social experiences, it has helped them feel a sense of normalcy among their peers, begin to heal from past trauma and change their life trajectory.
|  | |
|
Mosaic Lowell will host the Experience Lowell Arts Market as part of Folk Fest
For the 2nd year, Mosaic Lowell will host the Experience Lowell Arts Market as part of Folk Fest! This year's vendor application for creative individuals and organizations is now open, with an application deadline of May 1. For more details and how to apply, click HERE.
| |
|
20th Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, April 7 • 11am-2pm • Four Oaks Country Club, Dracut
Join us for or sponsor 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.” Enjoy a lovely brunch buffet as we welcome keynote speaker Latoyia Edwards, Emmy Award-winning anchor on NBC10 Boston and NECN who started her career in Lowell.
Please consider sponsoring our event. All sponsorships will be MATCHED by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, doubling your impact. Purchase tickets and sponsorships here!
| |
Gender diversity on boards helps organizations perform better. Yet, women hold less than 20 percentage of board seats worldwide. Ambereen Mirza discusses the challenges and opportunities related to serving on a board, with practical tips for women to obtain and succeed in the boardroom. With extensive experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors, Ambereen has advice for everyone on how to create a more inclusive organization through recruitment, education, advocacy, and collaboration. | |
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.
| |
Give to the Future: Make a Planned Gift | | |
|
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.
| | |
|
100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202
Lowell, MA 01852
PHONE 978-970-1600
| |
| | | |
