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C Om Pa S S Io N in Ac T Io N

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C Om Pa S S Io N in Ac T Io N COMPASSION COMPASSION INACTION Greater Worcester Community Foundation 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 935984.indd 1 4/23/19 1:08 PM TABLE OF CONTENTS 2018 Highlights ........................................................................ 2 ON THE COVER Compassion in Action ................................................................ 3 Early learners thrive on creative Each of us has a right to a healthy future. Nuturing Healthy Development ....................................................... 4 play. Tomorrow’s doers, makers, and dreamers are Growing Food Security from the Ground Up .......................................... 6 developing today in high-quality childcare and early Catalyzing Community through the Arts .............................................. 8 learning programs. The Foundation’s Early Childhood A Better Life Begins with the Basics .................................................. 10 Initiative is working with its partners to make such Grant Highlights ..................................................................... 12 programs accessible to all in our community. We are about to launch a major, five-year Named Funds ........................................................................ 16 program with the Worcester Public Schools that Discretionary and Field of Interest Funds ............................................. 16 could become a model for a comprehensive, Donor Advised Funds ................................................................ 17 citywide approach. Formed through a yearlong Scholarship Funds .................................................................... 19 planning process funded by the George I. Alden Designated Funds .................................................................... 21 Trust, the program will encompass two schools and Agency Funds ........................................................................ 23 the neighborhoods surrounding them. The evidence- based program will provide local families with The Acorn Society: Creating Your Legacy ......................................... 27 integrated early learning and health services that Contributors ......................................................................... 28 foster the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth of children from birth through grade three— Financial Stewardship ............................................................... 32 the formative years that shape a child’s future. Board of Directors ................................................................... 33 Corporators .......................................................................... 34 Growing the Good: A Campaign for Greater Worcester ........................ 35 Staff ................................................................................... 36 935984.indd 2 4/23/19 1:08 PM YEAR AT A GLANCE LETTER TO OUR COMMUNITY (as of 12/31/2018) ur region has long been home to makers, doers, dreamers, and O GIFTS builders. Perhaps because of its roots in the Industrial Revolution, Worcester County has drawn many people from elsewhere seeking Gifts received $ 7. 8 opportunities. We welcome all and heed all as together, through this MILLION Foundation, we work to bring opportunities within the reach of all who live here. $4.0 million for existing funds In the 1970s, a group of citizens established the Greater Worcester $3.8 million to create new funds Community Foundation. This model of citizen-run philanthropy has proven its effectiveness and staying power. Their model suits the 793 gifts ingenuity and resourcefulness of our community, as with compassion, 687 donors imagination, and a can-do spirit, a host of nonprofits has emerged to 15 new funds spread opportunity further in an astonishing variety of ways. Empowered by the funds donors entrust to us, the Foundation invests in the effectiveness of these nonprofits, 580 funds in total both with grants and through our Nonprofit Support Center, where together, they learn and share best practices. And early on, the Foundation expanded beyond grantmaking to build partnerships across sectors and solve GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS broader problems, such as lack of decent affordable housing. Together with our donors, grantees, and partners, we’ve grown in knowledge, relationships and funds— grants approved assets that enable us to take prudent risks on a large scale when the rewards promise far-reaching outcomes. Such $6.6 million in 2018 ambitious ventures include our Early Childhood Initiative and Creative Worcester. Find out more about these to 662 grantee organizations programs in this annual report as well as other inventive projects that every day make life better for so many of us. We both look forward to continuing this rewarding enterprise with you, although no longer as CEO and Chair. 412 scholarship recipients in 2018 Retirement after 30 years and completion of a full three-year term concludes our service in these respective received a total of $675,000 roles with your Foundation. What a wonderful experience it has been to help guide its growth. In this time of divisiveness on the national level, our model of local philanthropy continues to prove its worth, bringing us ASSETS together to better our community with compassion, imagination, and a can-do spirit. Total assets $14 6 MILLION Ann T. Lisi Gerald M. Gates President and CEO Chair 1 935984.indd 1 4/25/19 1:13 PM 2018 HIGHLIGHTS Notable Milestones • The Foundation’s Early Childhood Initiative completed plans for a five-year prenatal- through-grade three pilot project to begin in 2019 at two Worcester public schools; awarded $403,000 in grants; and played a key role in forming the Together For Kids Coalition. • Creative Worcester completed its first full year spearheading Worcester’s first Cultural Plan; awarding 11 Creative Spark grants totaling $69,000 and granting a total of $300,000 to five Creative Engagement grantees who took part in a year-long learning cohort.(See opposite page.) • Discretionary and Field of Interest grantmaking across all categories totaled $2.86 million complemented by strong participation of committees that review applications and recommend grantees and then visit funded projects to evaluate outcomes. • Health-focused grantmaking from Fairlawn Foundation and Fallon OrNda funds targeted Greater Worcester Community Health Plan (CHIP) priorities. • The Nonprofit Support Center conducted 14 workshops, all highly rated, including three on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion; a series tailored to arts organizations; and sessions on building fundraising capacity. • Youth For Community Improvement completed its 19th year by engaging youth from Worcester and surrounding towns who as a team identified needs, created an RFP, evaluated applications, and awarded $25,300 in grants. The youth spearheaded a special project to address homelessness by conducting a tri-city clothing drive. • Leadership Worcester kicked off the fourth cohort by participating in the United Way’s Day of Caring; work began to launch a formal alumni group; and we saw one alum announce her run for Worcester City Council while another was elected to the Boylston Planning Board, crediting the program for preparing them to step forward. 2 935984.indd 2 4/23/19 1:08 PM COMPASSION Creative Worcester and Worcester’s first Cultural Plan IN ACTION In partnership with the Worcester Cultural Coalition and the City of Worcester, the Foundation has The Foundation invests in nonprofits that are spearheaded development of a Cultural Plan for the City of Worcester. Now drafted after a year of working every day to increase the quality of gathering community input, the plan, once finalized, will be incorporated into the city’s 10-year master life for all in our community. Compassion, and strategic plans. imagination and know-how are evident in As part of its Creative Engagement Initiative, funded by a $500,000 Barr Foundation grant, the following stories, which present a variety the Foundation worked with consultant Creative Community Builders to convene a series of public of grantees whose work focuses on the meetings. Meanwhile, the Worcester Cultural Coalition conducted an online survey. This input process concluded with an October meeting at the Hanover Theatre that drew more than 100 participants. fundamentals: providing children with a strong Community priorities include public spaces conducive to cultural experiences that draw all sectors of start for success in school and life; increasing the community and events that engage children and families. access to food security, decent housing, and With its first formal cultural plan, the city will gain an agenda to guide private and public investments a livelihood; and celebrating our diversity that build on Worcester’s distinctive arts and cultural resources to enhance quality of life for all. through a rich cultural life. NURTURING HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT ................... 4 GROWING FOOD SECURITY FROM THE GROUND UP .......... 6 CATALYZING COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ARTS ............. 8 A BETTER LIFE BEGINS WITH THE BASICS ..............10 The final cultural planning meeting in October drew more than 100 participants from the community. 3 935984.indd 3 4/25/19 1:14 PM NURTURING HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT Since 2015, the Foundation’s EARLY CHILDHOOD has pioneered a program that helps immigrant and refugee parents INITIATIVE has been working to nurture healthy development communicate effectively with their children’s teachers and clinicians. of children during their formative first years.
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