Arts and Culture
Angkor Dance Troupe, Inc.
f/b/o Flying Orb Productions
$10,000 to produce The Kingdom of Kambuja, a multimedia theater piece featuring dancers from the Angkor Dance Troupe.
Lowell Community Health Center
$75,000 in support of the ArtUp project benefitting patients and staff at the health center as well as the local artist community.
Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Inc.
$20,000 for an independent assessment of the organization’s operating model and financial challenges, and for strategic planning.
Subtotal Arts and Culture: $105,000
Percentage of total: 10
Community and Economic Development
Entrepreneurship for All
$30,000 for a project to support Cambodian businesses in Lowell, to be conducted in collaboration with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell.
Lawrence Community Works, Inc.
f/b/o Mill Cities Leadership Institute
$15,000 for capacity building of the Mill Cities Leadership Institute, a leadership development program for local leaders and innovators in Lowell and Lawrence. (Projected additional support of $10,000 in 2015.)
Social Innovation Forum
Boston, MA
$45,000 in support of a funding track sponsored by the Parker Foundation and the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, offering management and technical assistance as well as a cash award. The RFP for this track resulted in a competitive group of finalists with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell emerging as the winning institution.
Subtotal Community and Economic Development: $90,000
Percentage of total: 8
Education
Budget Buddies, Inc.
$15,000 to support expansion of financial literacy training programs for women veterans, women recovering from addiction, women with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. (Total project support of $30,000, 2012-15.)
Discovering Justice
Boston, MA
$12,000 to support expansion of the organization’s civics curriculum serving Lowell public school students in grades K–8. (Total project support of $52,000, 2011-15.)
Greater Lowell Community Foundation
$5,000 to cover the cost of the Tom Leggat Youth Opportunities Fund’s first-year award. In future years this award, honoring longtime Parker Foundation trustee Thomas E. Leggat, will be drawn from the $100,000 endowment.
Lowell Catholic High School
$25,000 toward a $3 million capital campaign for a new building on campus to support growing student enrollment.
Lowell Community Charter Public School
$50,000 in matching challenge support for the construction of a playground at the charter school.
Middlesex Community College Foundation Inc.
$25,000 to increase the number of Latino students served in a dropout prevention program based at Lowell High School.
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
Babson Park, MA
$20,000 in support of the organization’s entrepreneurship education program at Lowell High School.
Project LEARN
(via Greater Lowell Community Foundation)
$50,000 in second-year support for Project LEARN, a strategic initiative to raise private dollars for the benefit of the Lowell Public Schools. (Total project support of 120,000 2010-15, with projected additional support of $40,000 in 2016.)
Project LEARN
f/b/o Lowell Public Schools
$30,000 for the first of a two-phase initiative to build diversity and equity at the Lowell Public Schools.
Trustees of Boston University
f/b/o Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership
$15,000 in second-round support for the Merrimack Valley operations of the Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership, to provide scholarship assistance to smaller-scale nonprofit organizations in Lowell. (Total project support of $30,000, 2013-15.)
Subtotal Education: $247,000
Percentage of total: 24
Health
Lowell Community Health Center, Inc.
$136,715 in appreciated stock as the third installment of a five-year, $700,000 grant toward their capital campaign for the new health center facility. (Total commitment of $1 million 2010-15, with projected additional support of $283,285 in 2016-17).
Lowell House
$60,000 to hire a development director to build the organization’s donor base, increase its annual fundraising, and manage its upcoming capital campaign for sober apartments at 555 Merrimack Street. A pledge of $250,000 for this campaign was also approved, with payment scheduled for 2016-17.
New England Eye Institute, Inc.
Boston, MA
$20,000 to offer eye exams, treatment and glasses as needed to 500 high-need students in Lowell.
Subtotal Health: $216,715
Percentage of total: 21
Housing
Community Teamwork, Inc.
$50,000 in support of the Common Ground Development Corporation’s conversion of vacant space at 430 Broadway in Lowell into three apartment units to be rented to low-income families.
D’Youville Senior Care, Inc.
$75,000 in second-round support for the Saab Residence, D’Youville’s new assisted living project for seniors. (Total project support of $100,000, 2012-15.)
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell
Westford, MA
$50,000 for the development of a second set of five affordable houses to be located in the Rock and Willie Street neighborhood of the Acre. (Total project support of $80,000, 2013-15.)
Subtotal Housing: $175,000
Percentage of total: 17
Human Services
Acre Family Child Care, Inc.
$20,000 to support a full-time family engagement coordinator.
Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Inc.
$25,000 in core operating support, to support new leadership at the agency. (Second and final installment of a $50,000 conditional grant approved in September 2014.)
Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, Inc.
f/b/o Catholic Charities, Merrimack Valley Regional Office
$15,000 for capital improvements at the Merrimack Valley Food Bank at 70 Lawrence St. and at Brigid’s Crossings, a shelter for pregnant and parenting teens located next door.
Christ Church United in Lowell
$25,000 for emergency financial assistance to Lowell residents, including parishioners of Christ Church.
Friends of Children’s Trust Fund, Inc.
Boston, MA
$2,200 to cover costs of curriculum materials into Khmer for the “Keeping Kids Safe” multi-lingual parenting training in Lowell.
Gaining Ground, Inc.
Concord, MA
$8,000 for the second year of a pilot food education and distribution program targeting low-income urban families in Lowell in partnership with Project Bread and Community Teamwork.
Greater Lowell Family YMCA
$50,000 toward the purchase price of Camp Massapoag, a 38-acre campsite in Dunstable and Groton.
Life Saver Ministries, Inc.
d/b/a My Father’s House
North Chelmsford, MA
$20,000 to purchase a new pickup truck for My Father’s House, a long-term housing program for pregnant or parenting teens and young women.
United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
Boston, MA
$35,000 in support of the Summer Experiences camping program for Lowell youth.
Subtotal Human Services: $200,200
Percentage of total: 19
Memberships
Associated Grant Makers Inc.
Boston, MA
$5,000
Council on Foundations, Inc.
Arlington, VA
$2,733
Subtotal Memberships: $7,733
Percentage of total: 1