Greater Boston’s primary philanthropic vehicle for investing in the economic empowerment of women and girls awards more than $1 million to seven nonprofits
Boston, MA – June 2, 2021 — The Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston), a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates economic and leadership programs that equip Greater Boston women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders, is thrilled to announce the recipients of its 2021 grant cycle. This year, WFBoston is awarding more than $1 million to seven exceptional nonprofits that serve Greater Boston women and girls, to fund program development, capacity building, professional training, and STEM related projects. Grantees were selected based on program impact, financial efficiency, innovation, operational experience, and leadership vision.
“We are extremely proud of the work our grantee partners do to economically empower women and girls in Greater Boston,” said Christina Gordon, Co-Founder and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston. “These amazing nonprofits share our steadfast commitment to investing in the long term success of women and girls. We’re excited to accelerate their growth as part of our mission to promote women and girls’ leadership and financial independence.”
The seven 2021 grant recipients are:
Our Sisters’ School, a tuition-free nonsectarian middle school for girls from low-income communities near New Bedford, will receive $175,386 over three years to fund a new science teacher to increase science instruction and connect STEAM activities to the curriculum. The grant will also enhance the WFBoston-funded outdoor classroom greenhouse space, creating a more integrated STEAM experience. Our Sisters’ School provides a focused learning environment for economically disadvantaged girls to pursue academic excellence, and graduates empowered young women; 100 percent of its 8th graders graduate from high school and 92 percent enroll in college.
Eureka! and Eureka! JV for Framingham is a new expansion of the successful full-year STEM and leadership program Girls Inc. of Worcester runs for 6th-12th grade girls. Over the five-year duration of the $250,000 grant from WFBoston, Girls Inc. of Worcester will serve an additional 150 girls per year in Framingham. One hundred percent of the program’s graduates complete high school on time and have gone onto post-secondary education. Sixty percent plan to major in STEM, twice the national average for girls. Program graduates have secured more than $2 million in college scholarships over the last four years.
Girls on the Run Worcester County, has been successfully offering the nationally recognized confidence and character-building after-school program for six years. WFBoston’s one-year grant of $33,480 will fund the entire cost of the program for 120 3rd-8th grade girls in the Worcester Public School system who would otherwise not have access to this program. GOTR results are impressive with 97 percent of participants saying they learned critical life skills, and the least active girls increased their physical activity by more than 40 percent due to the program.
WFBoston is awarding a one-year, $20,000 grant to Girlstart, a national STEM education program for elementary and middle school girls. WFBoston’s grant will fund Girlstart’s new expansion into the Greater Boston area with after-school STEM programming for 4th-5th grade girls in Waltham and weeklong engineering and technology-focused Girlstart summer camps. Fifty percent of Girlstart participants are in advanced math classes by 7th grade compared to 31 percent of their peers. Forty-seven percent of Girlstart participants are in advanced science classes compared to 11 percent of non-participants.
Project Hope provides workforce development and educational programming for low-income women in Roxbury and Dorchester. This three-year $150,000 award will fund a new full-time Technology Specialist Instructor to deliver a range of computer and technology training, and support the ongoing technology needs of program participants. This will bridge the digital divide and improve outcomes for the 230 women in the program’s workforce development and education classes. The program goal is to achieve a 90 percent improvement in technology proficiencies to improve classroom retention rates and employment growth and longevity.
Strong Women, Strong Girls delivers mentorship programming based on a skill-building curriculum to 3rd-5th grade girls in and around Boston. The college women who volunteer to lead these after school mentoring sessions are also mentored by a network of professional women, creating three generations of female mentorship. A WFBoston grant of $150,000 over three years will fund a new Program Engagement Coordinator to increase the number of mentoring sites, participants, and colleges providing mentors. Strong Women, Strong Girls expects to increase the number of girls served to 500, its number of partners from 40 to 58, and the number of college chapters from 7 to 11 during the three-year grant period.
Science Club for Girls (SCFG) provides free STEM after-school programming for K-12 girls from underrepresented communities in the Greater Boston area. WFBoston’s award of $300,000 over three years will fund a new full-time Program Manager and a new part-time communications associate to expand SCFG’s impact, to increase the number of girls served from 250 to 625 by June 2024, to add college readiness programs, and enhance support for mentors. For the last 12 years, over 90 percent of SCFG’s juniors and seniors in high school go on to college compared to 70 percent of girls nationwide. Fifty-five percent of participants who go to college major in STEM versus 30 percent of Massachusetts college-bound students who take the SAT or achievement tests and indicate they will major in STEM.
About Women’s Foundation of Boston:
The Women’s Foundation of Boston, Inc. is a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates high-impact economic and leadership programs that equip Greater Boston women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders. WFBoston is becoming the primary vehicle for investing in women and girls in Greater Boston and is building a fast-growing network of female nonprofit and business leaders.
Women’s Foundation of Boston Contact:
Christina Gordon
info@wfboston.org
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.