Overview: With roots that go back to the 19th century, the Brookline Community Foundation (BCF) is the only foundation that addresses the needs of Brookline as a whole. Today, BCF shines a spotlight on community needs, inspires philanthropy, and awards strategic grants to build a more vibrant, engaged, and equitable Brookline. To support this mission, each year BCF seeks proposals that address the various needs and opportunities in the community, encourage collaborations and partnerships, and strengthen the community and local nonprofits.

BCF’s Commitment to Community Needs Using what we learned from our Understanding Brookline reports and the BCFcommissioned National Institute on Out-of-School Time report Advancing Access to Quality Out-of-School Time Opportunities in Brookline and subsequent research and analysis, the Brookline Community Foundation has the following organizational priorities:

  • Reduce and alleviate poverty by addressing urgent needs, strengthening Brookline’s support network, and creating pathways out of poverty.
  • Address out-of-school time in Brookline by expanding access, filling programmatic gaps, building the capacity of providers, and supporting system building work.

These strategic priorities inform our grantmaking and we welcome proposals that address them for the 2019 Fall Community grant cycle. As the Brookline Community Foundation moves forward with our strategic priorities, we continue to serve the town as a whole, funding organizations and initiatives that address diverse community needs. Through this grant cycle, we also welcome proposals that are focused on:

  • Expanding arts and culture programming
  • Protecting the environment
  • Aging in place
  • Supporting young children and families

Health and Wellness: BCF is also accepting proposals that address health and wellness in Brookline and we have two funds – the Brookline Tuberculosis and Health Society Fund and the NETA Fund for Health and Wellness – specifically supporting this work.

BCF sees health and wellness as more than a physical state and we are guided by leaders in the field, including the World Health Organization, which defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” While definitions of wellness vary, most experts identify several important subdimensions: physical, social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, environmental, and occupational. At BCF, we recognize the importance of all of these facets of health and wellness in the lives of individuals and across Brookline as a whole.

BCF will provide support for a number of efforts including funding for programs that:

  • Address tuberculosis or lung health
  • Promote and reinforce healthy, active and engaged living for all
  • Support healthy eating and build food security
  • Provide substance abuse prevention and education programs
  • Expand access to mental and physical health services
  • Address health disparities and barriers to health and wellness programming including discrimination that limits opportunities and impacts physical and mental health for individuals based on gender, race, socioeconomic background, disability status, age, or sexual orientation
  • Promote healthy and safe neighborhoods, families, and individuals
  • Promote aging in place and remaining vital, independent and economically secure
  • Focus on environmental health and environmental justice, including access to clean air, water, food, and nature, and reducing and mitigating the effects of climate change

Eligibility: Grants shall be made to or through tax-exempt organizations that meet the requirements of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, as well as to governmental bodies and agencies serving the Town.

If an organization or project is new and not yet tax-exempt, an application may be submitted through an organization that has agreed to serve as a fiscal sponsor. An eligible organization must be operated and organized so that it does not discriminate in the hiring of staff or provision of services on the basis of race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or disability.

Town Departments, Committees, and Commissions seeking funding should review BCF’s Town Guidelines before submitting an application.

It is BCF’s practice to limit grantees to no more than three consecutive years of funding except in special circumstances.

Please note: Organizations that are currently funded through other funding streams of the Brookline Community Foundation are eligible to apply. Except in rare circumstances, however, specific programs will only receive funding from either the Brookline Youth Fund grant cycle or the Fall Community grant cycle.

The Brookline Community Foundation does not provide grants for travel, individuals, and individual scholarships.

Application Deadline and Process Applications are due on Friday, August 16, 2019, by 5:00 PM. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by mid-December. BCF accepts all grant applications through our online grants management system. Visit our Grants Page to learn more about how to use the Online Grants Management system, including registering for the first time or accessing your existing account. Please direct all questions to Jennifer Lemire, Program Director 617.566.4442 jlemire@brooklinecommunity.org