Worcester Business Journal Special Editions

Giving Guide 2021

Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1405040

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 21 of 63

22 Giving Guide 2021 Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com Greater Worcester Community Foundation 1. Culture of Health & Well-Being – To promote the advancement of a healthy, thriving region ensuring those from historically excluded communities have equitable access to healthcare. 2. Racial Equity – To embark on a journey to ensure our staffing, grantmaking, programs, and donor outreach advance a platform of racial equity and economic inclusiveness. 3. Marketing & Communication – To amplify voices from our community to deepen awareness of community needs and highlight the unifying power of philanthropy. 4. Arts & Culture – To increase our funding to the creative sector, with the support of the Barr Foundation, to unify, strengthen, and heal our community. 5. Philanthropy & Donor Stewardship – To expand our endowment and our partnerships to create flexible, meaningful opportunities for giving. 6. The Next Generation – To increase programs that engage young people in community-centered philanthropy and instill in the next generation a culture of giving. 7. Collaboration – To collaborate closely with MA community foundations, nonprofit, government, and community partners to create lasting change in our community. J. Christopher Collins Mirick O'Connell Carolyn J. Stempler Interim President and CEO MISSION STATEMENT SERVICE AREA: We serve the 65 cities and towns in Worcester County. To enhance our community, now and in the future, through philanthropic leadership. Individuals Private & Nonprofit Foundations Businesses & Government Nonprofit Endowment Funds TOP FUNDING SOURCES: Michael Angelini, Bowditch & Dewey, Vice Chair Thomas Bartholomew, Bartholomew & Co., Inc, Treasurer Kola Akindele, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clerk Che Anderson, UMASS Medical School Joycelyn Augustus, Financial Consultant Jennifer D. Carey, Worcester Education Collaborative Matilde Castiel MD, City of Worcester Jack Foley, Clark University, retired Maria Heskes-Allard, Bay State Savings Bank Michelle Jones-Johnson, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health Linda C. Looft, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, retired Christopher McCarthy, Fidelity Bank Lisa McDonough, Philanthropist & Community Leader Greater Worcester Community Foundation 370 Main Street, Suite 650 Worcester, MA 01608 Phone: 508-755-0980 www.greaterworcester.org Full-time employees: 12 Annual revenues: $25,838,125 Year founded: 1975 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nadia McGourthy, Dresser & McGourthy, LLP Satya Mitra, Guru Tax & Financial Services Sonia Paulino, Worcester Public Schools Kimberly Salmon, Hanover Insurance Group Ahn Vu Sawyer, Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts Eric Torkornoo, Fidelity Bank Warner Fletcher, Fletcher Tilton PC, Emeritus FUTURE GOALS Participation from the community is a cornerstone of our work and essential to our operations. Community volunteers serve as members of staff-led grantmaking and scholarship award committees and assist with investment oversight. Over 250 individuals from the business community, education, and the nonprofit sector serve the Foundation annually as Corporators. Corporators are volunteers who act as ambassadors applying their expertise, talent, and knowledge to help the Foundation grow its philanthropic impact across the region. Our Corporator group includes members of our Board of Directors and are elected to renewable four-year terms. The Foundation welcomes members of the community who want to learn more about the work we do to connect with us about how they might contribute to advancing the Foundation's mission. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES POST-PANDEMIC: The pandemic changed the way we work at the Foundation, but larger than that, it influenced our strategic view of the role we can play in the community. By exposing the deep disparities in our society, the pandemic made clear the need to center equity in all the work we do. As we continue to collaborate with our nonprofit, donor, and community partners, we will seek to support systems change to build a just and equitable community. We will also continue responding to the ongoing needs of the community by providing support for critical services. Through grants, scholarships, and programs that build nonprofit sector capacity, the Foundation's work is made possible by the gen- erosity of past donors who established permanent charitable funds with us during their lifetimes or by a bequest. With a gift of at least $10,000 ($30,000 for scholarship funds) anyone may establish a named fund to create a meaningful and personal legacy. The Foun- dation provides expertise, relationships and community knowledge to turn donors' charitable interests into impactful giving strategies. Creating a fund with the Foundation is an effective, efficient, and important way to invest in a stronger Greater Worcester. The Foundation works across issues and sectors to identify needs, seed innovations, and drive lasting positive change. Donors fuel this work by supporting special initiatives like Creative Worcester, a multi-year Barr Foundation collaboration strengthening Worcester's creative ecosystem through grants and knowledge resources. Donors also support our annual campaign, the Civic Leadership Fund, a resource for the Foundation's community-building work. What drew me to the Foundation was the great flexibility we have to respond to needs in the community. Our goals are geared toward improving and sustaining the well-being of the people of Central Massachusetts. We have successfully invested for the long term but we have the financial flexibility to constantly pivot to meet new and emerging needs as the community changes and grows around us. It's such an honor to serve the community in this way. Every person we help through our financial strength makes the effort worthwhile. – J. Christopher Collins, Board Chair GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Worcester Business Journal Special Editions - Giving Guide 2021