The Parker Fundation

Arts and Culture

First United Baptist Church
$5,000 as a second and final grant for the restoration of the historic 1826 church’s front columns. (Total support $10,000, 2018-2019).

Greater Lowell Community Foundation f/b/o Refuge
$5,000 in start-up support to hire its first paid staff member and to engage in strategic planning.

Lowell Art Association d/b/a Whistler House Museum of Art
$10,000 for the Whistler House’s summer arts program for Lowell youth which combines direct art instruction with art history.

Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Inc.
$30,000 for capital improvements and expanded programming at the Spalding House. (Total support $60,000, 2018-2019).

Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Inc.
$25,000 for staffing needs.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
$25,000 to purchase Lowell High School broadsides from 1837 to 1878 that give insights into young women, members of minority groups, and others who are underrepresented in 19th-century records. Lowell High School was co-educational since it began in 1831 and the first racially integrated high school in the United States.

The Brush Gallery & Art Studios
$10,000 to support 2019-2020 programming focused on the intersection of the environment and the arts throughout the city of Lowell, in partnership with Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Lowell Public Schools, and the Lowell Cemetery.

Subtotal Arts and Culture: $110,000
Percentage of total: 11.3%

 

Community and Economic Development

 

Accion East, Inc.
$20,000 for the Lowell Small Business Financial Education Program providing workshops, counseling, and service loans for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship for All
$25,000 in start-up funding for Lowell entrepreneurs.

Lawrence CommunityWorks f/b/o Mill Cities Leadership Institute
$12,500 in second and final year support for scholarships for Lowell residents enrolled in the Mill Cities Leadership Institute. (Total support $25,000, 2018-2019).

Lowell Heritage Partnership f/b/o Lowell Waterways Vitality Initiative
$50,000 in second year support for the Lowell Waterways Vitality Initiative aimed to provide lighting and other enhancements throughout the city’s 5.6 miles of canals. The large-scale project is a collaborative effort of the Lowell Heritage Partnership, The City of Lowell, and the Lowell Historic National Park. (Total support $100,000, 2017-2019).

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice
$20,000 for a civic awareness and voter education campaign about the city of Lowell’s at-large voting system and upcoming changes to that system.

Massachusetts Voter Education Network, Inc.
$5,000 to support voter education in Lowell.

Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership
$20,000 for tailored homeownership outreach to Lowell’s newcomer population.

Philanthropy MA f/b/o Massachusetts Census Equity Fund
$20,000 for outreach efforts in Lowell to ensure a more complete count in the 2020 Census.

Subtotal Community and Economic Development: $172,500
Percentage of total: 17.8%

 

 

Education

 

Budget Buddies, Inc.
$15,000 to support financial literacy programming for adult & teen women in Lowell.

Discovering Justice
$20,000 to expand its grade-specific, literacy-based civics education curriculum in Lowell Public Schools that covers the basics of the justice system and related issues such as democracy, rights, and responsibilities.

Generation Citizen
$20,000 to expand civics education that incorporates hands-on projects in Lowell Public Schools.

Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell
$10,000 for the Stepping Stones program providing a out-of-school-time program serving 200 girls ages 5 to 9, focusing on skill development in the Common Core areas of literacy, motor skills, social emotional learning, and STEM.

Greater Lowell Family YMCA
$100,000 in capital support for the renovation and upgrade of the YMCA’s preschool facility in Lowell.

Massachusetts Citizens for Children
$25,000 to offer online training on how to prevent child abuse for teachers, school staff, and youth workers.

Phillips Academy
$21,000 for a Lowell student to attend the Math & Science for Minority Students (MS)2 program, a three-year summer residential program providing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment and college counseling for talented Black, Latinx, and Native American high students.

Subtotal Education: $211,000
Percentage of total: 21.7%

 

Health

 

Life Connection Center
$20,000 to hire a part-time chef to plan and create meals for its clientele with chronic health issues.

Lowell Community Health Center
$50,000 in support for Diabetes Education and Access for Life pilot project to work with 100 adult patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Subtotal Health: $70,000
Percentage of total: 7.2%

 

 

Human Services

 

Aaron’s Presents
$25,000 in 1:1 matching grant to support staff salaries.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell
$35,000 in second and final year support for its Pathways Initiative, which gives youth support and job skills training to prepare for college and/or the workforce after high school graduation. (Total support $75,000, 2018-2019).

Cambodian Mutual Assistance Program
$30,000 in second and final year support for its youth programming. (Total support $60,000, 2018-2019).

Christ Church United in Lowell
$12,500 in continued support for the Church’s emergency assistance program for Lowell individuals in need, as encouraged by the will of Theodore Edson Parker.

Habitat for Humanity Greater Lowell
$50,000 for the Building Home, Transforming Lives program to build a new, affordable 2-unit house for low- and moderate-income families.

International Institute of New England
$50,000 in start-up support for three new programs, including a CNA vocational skills training program, legal immigration form assistance, and research efforts in how to define and measure refugee resettlement success.

Philanthropy Massachusetts
Boston, MA
$10,000 for the GMA Funder Community’s Trauma and Resilience Fund.

The Center for Hope and Healing
$40,000 to hire a peer leader for a revamped youth leadership group.

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
$50,000 in renewed support for the Summer Experiences in Greater Lowell program, which provides camping, youth employment and early childhood education opportunities for Lowell children and youth.

Women in Transition d/b/a Alternative House
$100,000 for its capital campaign to build a new emergency shelter with administrative offices.

Subtotal Human Services: $402,500
Percentage of total: 41.5%

 

Memberships

Philanthropy MA
$5,000 for renewed membership support.

Subtotal Memberships: $5,000
Percentage of total: .5%

 

Total Grants 2019: $971,000

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