Parker Foundation is coming home
News for our community partners We are pleased to announce that the Parker Foundation is coming home to its roots in Lowell. Effective January 1, 2024, the foundation’s office will be in the Pollard Exchange Building, 55-67 Middle Street. We will occupy suite 501, the former home of the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, whose former […]
Maria Cunha Elected to Board of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation
LOWELL, MA – The trustees of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation have voted Maria Cunha to the board effective July 1, 2022. Maria has served as an advisor to the Foundation since 2019. Parker President Karen Carpenter made the announcement of the appointment following the Spring Board of Trustees meeting, and said, “we are thrilled […]
Theodore Edson Parker Foundation Announces Spring 2022 Grants
LOWELL, MA — In the spring of 2022, The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation paid a total of $738,775 in grants to nonprofit organizations at work in Lowell, Massachusetts, and pledged a total of $100,000 for payment in the fall of 2022 or 2023. Some grants are listed below, with the complete list available on the […]
Theodore Edson Parker Foundation Announces 2021 Grants
In 2021, The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation paid a total of $1,192,150 in grants to nonprofit organizations at work in Lowell, Massachusetts, and pledged a total of $530,000 for payment in 2022. Some grants are listed below with the complete list available on the Foundation’s website. All grants follow the 1944 will of Theodore Edson […]
Newell Flather was a force in Lowell
Memorial: Philanthropist died Aug. 30 at age 83. By Barry Scanlon, Correspondent for the Lowell Sun Lowell » He wasn’t a screamer. Didn’t rant or rave. Didn’t speak the most. But during a meeting, when he voiced his opinion, all eyes around the table gravitated toward Newell Flather. “You’d be in a meeting and he would quietly ask […]
Foundation’s DEI Progress Reflects its Place-Based Grantmaking
The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation has a history of prioritizing its commitment to underserved groups in Lowell, Massachusetts, the city in which the foundation was established in 1944. But in order to really effect change and to more closely reflect an evolving and increasingly diverse Lowell—home to a large immigrant population, including the nation’s second […]
Karen Carpenter Elected Board President of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation
Effective January 1, 2021, the Trustees of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation have voted Karen Carpenter as Board President. Karen has been a Parker trustee since 1982 and was the first woman trustee elected. She succeeds Newell Flather, who has served as chair for 40 years and who will continue to serve as Past President.
Theodore Edson Parker Foundation Announces 2020 Grants
The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation paid a total of $1,293,150 in grants to nonprofit organizations working in Lowell, Massachusetts in 2020, and pledged a total of $190,000 for likely payment in 2021. The Parker Foundation’s grantmaking, and its open application process, is focused primarily on the city of Lowell and its residents. Parker has a […]
Impact Stories
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Grantee Spotlight: Mill City Grows
The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation spotlights grantees who have taken intentional and concrete steps in becoming more equitable and inclusive. With the understanding that no organization has “made it,” our goal is to inspire others with practical examples of progress. Sowing Seeds: Food Justice Mill City Grows (MCG) is a nonprofit in Lowell, MA that […]