News, reports, speeches, and more from Barr staff, Fellows, grantees, and others to illustrate the challenges we are focused on and what we are learning.
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In the beginning was the word. But now, word and image (if you want to give your words a chance).
Posted by Stefan LanferA picture is worth a thousand words, sure. But what if those thousand words are shedding light on IMPORTANT issues? And what if they are carefully chosen, masterfully crafted words? Well, yes, even then. In this guest post by Conservation Law Foundation’s Ben Carmichael, we hear about an infographic that led to a 7,000% increase in the nonprofit’s social media reach.
Date Posted: August 14, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees
Topics: ben carmichael, clf, communications, infographic, social media, urban agriculture -
Tackling the Economic, Environmental, and Social Sides to Sustainability
Posted by Stefan LanferBlasted as the “City of the Damned” in March in Boston Magazine, Lawrence, Massachusetts gets a very different treatment in an April piece on the Smart Growth America Blog – one that features, hope, connection, and unmistakable enthusiasm for a new future that residents are creating together.
Date Posted: April 24, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees
Topics: climate change, great neighborhoods, lawrence, massachusetts smart growth alliance, smart growth, smart growth america, sustainability -
Barr Announces Awards to 15 Boston Arts Organizations Under New Grant Program
Posted by Stefan LanferCan you imagine Boston without its vibrant cultural life? We can’t, either. Yet a difficult economy and the departure of several longtime arts funders have created a “new normal” for arts in Boston. After many conversations with arts grantees about how best to respond, Barr is taking a new approach to its arts grantmaking – providing deeper, longer-term support for cohorts of mid-sized arts organizations. Starting in the fall of 2011, Barr issued its first open requests for concept papers. We are pleased to introduce the 15 organizations that will receive support under this new program.
Date Posted: April 17, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees, Barr News
Topics: arts, cohort, economy, new normal, strategy -
New Budget Calculator Asks You to Show the T How to Find $160 Million
Posted by Stefan LanferThe MBTA – Greater Boston’s Public Transportation System – is facing a $161 million gap in its budget for fiscal year 2013. To address this gap, MBTA officials have proposed two different packages of fare increases and service cuts. At public hearings across the region in recent weeks, both proposals have met with stiff opposition. Now, a new, interactive budget calculator developed by two Barr grantees lets people come up with their own ways to close the financing gap.
Date Posted: March 20, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees
Topics: budget, climate, dukakis center, mapc, mbta, transportation -
Talking ELL’s in BPS
Posted by Stefan LanferOver two years ago, the Gaston Institute at UMass Boston issued a scathing report on the status of English Language Learners in the Boston Public Schools. The report caught the attention of the Department of Justice, which launched an investigation. A year ago, the District and the DoJ finally reached an agreement. Recently, Pat Brandes sat down with Claudio Martinez – a Barr Fellow, Boston School Committee member, and Co-Chair of the English Language Learners Task Force. They talked about what it’s taken to move this work forward, what’s different now for kids and their families and for teachers and their schools, and what success looks like.
Date Posted: February 22, 2012 | Categories: Barr Fellows, Barr Grantees
Topics: barr fellows, boston public schools, education, english language learners, immigrants, racial justice -
More Racing to the Top in Massachusetts
Posted by Kimberly HaskinsIn December, 2011, Massachusetts was named as one of only nine states to receive grants under the federal “Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge” – a successor to the Obama administration’s competitive K12 “Race to the Top” program. The State will get an infusion of as much as $50 Million over four years to expand access to high quality early care and education – and to continue strengthening the systems that support this expansion and ensure quality. This is a resounding endorsement of the efforts of countless advocates for Massachusetts’ youngest children, including several Barr grantees, like Strategies for Children, which breaks down the Challenge and its implications for the Commonwealth in a series of recent blog posts.
Date Posted: February 02, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees
Topics: early education, early learning challenge, education, strategies for children -
All Things not Being Equal: Equity, Race, and Metro Boston
Posted by Mary Skelton RobertsWhat is the state of the American dream in Metro Boston? A new report takes a piercing look at how much the answer to that question still depends on race. At a December event at the Harvard Law School, the report, “The State of Equity in Metro Boston” was officially released. It was funded by Barr as part of its Climate portfolio. At the release, Barr Senior Program Officer, Mary Skelton Roberts, might have talked about why. Instead, she shared a story.
Date Posted: January 24, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees, Reports & Case Studies, Presentations & Speeches
Topics: boston, climate change, equity, mapc -
New Report Says It’s Worth Reaching the Hard to Reach
Posted by Stefan LanferWhen Massachusetts passed its “Green Communities Act” in 2008, it set in motion a range of policies aimed at accelerating the clean energy economy and investments in energy efficiency. One of the mechanisms to make that happen is Mass Save, a utility-managed program that pays for home energy audits and provides rebates for customers to weatherize their homes. These rebates are paid for by a surcharge on utility bills for everyone in the State. And while rebates are offered to everyone, and everyone pays the surcharge, not everybody benefits. This has been especially true among the “Hard to Reach/Hard to Serve” like immigrant communities and communities of color. As the Green Communities Act was rolling out, Barr-grantees in the Green Justice Coalition convinced the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council to pilot new approaches to reaching these communities. A new evaluation makes a strong case that such efforts are well worth it, and will be critical if the State is to meet its targets for emissions reductions. Darlene Lombos, Executive Director of Barr-grantee Community Labor United shares the highlights in this guest post.
Date Posted: January 10, 2012 | Categories: Barr Grantees, Reports & Case Studies
Topics: climate change, energy efficiency, green communities act, green justice coalition, racial justice -
Fueling Up for a New Conversation about Transportation Financing in Massachusetts
Posted by Stefan LanferSince late this summer, Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray have been calling for renewed debate – and an “adult conversation” – about transportation finance in the Commonwealth. Business-as-usual is 1) not sustainable and 2) can only undermine the State’s aggressive climate and energy goals. Three recent reports offer rich fodder for that conversation to occur. Lizzi Weyant, Staff Attorney of MASSPIRG breaks them down to their key insights.
Date Posted: November 21, 2011 | Categories: Barr Grantees, Reports & Case Studies
Topics: climate change, economy, transportation, transportation finance -
The Business Case for Walkability
Posted by Lauren WoodyIn an environment of scarcity and budget cuts, how can the case be made for new investments in new ways of doing things – like energy efficiency, smart growth, or 21st century transportation? A new piece of research by Barr grantee WalkBoston offers a great model.
Date Posted: November 02, 2011 | Categories: Barr Grantees
Topics: climate change, smart growth, transportation, walkboston, walking, wendy landman