Barr Awards $15.6 Million in Second Quarter of 2018

At its second board meeting of 2018, the Barr Foundation Board of Trustees approved grants totaling $8.6 million, in addition to $7 million approved since the March board meeting. We are pleased to highlight some of our new and continuing partnerships.

In Climate, Barr awarded sixteen grants totaling $4.3 million. In Clean Energy, a $240,000 grant will support the National Wildlife Federation’s education, analysis, and communications efforts to expand the deployment of offshore wind power in the Northeast. A $150,000 grant to the Clean Energy States Alliance will support the facilitation of collaborative efforts among Northeast states to advance offshore wind deployment through its Offshore Wind Accelerator Project, focused on reducing the cost of offshore wind and speeding the pace of technology development so that states can meet climate and emissions reduction goals. A $180,000 grant to the New England Grassroots Environment Fund supports grassroots community-based organizations advancing clean energy in their communities and across the region.

In Mobility, a $230,000 grant to the Alliance for Business Leadership (ABL) will engage the business community around increased transportation leadership. ABL’s work will complement ongoing efforts by Transportation for Massachusetts, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and other Barr grantees. A $350,000 grant to Community Labor United will support increasing access to reliable, modern public transportation for residents in Boston and the Gateway Cities. Community Labor United and its partners will advocate for environmental justice while ensuring that the region’s transition to low-carbon mobility benefits all residents. A $200,000 grant to LivableStreets Alliance will support measuring progress on Go Boston 2030. Livable Streets will work with the MIT Transit Lab to create a new framework for gauging the level of public engagement in transportation decisions and produce recurring progress reports.

In Education, Barr awarded twenty-three grants totaling $9.5 million. A $750,000 grant to The Education Trust will support the creation of a diverse coalition of Massachusetts advocates to voice demand for equity-advancing education policy and practice. Education Trust will work with local organizations that represent diverse stakeholders to build capacity to engage and advance collaborative, action-oriented advocacy. A $75,000 grant for Learning Heroes (fiscal sponsor is New Venture Fund) will support new research that explores parent perceptions of school quality and options in rural communities across New England. The findings from this research will help inform future communications, concepts, and tools that are effective in engaging parents.

In Sector Effectiveness, Barr awarded six grants totaling $1.5 million. A $150,000 grant to Borealis Philanthropy will support a pooled fund to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the nonprofit sector, focusing on tools and practices for nonprofits and the consultants that help organizations in this work. A $225,000 grant to the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) will provide unrestricted, core support. NCN is a key network facilitator that leads policy advocacy for the sector and provides information, analysis, and resources on nonprofit management, governance, and trends. A $250,000 grant for Project Evident (fiscal sponsor is the Tides Center) will develop an innovative shared services model for nonprofits and funders to continuously test their practices, build evidence, and refine their work to improve community outcomes. Project Evident aims to expand how leaders across the social sector think about evidence-building and increase the supply of evidence-based solutions for social problems.

Explore a breakdown of Barr’s most recent grantmaking in the chart below.