Alliance Charitable Giving Plan

Alliance Charitable Giving Plan for 2023-2026

Giving lens for the Alliance’s mission: to actively support women and families through difficult transitions. 

Impact Area
  Organization
Annual Amt
  Impact Focus
 

First Parish

Operating budget $2400 Stewardship pledge
First Parish Youth (can be carried forward) $500 Camp scholarships, service trip
 

 

Global

UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee $1,000 International non-profit
MADRE $1,000 Global women’s rights
The Fistula Foundation $1,000 Women’s health
 

 

National

Sandy Hook Promise    $900 Violence prevention
RAICES   $900 Immigrant legal services
UUWF    $500 Justice work for women
 Local Arlington Youth Counseling Center    $750 Mental health, Arlington
Louise D Brown Peace Institute    $500 Support for survivors of homicide, suicide and overdose victims, Metro Boston Domestic violence, Metro Boston
Housing Corporation of Arlington $1,000 Homelessness, housing support, Arlington
OUT Metrowest     $500 LGBTQ Youth programs & community education-MetroWest
Reproductive Equity Now    $500 Pro-choice advocacy
Respond Inc.   $500 Domestic violence, Metro Boston
The Children’s Room    $500 Grief counseling & support, Metro Boston
Women’s Health Services   $750 Women’s health, Metro Boston
La Colaborativa    $500 Partner to Latinx immigrants in Greater Boston, focus on gateway towns (Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lynn, Revere, and Malden). Food and housing insecurity.
Food Link MA. $750 Food rescue to serve Greater Boston food banks
Arlington Eats $500 Food bank, Arlington
Discretionary As determined by Alliance Board $500 Discretionary funds
TOTAL GIVING $12,550.00
Organizations presented by Alliance members
for consideration in the 3-year Giving Plan (2023-2026)
January 2023 Alliance meeting

 

Arlington Eats https://www.arlingtoneats.org/
Food insecurity   serves Arlington direct service
Arlington EATS’ MISSION is to engage the community in eliminating food insecurity and hunger in Arlington. Today Arlington EATS distributes over 10,000 pounds of food to 270 households every week.   [Not rated by Charity Navigator]

Fistula Foundation 
https://fistulafoundation.org/
Women’s health. Direct service and advocacy – Global
1700 The Alameda Ste 300.  San Jose CA 95126-1724
“Fistula Foundation believes that no woman should have to suffer a life of shame and isolation simply for trying to bring a child into the world. We are dedicated to raising awareness of and funding for obstetric fistula, a wrenching childbirth injury, in Africa and Asia.
We are the global leader in the battle against obstetric fistula. In early 2020, we celebrated 50,000 life-transforming fistula repair surgeries. To date, we have awarded fistula treatment project grants working at more than 150 sites in 32 countries throughout Africa and Asia.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates the Fistula Foundation a 4 star charity]

Food Link
https://www.foodlinkma.org/
Food Insecurity   serves Greater Boston  direct service

“Food Link is a community organization that envisions a world in which everyone has abundant
nourishing food and a food system in which no edible food goes to waste. We rescue surplus fresh food that would otherwise be wasted and deliver it to community organizations serving people in need throughout Greater Boston. Food Link is the bridge between distributors and farms that have the capacity to donate fresh surplus food and community organizations that seek nutritious food for people who are in need.”  “FOOD LINK IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT RESCUES FRESH FOOD, ALLEVIATES HUNGER, AND CONTRIBUTES TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates Food Link a 4 star charity]

Household Goods  https://www.householdgoods.org/
530 Main Street. Acton MA 01720-3304 – Greater Boston
 Household Goods provides a full range of donated furniture and household items, free of charge, to help people in need make a home. “TO COLLECT DONATED HOUSEHOLD ITEMS AND MAKE THOSE GOODS AVAILABLE TO THOSE IN NEED.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates Household Goods a 4 star charity]

La Colaborativa  https://la-colaborativa.org/about/
Humanitarian focus on Latinx immigrants – Greater Boston
Founded in 1988, La Colaborativa is a steady, trusted, and fearless partner to Latinx immigrants in Greater Boston, with a focus on gateway cities and towns such as Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lynn, Revere, and Malden.
We work in partnership with Latinx immigrants to design and deliver an array of programs, initiatives, and community organizing campaigns that serve, protect, celebrate, and uplift our people.  We focus on food and housing security, economic advancement, cultural celebration, and immigrant leadership that drives policy and systems changes that benefit our communities over the long-term.
We are a trusted resource for Massachusetts’ immigrant community, disseminating linguistically and culturally appropriate information and resources to some of the most vulnerable community members in the state, including newly-arrived immigrants, undocumented families, non-English speakers and low-income tenants and workers. “TO EMPOWER CHELSEA RESIDENTS AND CHELSEA ORGANIZATIONS TO BRING ABOUT SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN OUR COMMUNITY.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates La Colaborativa a 4 star charity]

Louis D Brown Peace Institute  https://ldbpeaceinstitute.org/
Service and advocacy for survivors of homicide victims.  Appears to serve greater Boston
15 Christopher Street. Dorchester MA 02122-1218
Survivors Outreach Services (SOS) provides emotional and practical support for families in the first 24-72 hours after a homicide happens.  Ongoing healing and safe spaces for survivors of homicide, suicide and overdose victims, as well as families of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated loved ones.  Community Reentry Services Program (CRSP) is a reintegration program that creates a pipeline from prison to progress for men in Massachusetts correctional facilities.  The program helps reunite participants with their families and provides wraparound services that include: employment, education, mentorship, housing and diverse counseling services. “THE PEACE INSTITUTE MISSION IS “TO CREATE AND PROMOTE AN ENVIRONMENT OF PEACE AND UNITY, WHERE YOUG PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE VALUED FOR THEIR PEACEMAKING EFFORTS.” THE FOUNDATION OF OUR MISSION RESTS ON THE USE OF THE 7 PRINCIPLES OF PEACE:LOVE\UNITY\FAITH\HOPE\COURAGE\JUSTICE\FORGIVENESS- THROUGH DIRECT SERVICE PROGRAMS, TRAINING AND PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates Louis D Brown Peace Institute a 3-star charity]

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America https://momsdemandaction.org/
Gun violence prevention.  National organization with state chapters (MA is listed as Everytown for Gun Safety).
Grassroots network working on advocacy, supporting candidates, in the courts
“We are a movement of moms, dads, students, survivors, educators, gun owners, and concerned citizens working together to fight for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.”    [Not rated by Charity Navigator]

NAMI  (National Alliance on Mental Illness) https://nami.org/home
Mental health.  National
4301 Wilson Blvd Ste 300, Arlington VA 22203-1867
https://namimass.org/
“NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the nation’s largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has affiliates in every state and in more than 900 local communities across the country. NAMI recognizes that the key concepts of recovery, resiliency and support are essential to improving the wellness and quality of life of all persons affected by mental illness. NAMI members and friends work to fulfill our mission by providing support, education, and advocacy. Our many activities include: public education and information activities, peer education and support, raising awareness and fighting stigma, and state and federal advocacy.”
[From Charity Navigator which rates it a 4-star charity]

New Commonwealth Fund  https://newcommonwealthfund.org/
Ending systemic racism.   Provides funding.      Greater Boston
Provide grants to non-profits working to end systemic racism.  The fund is held by the Boston Foundation
“The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund was founded by a coalition of Massachusetts Black and Brown executives for the sole purpose of leveraging our individual and collective power to work together with community organizations to make transformative societal changes by addressing systemic racism and racial inequity in Massachusetts.”

OUT MetroWest  https://outmetrowest.org
LGBTQ Youth Programs & Community Education – Metro west of Boston
OUT MetroWest has been operating programs for LGBTQ+ youth for more than a decade, and we’ve grown in response to community needs. We began our first program—social and supportive meetings for LGBTQ+ high school youth—in 2011. The program, originally called WAGLY, was launched at the request of local youth and families. Attendance was robust from the beginning! We’ve since renamed this program Prism, in recognition of the diverse identities held by youth participants.
In 2012, with youth input, we launched Umbrella, our trans-facilitated program for transgender, non-binary, and gender questioning high schoolers.
Three years later, with middle schoolers consistently seeking access to our programs, we launched Nexus. Nexus was the state’s first community program for LGBTQ+ youth in grades six through eight.
In 2017, we began offering drop-in sessions in response to youth requests for additional time to connect with LGBTQ+ peers and role models. We now offer this casual, unstructured time prior to each of our structured programs.
During our most recent strategic planning process, we gathered further community feedback that led to the creation of our Shine program for gender expansive young children in 2019 and our Youth of Color Hangout in 2021.
We currently run more than a dozen youth meetings per month out of our hub in Framingham, plus online programming and satellite events around the MetroWest region. Each year, we directly serve more than 300 youth and engage hundreds of additional people of all ages through our LGBTQ+ trainings and community events.
[Not rated on Charity Navigator]

Sandy Hook Promise https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/
Gun violence prevention National impact direct action and advocacy
THE MISSION OF SANDY HOOK PROMISE IS TO END SCHOOL SHOOTINGS AND CREATE A CULTURE CHANGE THAT PREVENTS VIOLENCE AND OTHER HARMFUL ACTS THAT HURT CHILDREN. THROUGH OUR PROVEN, EVIDENCE-INFORMED KNOW THE SIGNS PROGRAMS AND SENSIBLE, BIPARTISAN SCHOOL AND GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION, WE TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS TO RECOGNIZE, INTERVENE, AND GET HELP FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE SOCIALLY ISOLATED AND/OR AT RISK OF HURTING THEMSELVES OR OTHERS.
[From Charity Navigator which rates Sandy Hook a 4 star charity]

The American Indian College Fund  https://collegefund.org/
Education for American Indian students. Provides Funding.    National
“The American Indian College Fund provides scholarships, internship opportunities, and other life skills and career readiness support to American Indian students. Education is often the difference between a happy, healthy, and self-sustaining productive life and one that is not. Approximately 14.5% of American Indians have a college degree, well below the national average. To strengthen our country as a whole, the American Indian College Fund seeks to strengthen native communities by empowering native people with skills, knowledge, and experience. The American Indian College Fund directly supports over 4,000 American Indian students annually, and thousands more through indirect services and support.”
(From Charity Navigator which rates the college fund a 3 star charity.)