Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Awards

FY23 Grant Recipients

Project City/Town	Lead Applicant	Award	Project Description
Boston	Action for Boston Community Development, Inc.	$165,000.00	ABCD will launch BRIDGES Reintegration Center, a career center that targets employment services to formerly incarcerated people located within the MassHire Metro North Career Center. ABCD will partner with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department, and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department to provide employment services to released/soon to be released individuals. Services include career assessment, case management, identification of occupational/career objectives, access to training and apprenticeship programming, supportive services, job readiness, employment placement, and post-employment support.
Boston	Action for Equity	$250,000.00	This project will expand the Community Pipeline to Opportunities and Good Jobs for BIPOC along Boston's Fairmount Corridor by helping residents access jobs in the tech, green and biotech sectors. Action for Equity will continue to advocate for residents by communicating that residents have education and skills that are transferable. The coalition will develop best practices for hiring people with CORIs and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) hiring and will continue developing their participatory research process with residents.
Boston	African American Diabetes Association, Inc.	$250,000.00	With the Boston Public Health Commission, the "Managing Diabetes During and After Incarceration Project" will work with community based organizations, community health centers, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC), and the Suffolk County Jail, along with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals with diabetes. This project is designed to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, along with correctional staff, understand diabetes through education, monitoring, nutrition and exercise recommendations. This education program aims to enhance diabetes self-care knowledge and skills, support behavioral change, promote general health, and reduce the risk of complications associated with diabetes. The coalition will provide accessible diabetes self-management education for 300 individuals, and 50 prison/jail staff, both inside and outside of prison. They will use a coordinated care approach and support case management of formerly incarcerated individuals with visits to endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists and dietitians.
Boston	African Community Economic Development of New England	$375,000.00	ACEDONE SBD-TA will support the growth and sustainability of small businesses owned by African immigrants in the greater of Boston Area. This funding will help ACEDONE to expand capacity for technical assistance and support services to their small business clients.
Boston	Agncy Design	$300,000.00	This project focuses on working with Boston Public Schools to support young people who at risk or engaged with the criminal legal system. The program will do two things with these young people: 1) it will provide them with restorative justice experiences with peers to support healing, self-reflection and the development of self-management skills and 2) it will co-design with them to understand their voices, needs and perspectives on creating school and city structures that meet the needs of young folks like themselves. Boston Public Schools (BPS), Transformational Prison Project (TPP) and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) will play key roles in the project. The project will provide a structured restorative justice curriculum for use in BPS and desgin a pilot for a peer leadership model, among other outcomes.
Lawrence	Amplify Latinx	$75,000.00	Amplify Latinx will expand its PowerUp Latinx Business Initiative in Lawrence. In a coalition that includes the Lawrence Partnership, the City of Lawrence, and Surfside Capital, they will deliver culturally responsive business technical assistance (TA) to Lawrence Latinx small businesses, while developing a broader Leadership Advancement and Placement campaign. The coalition will offer hands-on TA and training, comprehensive business evaluation and  strategic roadmaps for long-term success. Through performance coaching and mentoring, they will prepare participating small businesses to: strengthen financial systems, improve cash flow, and secure capital for sales and marketing. They will help small businesses network and increase access to business certifications (including women and minority owned business status) and government contracts.
Boston	BAGLY DBA Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition	$237,000.00	The goals of MTPC's Trans Leadership Academy are to create a new generation of intersectional and multigenerational transgender leaders, work to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline for transgender individuals, and create new opportunities for transgender individuals in employment and education. The primary means to accomplish these goals are workforce development, community support, mentoring and training, and material and financial support.
Boston	Boston's Higher Ground	$300,000.00	The Family-Led Stability Initiative (FLSI) is a unique collective impact model in Boston. Four non-profit organizations, in collaboration with three city agencies, provide permanent housing for  homeless families including students attending FLSI - participating Boston schools. The FLSI links education and affordable housing delivery systems to achieve the dual goals of reducing family homelessness and improving health and educational outcomes for families served by the target schools. The FLSI is a unique collaboration of community organizations and public agencies to support homeless students and families through a coordinated approach that will increase access to affordable housing and reduce frequent student transitions among schools.
Boston	BPE, Inc.	$200,000.00	BPE and Dearborn STEM Academy seeks to reduce justice system involvement by increasing academic engagement and degree attainment. The project will provide supports for student caregivers, improve attendance through home visits for chronically absent students, and engage students through summer programming and early college and STEM career pathways. Additionally, students will be supported towards graduation and into higher education.
Lowell	Bridge Club of Greater Lowell	$450,000.00	The Bridge Back Initiative is a partnership between the Bridge Club, Middlesex County’s District Attorney’s Office, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, local employers, and others to provide employment opportunities, addiction & recovery support, housing support, and access to basic needs, to individuals following a period of incarceration or during supervised probation. Participants from minority groups, those with substance use disorders, and unemployed offenders will be prioritized. Additionally, some participants will receive 3 month of market-rate housing assistance.
Boston	Brighter Boston, Inc.	$75,000.00	Brighter Boston Skills Training will provide paid training and career development opportunities for youth at The Record Co. (TRC). Youth will have the opportunity to install technical systems in a new performance space and explore new audio/recording disciplines. They will be offered financial training, resume writing workshops, and community building and networking events at The Record Co. This partnership will leverage TRC’s unique space and its expertise in the operation of community-focused space and technology for music creation alongside Brighter Boston’s expertise in the training and job placement of young performing arts technologists to create a robust training program with connection to a diverse network of professionals and work opportunities.
Brockton	Brockton Interfaith Community	$490,000.00	The Co-op Cultivators of Greater Brockton (CCGB) is a project of collaboration between Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC) and the Boston Center for Community Ownership (BCCO). The project's major components are:  1) Continued support for Brockton's first worker-owned cooperative, Brockton Construction Cooperative, including training and technical assistance; 2) Two cooperative entrepreneurship trainings, with a specially-designed curriculum and multiple "networking nights" for aspiring co-op developers;  3) Research, draft, and finalize a report and plan for future efforts involving converting "legacy businesses" into worker-owned enterprises; 4) Continue support for the HOME Coalition organization, with the goal of either incorporating a Community Land Trust or joining an existing CLT; 5) Incorporate co-op materials into existing small business programs.
Lynn	Building Audacity	$125,000.00	Funding from this grant will be used for their On The Grow Program, which provides a paid learning opportunity for low-income young adults ages 16-22 to hydroponically grow food and develop and distribute other locally sourced produce and products. This project provides low income youth with training in community organizing, business, and urban agriculture. Specifically, youth will learn entrepreneurial skills, apply for patents, and learn about money management, product development, systems building, and product distribution. Students who develop products will be able to distribute them via Building Audacity's mobile distribution, website, and soon, retail locations.
Boston	Camp Harbor View Foundation	$500,000.00	This project is to strengthen Camp Harbor View's (CHV) non-summer programs in Boston. Programs to be supported through this grant include (1) a pilot community program that supports Boston's neediest families, with a guaranteed income of $7,000 per participating household; (2) The CHV Student Scholarship Program, that gives $10,000 scholarships to low-income students who are pursuing a college education; (3) CHV's Clinical and Family Services Program, that serves families with year round family and individual counseling, including trauma-informed care, and (4) Leadership Academy Program: a year-round program that focuses on college exposure and readiness, career pathways, soft-skills development, and summer employment for students grades 9-12.
Worcester	CENTRO Las Americas CENTRO)	$250,000.00	Towards Financial Empowerment is a bilingual community collaboration to overcome barriers to economic stability, from housing to entrepreneurship. This program designed to empower returning citizens to start minority-owned businesses by using experiential coursework and coaching and focused on relearning how to learn, problem-solving, business operations, entrepreneurship skills, and ongoing mentoring. Partners include CENTRO, LABO (Latino Association Business Organization), DYME Institute, and SBDC. The program will facilitate evidence-based learning and wraparound services and provide socio-emotional and cultural support in order to improve financial literacy, create new entrepreneurs, support existing businesses, and build up families and communities.
Southbridge	CENTRO Las Americas, Inc. (CENTRO)	$250,000.00	CENTRO will create a social enterprise called "Rebuilding Futures" (a cabinet re-facing, woodwork and furniture refurbishing workshop with a showroom) to provide job readiness and on-the-job skills to people returning from incarceration, their families, and historically economically marginalized communities in Southbridge. Both the shop and the show room will be in Southbridge, within target development areas identified by the town’s master plan. Partners include the Southbridge Redevelopment Authority, Catholic Charities, Bridge of Faith Youth Center and CENTRO. Participants will receive wrap-around support, including financial eduation.
Worcester	Charles Houston Cultural Project, Inc.	$75,000.00	Black Excellence Academy is an out of school program for fifty Worcester Public School students in grades 1 - 6 over the course of the academic year. Instruction is provided in Math and ELA, as well as enrichment activities including music instruction provided by teachers from Pakachoag Music School, STEM activities offered in partnership with WPI, Yoga For Youth, and photography, art and history from local historians, visual and performing artists. Tutoring is also provided by a private tutoring and educational testing company.
Chelsea	Chelsea Black Community	$100,000.00	Chelsea Black Community will engage in a strategic planning process to ensure a just and equitable recovery from COVID. Roadmap to Success will formalize an Information and Referral Network Initiative to promote workforce development in the Chelsea community. They will focus on resident participation and success to impact the deficits facing Chelsea residents post COVID. CBC plans to assist the City of Chelsea in building a Workforce Development Program that will provide opportunity through mentorship and will offer short-term internship placements.
Brockton	City of Brockton	$426,000.00	Brockton Second Chances Program will provide wrap-around services to meet the unique needs of both formerly incarcerated and court-supervised individuals from Brockton. Services will include IT training, CDL training programming, housing services for individuals with substance use disorders, and case management services that include recovery coaching. Project partners include the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department, 123House, WeReach, and the Gandara Center.
Boston	College Bound Dorchester	$375,000.00	This project focuses on Boston Uncornered's College Readiness Advisor internship program. The purpose of this program is to unlock the brilliance and power of Core Influencers, a small population of youth clustered in hotspots who are the drivers behind the majority of gang and gun violence in Boston, as positive agents of peace to drive community change. To ensure the continued success of Core Influencers and increase the impact they can have on their network and communities, the organization has launched a College Readiness Advisor (CRA) Internship - a paid training to support individuals to become community-based mentors. Through this project, driven by the Core Influencers who have risen into the organization's leadership, Uncornered trains and supports 2 part-time, paid interns. During their internship, individuals recruit and mentor Core Influencers and additional participants focused on five neighborhood hotspots. Mentors receive professional development, and Core Influencers receive mental health supports. The program will further their learning, professional growth and impact on their community. It is a selective pathway for Uncornered participants who demonstrate the virtues and talents aligned with the Uncornered statement of purpose and guiding principles.
Boston	Commonwealth Kitchen	$250,000.00	This project will organize another Massachusetts Food Show and Summit in May 2023, showcasing diverse restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and product companies to help them raise their profile, drive sales and recover from COVID. The focus will be on small, independent businesses, with at least 75% operated by people of color. Commonwealth Kitchen will pair this show with a variety of workshops and panel sessions to provide training and professional development to food businesses, plus workshops for the many groups looking to replicate our work.
Hampden County (esp. Holyoke and Springfield)	Community Legal Aid, Inc.	$292,000.00	The project will focus on helping formerly incarcerated residents of Central and Western Mass. overcome barriers to housing, employment, and other opportunities. This project will lead "know your rights" trainings for people to seal or expunge their criminal records, reduce housing discrimination, provide legal representation for those seeking to seal or expunge records, train social services providers to recognize criminal record related barriers, and represent people facing housing legal issues related to their criminal record.
Boston	Community Reentry Program, Inc.	$75,000.00	The Greater Boston Re-entry Task Force will provide job placement, wrap-around workforce development and support services for people returning from incarceration. The task force is comprised of three individualsand four organizations; organization partners are Prophetic Resistance Boston (PRB), the Muslim-American Society of Boston (MASB), and People Affecting Community Change (PACC). New programming includes an anger management program, a restorative justice program, and direct service staff for a new transitional housing complex. They will also host a hospital employment summit. The task force will take action on recommendations from last year's reentry summit (e.g. providing IDs prior to release) and continue supporting the five working groups created there.
Boston	Community Work Services (CWS)	$300,000.00	The Re-imagining Re-entry Project will provide comprehensive training and support services to incarcerated individuals pending release and to post-release returning citizens (RC's). This project integrates workforce training, life skills, transitional employment, and community reintegration into one cohesive program. Training will be offered both behind the wall and to recently released RC’s. Training will provide participants with opportunities to develop marketable employment skills and obtain nationally recognized industry certifications such as SERV Safe, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA-10) as well as certifications from energy organizations such as Global Wind Organization (GWO), Leadership in Energy and Energy Design (LEED V4), and North American Board of Energy Practitioners for Solar. This program will offer training in occupations that are Criminal Offender Record information (CORI) friendly, including their new programs in solar photovoltaic/wind turbine and terraponic gardening. RC’s will have access to a job readiness skills course, financial literacy trainings, career coaching and case management, and a network of CORI friendly employers from different industries. Participants will receive consults about their CORI rights related to job or related interviews and help to seal or expunge records.
Worcester	Dismas House of Massachusetts	$185,000.00	Dismas Reentry Initiative provides an enhanced reentry pathway for formerly court-involved people in greater Worcester by providing housing, clinical supports, assistance with civil legal matters, transportation, community organizing and ex-offender led initiatives. Their program includes three distinct housing sites: Dismas House on Richards Street in Worcester, MA, the Dismas Family Farm in Oakham, MA, and the Father Brooks House on Arthur Street in Worcester, MA. While participating in the Dismas program, residents are part of a family-style atmosphere and benefit from a network of resources specifically geared to assist them with civil legal problems, health benefits acquisition, SSI/SSDI benefits acquisition, HIV/AIDS awareness and referrals, credit repair, job and college searches, and housing referrals and placement. Staff members provide individualized case management assistance for each resident and are on hand 24 hours per day. Their full-time attorney affords residents with a wide breadth of legal services ranging from record sealing and benefits acquisition to full case representation. The Farm Steward guides farm residents as they develop vocational skills, build the self-discipline needed to succeed in the workforce, and produce thousands of pounds of nutritious local produce annually. Dismas employs two full-time residential Program Fellows, typically recent college graduates, who live and work alongside residents and provide residents with transportation to area AA/NA meetings and physical/mental health services, academic tutoring, and education advice.
Boston	Dreamcatcher Initiative, Inc.	$108,000.00	The Career Pathways and Support for System-Involved Youth project will provide an array of programs for youth ages 15-25. Programs include DreamCutz, which promotes entrepreneurship through barbering for justice-involved youth, and a men's group, Shop Talk, where participants learn and practice social-emotional skills. POWER (Preparing Our Women for Everyday Readiness) is a series of conversations and workshops that help young women address the ebbs and flow of everyday life through topics like self-care, healthy relationships, financial literacy, and civic engagement. Finally, E-Dreamers: Educating Dreamers is a pilot program introducing entrepreneurial skills to system-impacted youth with CORIs.
Springfield	EDC413 Works, Inc.	$500,000.00	Springfield WORKS builds on the FY22 project in which their coalition surveyed residents about barriers to information and services for formerly incarcerated people and those impacted by the justice system. They learned that 40% of survey respondents do not know how or where to connect to local resources for help. Addressing these gaps is the focus of their CERP FY23 project. With Springfield WORKS functioning as the hub, the eight partners will work directly with their most at-risk residents to develop pathways towards employment. Partners will pilot new frameworks to reach justice-involved Latinx and Black residents seeking support services, training, secondary education, and paid work. Using a 3-tier workflow system, this “ready, willing, and able” (RWA) community action model will build capacity with agency case managers and coaches to help their target population gain access to personal, education, workforce, and financial resources to achieve individual and family and career goals. The Springfield WORKS partners are creating a system that did not exist before, which transforms processes from one-off scattered recruiting and siloed service delivery to a coordinated system that breaks down barriers to social and economic opportunity and opens access to skills training, mental health, financial wellness, employment, upward mobility and health and wellbeing for Springfield families. The systems and strategies are designed using a holistic 2Generation/Whole Family Approach framework and are scalable.
Boston	English for New Bostonians	$500,000.00	The Immigrant Economic Recovery & Resilience Initiative (IERRI) will boost economic outcomes for limited-English-speaking jobseekers, workers, entrepreneurs. IERRI will inject job coaching into Boston's grassroots ESOL system and boost capacity for employment and digital literacy ESOL at 7 agencies across Boston. IERRI targets needs identified by ESOL students/staff to prepare limited-English-speakers for business ownership, employment in quality jobs, advancement. ENB began building sorely needed system capacity for immigrant-centered Career Coaching assisting students of diverse educational, economic, immigration backgrounds to access quality employment and small business opportunities.  ENB will support seven ESOL, digital literacy and Career Exploration classes, provide 3 multilingual (Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, French, English) ESOL Career Coaches and a Manager, leverage ENB employer relationships, and engage ESOL teachers/case managers to boost student outcomes. ENB’s English Works Business Council, Immigrant Futures in Food Industry initiative, and Workplace ESOL partners will fuel program design/job placements.
Holyoke	Enlace de Familias	$300,000.00	In FY23, the Community Empowerment Lab (CEL) aims to continue its successful program elements from last year: career exploration, occupational training, self-employment, and other opportunities, while expanding into leadership development and community engagement activities. In its second year, CEL will increase the number youth served, and enhance its entrepreneurial programming. Also planned is a week-long Community Event, engaging local leaders, small businesses, and local boards to introduce youth to community organizing and individual achievement. The event will end with a celebration of CEL successes, a vision for community unity, and uplifting examples of equity and inclusion.
Boston	Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts	$286,000.00	Bowdoin CARES Coalition will provide wraparound support for returning citizens, their families, and for families with a parent/caregiver who is currently incarcerated or who is at disproportionate risk of incarceration in the Bowdoin Geneva neighborhood of Dorchester. Support will take the form of (1) Family Support Programs, (2) Parent Empowerment, (3) Youth & Civic Engagement, and (4) Direct Support for Basic Needs, with a focus on overall economic empowerment.
Greenfield	Franklin County Community Development Corporation	$94,000.00	The Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC) supports economic development in the Pioneer Valley, counseling businesses them to launch, grow and transition. Additionally, they offer flexible financing, rental manufacturing and office space, and food manufacturing services at their Western MA Food Processing Center. In 2015 the Food Processing Center began working with area partners to provide workplace training and direct employment to inmates and those formerly incarcerated. The FCCDC seeks to help break the cycle of recidivism in their communities by partnering with four local organizations who serve people returning after incarceration, including Stone Soup Café, Community Action Pioneer Valley, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Kimball House Program, and the Hampshire County House of Corrections. Together partners will reduce barriers to employment and entrepreneurship for incarcerated people by increasing employment opportunities, offering skill-building opportunities in food manufacturing, offering educational opportunities for business planning and food product development, and most importantly creating a supportive workplace community that empowers, encourages and offers resources for inmates and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Boston	G{Code}	$300,000.00	Scaling G{Code} Tech Education Programs will significantly expand the tech education programming available to BIPOC women and nonbinary people ages 18-25. First, G{Code} will increase the number of cohorts of Intro to Web Dev programming offered annually. Secondly, they will facilitate new pilot programs such as Intro to Data Analytics and Intro to UX/UI Design. These programs offer a next step to their Intro to Web Dev graduates and provide more specialized technical knowledge, expanding the employment prospects for G{Code} alumni.
Boston	Greater Boston Latino Network	$450,000.00	The Latino College and Career Access (LaCCA) Network was developed by GBLN and in FY22 partnered with five agencies and 360 Latinx and English learner young people, collectively. Each organization, including Sociedad Latina, Boston HERC, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Hyde Square Task Force, and East Boston Community Council, implemented the College & Career Pathways Initiative.  Each of these organizations have decades of experience with increasing positive educational, professional, and social-emotional outcomes for underserved Latinx, Spanish-speaking, and English learner youth. Through their College & Career Pathways Initiative, GBLN aims to prepare Latinx youth for success in postsecondary education and the 21st-century workforce by using a holistic, innovative, and culturally relevant approach that focuses on mentoring, work readiness skill building, career exploration, sector-specific training, internship placements, academic case management, and family engagement.
Chelsea	HarborCOV, Inc.	$207,000.00	HarborCOV is proposing to deepen their existing partnership with Chelsea Legal Services (CLS) to provide responsive, survivor-centered legal representation for survivors of domestic violence experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These survivors are often impacted by disproportionate barriers to stable housing due to poverty and abuse; housing discrimination; past criminal justice involvement; safety concerns; eviction history; employment and workforce challenges; and vulnerable citizenship status. HarborCOV and CLS have partnered to serve this population by developing a comprehensive, trauma-informed referral system and sharing key learnings. This partnership provides full representation legal services and housing stabilization support to survivors at greatest risk of homelessness or court involvement in the gateway city of Chelsea.
Boston	Justice 4 Housing	$450,000.00	Formerly incarcerated people (FIP) and JIP are more likely to experience housing insecurity and homelessness, fueling recidivism and continued family separation. J4H’s 2022 pilot Stable Housing And Reintegration Program (SHARP) broke this cycle, partnering with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to provide FIP with Section 8 vouchers. Participants received comprehensive, peer-led case management and individualized services (health care, financial literacy, substance treatment, job training etc.) from their extensive partner network, enabling successful re-entry. BHA committed to providing an additional 40 vouchers for FY23.  To expand the pilot, they will hire an additional Case Manager, and a Community Housing Liaison, who will assist participants in their housing search, educate the community about the safety and necessity of housing JIP, combatting housing discrimination, and continue to cultivate networks of CORI-friendly landlords and brokers. SHARP participants receive homeownership education, and, upon graduation, can convert their voucher to mortgage payments via a BHA program. Support from J4H and community partners will enable FIP to become homeowners, building community assets & stability, addressing economic inequities and re-investing in communities targeted by mass incarceration. They will expand their Hands On Defense (HOD) Network, in which J4H Peer Leaders (FIP) train aligned organizations in their copyrighted, community-based model for defending JIP against evictions and housing denials.
Chelsea	La Colaborativa	$350,000.00	The Good Jobs Coalition (GJC) supports Chelsea residents aspiring to secure jobs with livable wages, benefits, and viable pathways out of poverty and beyond the criminal justice system. First, it meets current demands for education, training, services requested by their community to improve job readiness and ability to access “good jobs” (i.e. living wage and benefits). Their community is severely lacking basic job readiness skills, including English, basic literacy, and technology skills that are a pre-requisite for entry into many good jobs. Second, it invests in proven models to support youth and adults on their pathways to economic stability, by creating access to hands-on training and work experience, and alternative pathways such as small business ownership and worker-owned cooperatives. Third, it infuses resources to stabilize housing for members working towards employment and small business goals, to enable them to remain housed while investing time and effort in their economic stability pathway.
Everett	La Comunidad, Inc.	$98,000.00	The Everett Young Adult Coalition: Bridge to Local, Living Wage Jobs and Leadership project will support the next generation of BIPOC leaders with the skills needed to secure living-wage jobs, stable housing, transportation and a role in shaping Everett’s political future.  La Comunidad will be a hub for a new coalition of Everett organizations serving young adults aged 16-28.  BIPOC Everett high school students will receive internship opportunities, college and vo-tech application assistance, leadership and organizing training, mentorship by community leaders, and experience collecting and organizing community data for the second phase of the project. Partners include Everett High School, Action for Equity, Teens in Everett Against Substance Abuse, and local community colleges.
Lawrence	Lawrence Family Development DBA Lawrence Prospera	$260,000.00	SISU's Gang Resistance Intervention Team Basketball Program (GRIT) uses organized and drop in basketball programming to target young people living in Lawrence, involved with the juvenile justice system, and at highest risk for gang recruitment. In partnership with the Suenos Basketball program and the Lawrence Police Department, GRIT provides life skills, leadership, and social emotional supports as well as targeted academic assistance and parent outreach for young people ages 12-18. Participants are selected to participate in local and regional travel and tournament teams. SISU staff provide an evidence based life skills curriculum to all eligible participants, plus supervision, academic supports, and food service. The GRIT program also provides resources to overwhelmed parents through workshops at LFD’s Quintana Center, targeted to GRIT parents.
Lawrence	LEADS Inc.	$150,000.00	LEADS facilitates two levels of community-led coalitions that are focused on improving the intersecting civic systems that disproportionately exclude residents who have been affected by incarceration. First, the LEADS Fellowship program built solutions-oriented relationships and skills among leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in Lawrence and the Merrimack Valley’s other Gateway Cities. Next, project-specific coalitions from the LEADS Network of alumni will apply to a pilot Accelerator program that provides 3 months of technical assistance, along with seed funding and other support. Combined, these working coalitions connect existing and emerging Lawrence leaders to accelerate community-led solutions that improve residents’ quality of life.
Salem	LEAP FOR EDUCATION	$169,000.00	Youth School to Career Pipeline will focus on youth, ages 13 - 22, in the gateway cities of Lynn and Salem. Through this project, students will achieve social and economic mobility by creating a vision for their future, a pathway to a post-secondary degree or certification and a sustainable wage career. Through academic and college to career programs, LEAP students identify and strengthen their own unique talents and interests, grow socially and emotionally, build social capital and find opportunities and resources that help them achieve their plan.
Worcester	Legendary Legacies Inc.	$150,000.00	Legendary Legacies (LL) is a Worcester based, grassroots, minority owned non-profit that provides case management and culturally responsive re-entry services for young men of color who are re-entering or at risk of incarceration. LL will work with a cadre of community leaders to design a training program for those who wish to become outreach workers. They will then train two of their staff as program trainers and pilot the program with 5-7 participants. The overall goal of the program is to create a sustainable pipeline for new outreach workers, addressing the need for more culturally competent support staff to serve as liaisons between Worcester’s vulnerable communities and those community resources that could best serve them.
Worcester	Living in Freedom Together, Inc. (LIFT)	$84,000.00	BRAVE – Building Real Action for Viable Employment – provides job training and skill building through the transitional employment model and is designed around input and goals of program participants from LIFT and BRAVE program partner, Latin American Health Alliance (LAHA). FY23 will be the second year of CERP funding for BRAVE, with funding in this cycle focused on hiring, onboarding, and training a BRAVE Program Manager, training and paying BRAVE trainees, and purchasing additional supplies.
Boston	Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, Inc.	$300,000.00	Supporting Equitable Enterprise Development (SEED) is a multi-disciplinary coalition of a BIPOC-led CDFI, healthcare institution, and community based organization collectively striving to increase health, wealth, and housing equity in Boston. The coalition is focused on leveraging each organization's expertise to invest in technology that will improve business outcomes for entrepreneurs, innovate and create change within the "Food as Medicine" space, and add value to targeted neighborhoods through place-based beautification and development efforts.
Boston	Louis D. Brown Peace Institute	$175,000.00	The LDBPI created the Community Reentry Services Program (CRSP), a three-year comprehensive program that specifically targets recidivism and aims to provide guidance, mentorship, resources, mental and emotional health services and training to prisoners from County facilities.  The program assists these individuals in returning to society, preventing recidivism and keeping them out of prison while building a life they feel is worth living. The next steps to strengthen and expand this program are adding a fourth mentor, engaging an assessment committee to evaluate incoming participants, and underwriting the costs of vocational training for program participants. These pieces fill the gap that formerly incarcerated individuals face to make a smooth transition into the community with all of the resources, guidance and support they need. Project partners include Crossroad Counseling Services, PACC Global, Nova Farms, Hope & Comfort, Gandara Mental Health Center, Solutions at Work, the Bullpen Project, and the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.
Worcester	Main South Community Development Corporation	$350,000.00	The Main South Empowerment Project is a collaboration between the Main South CDC, the Regional Environmental Council, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, and The Village. It is focused on investing in the low-income, BIPOC residents of the Main South neighborhood of Worcester. It builds the capacity of local partners to support Main South community members by creating increased workforce development and employment opportunities directly in a neighborhood that has been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. It supports a new Afrocentric Community Organization intended to empower the African-American community and will build leadership, social capital, and employable skills among residents.  Specifically, the project will: 1) Provide at-risk Main South youth part-time entry-level employment and training in interview and hiring practices; 2) Provide additional (older) neighborhood youth with stipend lifeguard training, certification, and job placement support; 3) Employ adult BIPOC members of the Main South neighborhood who have been impacted by the criminal justice system; 4) Implement a Neighborhood Ambassador program; 5) Facilitate organizing and mobilizing efforts amongst residents to build community power and capacity; 6) Provide needed operating support to a new grassroots, black-led neighborhood organization; and support the continuation of the Main South TDI Partnership.
Fall River	Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women (MassNOW)	$226,000.00	The Fall River & New Bedford Menstrual Equity Project will combat period poverty and behaviors that increase a young person’s risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The coalition will continue their pilot program in Fall River for menstrual product distribution in schools, shelters and community centers and expand to organizations in New Bedford. In addition to distributing free period products, they will host menstrual equity workshops and a Period Pop Up where community members can easily access free menstrual products and other hygiene items. Partners will also work with schools and youth-serving organizations to recruit at-risk young adult (18-25) peer leaders who will manage the pop ups, facilitate menstrual education workshops at community sites, and build leadership skills. MassNOW will produce a white paper to chart the course for comprehensive access to menstrual products.
Holyoke	MassHire Holyoke	$300,000.00	Pillars of the Community Workforce (PCW) will increase MassHire Holyoke’s successful re-entry programming by expanding capacity for services in the community where they are most needed and by restoring the in-person, relationship-based case management lost during the pandemic. PCW’s service design is a Boots on the Ground approach, giving its current, highly trained, and experienced staff a mobile community lab of 15 devices, which will allow for services wherever there is an internet connection. Moreover, since R&R staff are trained as Recovery Coaches as well as Career Counselors, Mentors, and Case Managers, the enhanced community presence will also re-introduce one-on-one services wherever they are most needed.
Boston	Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS)	$244,000.00	Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS) will lead this digital literacy-focused workforce development project to support digital literacy, job seeking, coaching and emotional support for adults who have been impacted by trauma. Partners include Mutual Aid Eastie (MAE), the Transformational Prison Project (TPP), and the EBNHC Neighborhood Trauma team (NTT), and Neighbors United for East Boston (NUBE), who have been collaborating since the onset of the pandemic to provide housing and food assistance and support coordination of monthly peace circles led by the TPP and the NTT. This work has been foundational to building the deep trust essential to providing strong trauma-informed services to individuals and communities in need. In FY22 this team worked collectively to tailor a basic digital literacy curriculum that was trauma informed. This year NUBE will be an additional partner who will join them as they tailor a new intermediate level trauma-informed curriculum that includes a marketing and web development track for entrepreneurial participants, a narrative digital storytelling track for civic leaders, and a job search track for those wanting to find new or more gainful employment.
Lawrence	Mill Cities Community Investments	$350,000.00	Catalyze Lawrence is a coalition of four partner organizations - MCCI, EparaTodos, TLE Consulting’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, and Family Services of the Merrimack Valley. This project will advance the work of the Catalyze Lawrence coalition in supporting aspiring and current entrepreneurs and small business owners in Lawrence, including those reentering from incarceration. With MCCI’s focus on access to flexible, low-cost capital for local underresourced business owners, EparaTodos’ focus on supporting Spanish-speaking early stage entrepreneurs in Lawrence and surrounding communities, and TLE’s expertise in working with incarcerated populations, even the highest need populations in Lawrence seeking to start and sustain a business have access to a range of support. MCCI will coordinate the coalition, as well as provide TA and training (including for TLE’s cohorts); EparaTodos will run its 12-week Business Accelerators for low-income, Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs, and provide custom pitch contest and resume/career building workshops for TLE cohorts; TLE will continue virtual training in beauty and cosmotology for currently incarcerated individuals, as well as in-person training and certification for recently released aspiring entrepreneurs; and Family Services will provide clinical services for formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs needing additional assistance (housing, transportation, food access, mental health, etc.).
Boston	MissionSAFE: A New Beginning, Inc.	$400,000.00	InVeST NOW (In Venture to Succeed Together--New Opportunities Work) project builds on their 2022 pilot; similarly, this project will work with formerly incarcerated and court-involved individuals. They will continue their wraparound, immersive experience for youth, and provide follow-up case management as well. They will continue the assessment of individual and community strengths, needs and improvement activities through the lens of hands-on work projects and continuous mentoring, working with young adults to improve their self-esteem, confidence, skills, prospects, motivation and vision of their place in their communities.  This work will also include: Advancing educational goals, Ameliorating housing instability, Providing training and practice in social/emotional and life skills, Providing trauma and resilience self-knowledge, resilience training and practice, Providing daily practice in fitness, nutrition and healthy relationships, Training and practice in career exploration, skills development and placement.
Boston	More Than Words	$450,000.00	The Job Training and Wraparound Support Partnerships project will support young people ages 16-24 in Boston who are already court-involved or are disproportionately likely to become involved in the justice system. The project will provide youth with the comprehensive, long-term supports they need to plan for a stable and successful future, including job training, youth development and life skills programming, case management, career planning, supportive services, housing supports, HiSET and postsecondary education, and occupational training. More Than Words will operate their work-based social enterprise program, where youth will gain skills through hands-on job training while also advancing personal goals related to education, employment, and personal development. They will expand partnerships with X-Cel Education, Duet, and New England Culinary Arts Training (NECAT) to ensure young people who have struggled to persist in traditional education environments have a clear pathway to accessing a HiSET certification and postsecondary education that will lead to living-wage work in a field of interest. Partner Caritas Communities will provide stable housing in single-room occupancy units and wraparound supports to young people who would otherwise experience homelessness.
Boston	Mothers for Justice and Equality, Inc.	$82,000.00	MJE’s You Matter - Personal Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Training is a 4-week program that supports personal goal setting, financial literacy, and career development including entrepreneurship for single mothers who are head of household, many with CORI records. With this funding, MJE will engage 50 mothers access to the four week training at MJE for a 6-month period, followed by a Women’s Empowerment and Entrepreneurship breakfast once a month on a Saturday morning. The goal of the program is to provide entrepreneurship training to 50 single mothers who have CORI records, are head of household, and have an in-home business or have expressed interest in starting their own business. Throughout the  initiative, women will come together to discuss various topics, building businesses, learn from guest speakers, and network. The monthly breakfast will be structured as a pitch event, providing opportunities for networking. Each participant will receive a $500 stipend for completion to be used toward investment in their business.
Boston	New Beginnings Reentry Services, Inc.	$200,000.00	New Beginnings Reentry Services will reintegrate incarcerated & formerly incarcerated women into the community by addressing the trauma, educational, employment, healthcare, housing stability, and family/community relationship needs of women re-entering society by providing support and connection to needed services after women have been released. NBRS will mitigate the negative impacts of incarceration through educational training, workshops, art therapy, and other social supports to individual women incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, to help reduce recidivism and justice system involvement. They will work in partnership with Step Nation, Project Turnaround, and Transformational Prison Project to advance and empower women who are transitioning from traumas and imprisonment to becoming productive participants in their communities.
Springfield	New North Citizens' Council, Inc.	$86,000.00	The Nueva Visión Nuevo Trabajo Project (New Vision New Job) will provide culturally and linguistically competent workforce development services to formerly incarcerated Black and Latino Men in Springfield.  NNCC uses the Individualized Placement Support (IPS) model for workforce development to support economic advancement of Latinos in the City of Springfield. IPS is the standard evidence-based model of supported employment for helping individuals find and keep a regular paid job in the competitive labor market with at least a minimum wage. IPS is an “Employment First” approach that has found the best way to support self-sufficiency for people is to support rapid entry in to the competitive labor market integrated with support services that help people retain their jobs. The project combines the expertise and resources of two of their most successful programs to target formerly incarcerated Black and Latino Men in Springfield: (1) Nueva Vida program that currently provides Recovery-Based Re-Entry Services for Black and Latino Men in Springfield in collaboration with the Hampden County Correctional Center and (2) Mano a la Obra (Let’s Get Down to Work) program.
Boston	Partakers, Inc.	$82,000.00	Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP) strives to give people the life skills or knowledge needed to establish a productive, peaceful life when they re-enter their communities after incarceration. Participants get a laptop, headphones, and funds for clothing and basic needs. Participants enroll in a 12-week series of workshops developed by and delivered online by Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative (BEJI) instructors. Topics include computer literacy, civic re-engagement, personal financial literacy, health and wellness, professionalism (job search and workplace culture), and educational access. Each participant is matched with two volunteer navigators to link them to housing, transportation, government ID/driver's license, employment, healthcare, and other resources.
New Bedford	Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction, Inc. (PAACA)	$110,000.00	SouthCoast Re-entry Collaborative's primary goal is to promote effective and successful reentry after incarceration by establishing and maintaining pre-and post-release mentoring relationships. Through this grant, they will 1) establish the administration of the mentoring program; 2) enhance Southcoast Reentry Collaborative capacity, system efficiency, and cost-effectiveness through training, technical assistance, and other strategies; 3) provide job training, coaching, and placement and other necessary services; and 4) establish and strengthen collaborative community approaches and resources. The mentoring program incorporates evidence-based mentoring practices developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, elements of Ready4Work which include mentoring, case management, employment services, and wrap-around services, and motivational interviewing. The program will provide a holistic approach, including pre-and post-release mentoring, coordination of case management and transitional support services, and comprehensive training for mentors.
Springfield	Roca Inc.	$500,000.00	The Springfield Emerging Adult Coalition (SEAC) invests in strengthening existing collaborations between organizations providing behavioral and mental health services to young adults (age 18-25) reentering the community from incarceration. SEAC will deliver services both behind the walls and during community re-entry in order to overcome trauma and increase economic opportunities for young men and women of color living at the core of violence. The coalition will be led Roca, and will include the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department (HCSD), Springfield Police Department, Hampden District Attorney’s Office, MassHire Career Center, MA Probation Service, Springfield District court/ Emerging Adult court of Hope (EACH), Westfield District court, and the City of Springfield Parks and Recreation Department. The project will provide services to 160 high-risk young men and 40 young mothers, many of whom will be emerging from the Hampden County Correctional Center and Hampden County Pre-Release and Re-Entry Center.
Pittsfield	Second Street Second Chances, Inc.	$75,000.00	Second Street Second Chances, Inc., (2nd Street) provides a one-stop facility offering comprehensive wrap-around support services, case-management, and workforce training opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals in Berkshire County. With services such as life skills workshops, education and innovative programs to secure housing and employment, the goal is to support these individuals and their families to become contributing and productive members of their communities and break the stereotypes and stigma associated with their personal history. The grant will support the staff engaged with providing those services and build sustainability and capacity of the organization by funding planning processes and outreach material. Primary project partners are the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office, Berkshire Community College, Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority, Berkshire Health Systems, Berkshire Innovation Center, Berkshire Museum, and Community Legal Aid.
Boston	The American City Coalition (TACC)	$250,000.00	Roxbury Worx is a Roxbury-focused workforce development program that will bring the untapped talent of Roxbury’s hidden workers and middle-skills workers into the talent pipeline in three sectors: Biotech/Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Blue/Green.
Barnstable	The Cordial Eye	$75,000.00	Creative Futures Cape Cod (CFCC) is a paid internship and educational program for adults that have an interest in working within the creative economy. CFCC combines the programmatic expertise and resources of The Cordial Eye, EforAll Cape Cod, Amplify POC, Belonging Books, and Love Live Local to provide 1-1 mentorship with arts professionals on Cape Cod, a cohort-based curriculum, development of a professional network, support with developing one’s brand and business model, and a sense of community care and belonging.
Boston	The Innocent Convicts, Inc.	$300,000.00	The Innocent Convicts (TIC) will implement a workforce development project to provide job training and job placement support for citizens returning after incarceration. In partnership with  the MA Department of Corrections, among others, TIC will facilitate training programs in  information technology, construction, green energy, e-commerce, creative arts, and financial literacy.  Participants will also benefit from wraparound supports to help participants meet their basic needs, achieve stable housing, access transportation, or other needed supports.
Boston	The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce	$500,000.00	The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce (MALGBTCC), the Boston Impact Initiative (BII), Black and Pink MA (BnP), and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) are the key partners for the Coaltion for Community Empowerment project. Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ individuals have a historically fraught relationship with the criminal justice system as a result of systemic prejudice and inequity. This project seeks to mitigate the effects of these barriers through a multipronged approach that combines comprehensive assistance to incarcerated individuals who seek to reenter the workforce and paths to entrepreneurship, access to capital, small business technical assistance, and general support.
Lawrence	Top Notch Scholars, Inc.	$220,000.00	Intentional Workforce Opportunities Project to Program is a workforce development plan and experience for high school students and young adults. The projec has 3 pillars: Internship Academy, Entrepreneurship Academy and College and Career Pathways Academy. Students that are interested in the healthcare or business fields will have the opportunity to intern at Lawrence General Hospital, receive monthly life and career mentorship opportunities, and guidance from healthcare executives, doctors and administrators. Entrepreneurship interns learn about business and run the programs own product, Top Notch Water, a natural spring water that creates scholarships for inner city youth like them! Students learn and apply cold calling, door knocking, presentation and public speaking, inventory control, events management, sales, customer service, strategic thinking and planning, social media and marketing, client rebuttals, build rapport and more. their college and career pathways academy train students to learn about educational pathways relevant to their career choices. Students embark on college tours, learn about trade options and receive tangible guidance.
Lowell	UTEC, Inc	$300,000.00	This project aims to expand a continuum of social enterprise employment opportunities that create a bridge from confinement to the community for young adults and adults returning to Lowell from incarceration, with the goal of reducing recidivism and improving employability. UTEC and THRIVE Communities fill a gap in reentry services, especially for young adults who are returning from incarceration to the city of Lowell. They work in collaboration with community partners to minimize reentry barriers that may include lack of housing, substance use and mental health needs, lack of employment opportunities, and educational deficits. This project will 1) increase the meal delivery program, Madd Love Meals, to provide more meals to food insecure residents; 2) expand their mattress recycling services, and 3) increase the support services that are available for formerly incarcerated young adults and adults. UTEC specifically works with young adults up to age 25 and Thrive Communities focuses on adults over 25; together they will be able to expand a new continuum of reentry services in Lowell to avoid any interruption of services based on aging-out. UTEC’s social enterprises provide vital workforce development skills for UTEC’s young adults. THRIVE Communities has developed a unique approach to community healing and reentry that will support the THRIVE employees that UTEC hires.
Boston	We Are Better Together Warren Daniel Hairston Project	$450,000.00	COMMUNITIES PREPARED FOR RE-ENTRY PROGRAM is an intervention project working with women caregivers in the community (mothers, grandmothers, aunts) to provide support, guidance and tools specific to helping them as their children re-enter home and community. The pilot program shed light on the issues women caregivers face and the support still needed, including: mental health, community building, housing and jobs. The pilot found evidence of the need for services specific to women caregivers not supported through traditional social work programs. In response to demand, WAB2G will make available additional clinician services as well as health and wellness services. WAB2G will provide skills and mentor-advocacy training to a cohort of participants from the Pilot as they evolve into mentors to a new group of women from the community. WAB2G will work with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and Neighborhood Trauma Team (NTT-BPHC) - to deliver a holistic program for families aimed to alleviate the challenges and obstacles related to re-entry of the formerly incarcerated and provide coaching and training to address youth prevention.
Springfield	Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts	$400,000.00	In FY22, Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub partners interviewed 200 marginalized women in Greater Springfield to gain insights on their obstacles to economic security, and then prepare a white paper with the results. FY23 will see a continuation of this effort as the survey results are further analyzed, including by a peer group made up of some of the women surveyed. These women will bring their lens of lived experience to the more formal findings and analysis from UMass. Together, the community will identify action items to recommend to local leaders and service providers on ways to calibrate systems in such a way that will improve economic security for women and their families. The parallel work creating a Western Massachusetts consortium of organizations working on reentry will continue, with regular monthly meetings. This includes creating a group of program participants learning how to write proposals and make grants into the community.

FY22 Grant Recipients

Lead Applicant	City/Town	Award Amount	Project Description
Action for Boston Community Development	Boston	$100,000	The First Steps into Early Childhood Education Careers (First Steps) program prepares low-income Boston residents for high-demand jobs in Early Education and Care (EEC), with starting salaries averaging $17.31. First Steps is designed to enable a diverse population of low-income adults living in Boston, primarily unemployed or underemployed women of color, to enter the essential field of early education. First Steps training responds directly to employer requirements for preschool and infant/toddler teachers in center and home-based facilities. Participants are provided with job readiness training, and industry-standard training for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential-including the Massachusetts EEC StrongStart online curriculum, and the Child Growth and Development college course. ABCD has partnered with Urban College of Boston to help 50 program participants earn credentials that enable them to enter the field of early education.
Action for Equity	Boston	$487,910	The project strives to provide access to quality jobs for BIPOC along Boston's Fairmount Corridor by gaining access to jobs traditionally held by non-people of color such as the tech industry. The Community Pipeline to Opportunities and Quality Jobs will build on Urban Agenda grant-funded work to expand the number of excluded and disconnected residents connected to opportunities. The goal is to elevate coordinated community leadership to drive the pipeline and communicate that residents have education and skills that are transferable. By strengthening the network of community organizations working together to carry out this work and increasing access to services for returning citizens, employers and experts together will work to develop best practices for hiring people with CORIs and DEI hiring. In this short timeframe, this will contribute to connecting additional residents to quality jobs.
Agncy	Boston	$500,000	Agncy's pilot program aims to reduce justice system involvement and mitigate the negative impacts of incarceration through education and job training. Build Capacity and strengthen Boston's "Operation Exit" program to increase workforce development programming for those involved in gang violence. The co-design approach shifts power to value the creativity and lived experience of young people. They believe that this will create innovative new solutions while building youth capacity and disrupting old power structures. Agncy seeks to disrupt generational disenfranchisement, inequities in incarceration of Black and Brown youth, and high recidivism rates. Transformational Prison Project (TPP) will be lead collaborator and partner facilitator for the co-design work of this project. The goal is to impact 300 of Boston's most vulnerable and disenfranchised by the justice system.
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology	Boston	$448,855	The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology's goal through this project is to improve economic mobility through workforce development and entrepreneurship training for systematically excluded residents of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. During the six-month project period, BFIT will serve at least 100 participants, all of whom will be low-income residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, or Mattapan. Additionally, at least 70% will be people of color and an estimated 25% will be previously incarcerated or in recovery (self-disclosed).
Black Ministerial Alliance TenPoint	Boston	$483,933	BMA TenPoint and SEED Institute will conduct an innovative design program with and for youth in Boston who have a history of involvement in the juvenile justice system. They will hire 10 youth from the community, providing them with learning opportunities and training that builds their designer, facilitation, and leadership skills. The youth will engage in an intensive co-design process with Boston Medical Center community-based psychiatric and medical clinicians, and youth-serving community organizations. The goal is to break the cradle-to-prison pipeline, design "with" rather than "for" youth, and flip the narrative from young people as the beneficiaries to experts and creators of innovative interventions for their community.
Boston Uncornered	Boston	$50,000	Boston Uncornered, in coalition with the City of Boston's Office of Workforce Development and others, will provide services to active gang-involved youth and young adults to transition into agents of positive change in their communities. The Uncornered model scaffolds the best practices of mentorship with the proven success of high expectations and financial support in a universal basic income approach to ensure that youth and young adults are able to progress from a past of incarceration to a future of higher education with a goal of unlocking their brilliance and power as positive agents of peace to drive community change.   They will serve 150 Core Influencers who will be paired with one of eight full-time College Readiness Advisors. Those 150 individuals have an influence on at least 150 others within their networks, resulting in 300 individuals affected.
CommonWealth Kitchen	Boston	$375,000	CommonWealth Kitchen will organize a Massachusetts Food Show and Summit in May 2022 to showcase diverse restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and product companies. The goal is to help these Boston-area businesses raise their profiles, drive sales and recover from the deep impact of COVID on the food industry. Recruitment will come from CWK extended network of members, graduates and include food trucks, caterers, bakers and restaurants largely based in Boston. The primary target is small, independent businesses, with at least 75% operated by people of color. The show will be paired with a variety of workshops and panel sessions to provide training and professional development to food businesses, plus workshops for community leaders looking to replicate this work and/or be better trained to support food businesses in their community. The Massachusetts Food Summit will create a forum and structure for marketing training, helping businesses secure sales to drive economic recovery, and deepen values-aligned industry connections aimed at strengthening our diverse food business community and meeting a mission of a new food economy grounded in racial, social and economic justice.
Community Work Services (CWS)	Boston	$500,000	Starting prior to their release, CWS will support the re-employment of currently incarcerated individuals through reintegration services focused on employment re-entry.  CWS will provide 8-week vocational trainings in Commercial Cleaning or Forklift Operations/Customer Service onsite at Suffolk County correctional facilities. Upon release, individuals come to CWS to complete a 2-week job readiness training program. Following job training, individuals will complete a 1-week financial literacy course. Career coaching, job placement, and case management services will also be provided. Upon completion of each training segment, individuals will receive a stipend. This innovative program will seamlessly integrate behind the wall training and post-release job readiness and placement services. Partner Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) will provide legal assistance with Criminal Offender Record information (CORI) related barriers.
Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation	Boston	$407,377	Boston Workforce & Reentry Coalition's project will create a comprehensive onramp for socially and economically disadvantaged residents and returning citizens in Boston's most underserved neighborhoods so that they can create a gratifying, economically viable, and socially constructive life. Coalition partners Project Place, Tufts MyTERN program, Charlestown Adult Education, and MassHIRE Downtown Boston Career Center/Jewish Vocational Services will work together to create a comprehensive service inventory and inter-agency referral outreach system. Partners will deliver direct services to 592 Boston residents and returning citizens who will receive pre-to-post employment counseling and social, public, and mental health resources and 447 citizens who will participate in training programs to increase growing industry job-qualifying skills.
Dreamcatcher Initiative	Boston	$75,000	Dreamcatcher Initiative, Inc. will provide three programs for underserved youth ages 15-25 in Boston whose life experiences have been affected by adverse factors, including involvement in the justice system. DreamCutz intervenes in the lives of justice-involved youths and reduces recidivism by promoting entrepreneurship through barbering. POWER (Preparing Our Women for Everyday Readiness) is a series of conversations and workshops in partnership with high schools that help young women address the ebbs and flows of everyday life. Educating Dreamers (E-Dreamers) is a pilot program that will introduce entrepreneurial skills to system-impacted youth with CORIs.
English for New Bostonians	Boston	$500,000	The Immigrant Economic Recovery & Resilience Initiative (IERRI) will boost economic outcomes for limited English speaking workers and entrepreneurs. IERRI will inject job coaching into Boston's grassroots ESOL system and boost capacity for employment and digital literacy ESOL at 7 agencies in East Boston, Dorchester, Allston, Roxbury. IERRI targets needs identified by ESOL students/staff to prep limited English speakers for business ownership, employment, advancement.
Family Nurturing Center of Mass.	Boston	$112,235	The established neighborhood collaborative, Bowdoin Geneva Alliance (BGA), will address the social determinants of health within the Bowdoin Geneva neighborhood of Dorchester, an area at disproportionately high risk of criminal legal system involvement and incarceration. The project will support the member agencies of the BGA in their efforts to decrease residents' likelihood of criminal legal system involvement through education, increased access to community resources, and social capital. Support from EOHED will support existing and new programs designed to engage the community, provide nurturing alternatives to gang involvement or incarceration, and connect residents to the resources they need.
G{Code}	Boston	$242,360	G{Code}'s project serves women and nonbinary people of color interested in the tech sector in Boston. The project's first goal to scale up their introduction-to-tech programming to run four cohorts per year (from two cohorts per year), serving 80+ individuals per year. The project's second goal is to complete the build out of an 1800 square foot tech center and incubation space. There, they hope to serve 14 individuals through the co-living space, with 93% acquiring jobs in tech before transitioning out of the co-living component. With an open concept and empowering design that affirms the presence of communities of color, this space will be home to both their introductory programming and to personal and professional development workshops as well as other events open to the public. The third goal is to cultivate a lasting community that promotes belonging, safety, and personal and professional development for all G{Code} participants and members of the larger Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan neighborhoods.
Greater Boston Latino Network	Boston	$400,000	Greater Boston Latino Network's College & Career Pathways Initiative will connect 250 young people ages 14-21 from Boston's Latinx community to free year-round holistic career readiness and postsecondary success programming. The Greater Boston Latino Network outlined three main goals: 1) Youth successfully transition to high school and are on-track for high school graduation, 2) Youth experience successful transitions to and persistence in postsecondary education, 3) Youth strengthen social-emotional competencies that supports success in middle and high school and postsecondary educational and professional goals
Hispanic-American Institute	Boston	$350,000	The Hispanic-American Institute's East Boston-focused project has two primary goals: 1) engage, train and mentor East Boston youth who are vulnerable to dropping out of high school and lack the required skills for employment, and 2) bolster the business capacity, English and technological skills of the immigrant business owners thereby creating employment opportunities for the youth and residents of East Boston. The intensive Summer Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Program, The Dancing Elotes, integrates arts and culture with business education and practical entrepreneurial experience. Up to 20 youth 15–18-year-old Latinx immigrants from East Boston will participate in this project-based learning activity that will run 20 hours per week for 6-weeks. Youth will be trained to run the business from July through November 2022. Partners on this project will be East Boston Chamber of Commerce, Main Streets of East Boston and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development.
Justice For Housing Inc	Boston	$210,000	Stable Housing and Reintegration Pilot Program (SHARPP) will ensure stable housing for formerly incarcerated BIPOC parents returning to their communities, using Section 8 vouchers provided through a partnership with the Boston Housing Authority. Participants receive comprehensive, peer-led case management and re-entry support, including homeownership education. Upon graduation from SHARPP, participants will have an opportunity to enroll in BHA's Self Sufficiency Program, with a goal of homeownership. This approach builds community assets & stability, addressing economic inequities and re-investing in BIPOC communities targeted by mass incarceration.
Local Enterprise Assistance Fund	Boston	$475,000	Supporting Equitable Enterprise Development (SEED) is a coordinated approach between a BIPOC-led Boston Community Development Financial  Institution (LEAF), Boston Medical Center, and a non-profit community-based organization, Dudley Neighborhood Initiative. Together they will develop a system to support wealth creation by BIPOC owned small businesses in a severely underserved small business district in Boston: the triangle between Nubian Square, Upham's Corner and Grove Hall districts of Roxbury and Dorchester and adjacent vicinity. This project strives to increase the accessibility of business resources in the community by providing low-cost financing and free of charge technical assistance.
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute	Boston	$128,700	This Dorchester project will launch an innovative entrepreneurship training program for young people aged 14-22, designed to spark their career visions and motivate them to pursue their goals through academic achievement and practical work experience. Their approach will use a "flipped classroom" model of learning, where instead of classroom lectures and at-home homework and problem solving, video content can be viewed by the participants on their own time, while in-person instruction focuses on problem solving and discussion. Course materials will highlight the experience of MBK617 mentors and leaders who have started their own businesses, as well as mentors from the Fairmount Innovation Lab's network, giving the participants many real examples of Black and POC entrepreneurs from their own community to look to for mentoring and inspiration.
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute	Boston	$157,192	The Community Reentry Services Program is a three-year comprehensive program that specifically targets high recidivism and aims to provide guidance, mentorship, resources, mental and emotional health services, and training to prisoners from Massachusetts Houses of Correction. With an initial focus on Suffolk and Plymouth Houses of Correction, the program assists these individuals in returning to society, preventing recidivism and keeping them out of prison, and building a life they feel is worth living. Nine men are currently enrolled in CRSP, 12 more will enroll in 2022, and 15 more in 2023.
Massachusetts Community Action Network	Boston	$100,000	Massachusetts Community Action Network's Greater Boston Re-entry Task Force Project will bring together many organizations to create two reentry resource fairs and a reentry summit and thereby expand workforce development and supportive services resources for assisting returning citizens with a successful transition back to the community.
Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce	Boston	$1,000,000	The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce (MALGBTCC), the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) have long been champions of justice in the Commonwealth. The proposed program will run from January to June of 2022 and service Boston and Easthampton. MALGBTCC, BECMA and LCR will work with existing community partners to widen the reach to 2000 more Black, Brown and LGBTQ+ businesses and individuals who will engage in their services and programs, strengthen 250 Black, Brown, and LGBTQ businesses, and work with a subset of 250 of these individuals with one-on-one coaching. They will also launch a pilot re-entry program in collaboration with the MA Department of Correction, Pink and Black, the City of Boston, the city of Easthampton and the Suffolk County District Attorney.
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition	Boston	$100,000	Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition's Trans Leadership Academy strives to create a new generation of intersectional and multigenerational transgender leaders, work to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline for transgender individuals, and create new opportunities for transgender individuals in employment and education. The primary means to accomplish these goals are workforce development, community support, mentoring and training, and material and financial support. MTPC will host virtual focus groups and informational sessions throughout MA with members of the trans community who are BIPOC, system-impacted, or returning from incarceration to learn more about specific areas of interest and workforce development needs. The second phase will focus on program development. MTPC, the MA Transgender Emergency Fund, and Black and Pink will recruit a cohort of community members to develop a curriculum based on the information gathered from the focus groups. The final phase focuses on participant recruitment and program launch.
Maverick Landing Community Services	Boston	$103,460	Maverick Landing Community Services will lead this workforce development project to support digital literacy, job seeking, coaching and emotional support for adults who have been impacted by trauma due to former incarceration, multi-generational complex poverty trauma, or trauma that has resulted from immigration, adaptation, and previous worker exploitation. MLCS has been working with lead partners the Mutual Aid Eastie (MAE), the Transformational Prison Project (TPP), and the EBNHC Neighborhood Trauma Team (NTT) since the onset of the pandemic to provide supportive services in the form of housing and food assistance and support coordination of monthly peace circles led by the TPP and the NTT.
MissionSAFE: A New Beginning	Boston	$500,000	MissionSAFE: 6-month pilot program will offer a wraparound, life changing work with 24 formerly incarcerated and court-involved individuals between the ages of 18-24. By the end of their intensive six months, participants will have a job, apprenticeship or be placed in an advanced job training situation. They will become used to contributing to their communities, and being in healthy relationships with those they care about. If successful, this model will become a pipeline for ongoing, systemic collaboration among community partners and collaborators, customized around assessment of individual and community strengths, needs and improvement activities.
More Than Words	Boston	$492,531	More Than Words's Job Training and Education Pathways program will support young people between the ages of  16 and 24 in Boston with previous justice system involvement and those at high risk of future involvement due to homelessness, foster care involvement, or other risk factors. MTW, X-Cel Education, DUET, NECAT, and the City of Boston will collaborate to provide the job training, case management, career coaching, warm hand-offs, and supportive relationships our youth need to continue making progress in education, work, and life. The partnership will support 95% of youth to earn or be on track to earn their high school credential, 75% to be working, and 55% of currently justice-involved youth to have no involvement with the criminal justice system upon completion of programming.
New Beginnings Reentry Services, Inc.	Boston	$700,000	This pilot program New Beginnings "In-Reach" and Outreach" Project will provide the opportunity for community-based reentry services agency to meet with 30 incarcerated women in MCI Framingham before their release. The project includes informal informational sessions to educate clients about post-release services, including formal interviews to determine acceptance of clients into programs before release, and the provision of programming in the jail.
Partakers, Inc.	Boston	$75,000	The Partakers Empowerment Program, in partnership with Brandeis University's Educational Justice Initiative (BEDJI) is working with cohorts of recently released women and men in Boston, offering a 12-week program of six workshops in life skills such as technology (computer literacy) personal financial literacy, civic re-engagement, self-care, professional skills (job hunting, resume writing, workplace etiquette, etc.), along with stipends for clothing, transportation, and basic household necessities. Referrals to appropriate social service and government agencies are also provided. The goal of the project is to ease the transition from life "inside" a prison to life "outside," and thereby eliminate or minimize recidivism among those who participate in the Partakers Empowerment Program.
STRIVE Boston	Boston	$250,930	STRIVE's project, The Next Step, will target over 100 unemployed/underemployed residents of Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury to assess their employment/advancement needs and directly link them with STRIVE services and or JVS coaching. For those re-entering the workforce, STRIVE will provide job readiness training, wraparound support and linkage to jobs or further training leading to a credential.
The People's Academy	Boston	$803,966	The People's Academy - Training to Work to Live program will collaborate with Pacc Global and MissionSafe to train, provide employment, and address all issues mentally and physically. The project will target 20 high risk individuals from ages 16-30 that live in Brockton, Dorchester and Roxbury. They will gain training in a pre-apprenticeship program with opportunities for employment, community members and gain resources to address their physical and mental health, and participate in a mentorship program that will add on to a lifetime level of success.
The Transgender Emergency Fund of Mass.	Boston	$277,922	The Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts will launch a pilot program to house 4-6 individuals and provide them with wrap-around services for up to a year. TEF will partner with organizations like Black and Pink MA and the MA Chamber of Commerce to provide culturally competent services including financial aid for essential items, hormone treatment, transportation to medical appointments, support groups and individual counseling. By the end of this program, TEF will secure each tenant meaningful employment and permanent housing to enable them to live independent lives.
Transformational Prison Project	Boston	$399,197	The "Community Healing through Restorative Justice" coalition will provide jobs and support to five formerly incarcerated, system-impacted "Fellows" and engage Fellows to provide Restorative Justice programming to encourage community mental health and healing. The coalition will support neighborhoods of Boston, Charlestown, East Boston and Roxbury.
Urban League of Eastern Mass.	Boston	$100,000	Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts' MSIMBO Coding Academy is a full stack coding program that is provided free to adult students who qualify as low-income and live in the Roxbury community. It focuses on attracting black and brown students that have an interest in and aptitude for careers in IT. MSIMBO consists of 20 weeks of full time, 5 days a week intensive coding training. Along with job search training, such as resume writing & interviewing skills. Each student will be assigned with job placement counseling that extends 60 days after hiring.
We Are Better Together Warren Daniel Hairston Project	Boston	$321,000	We Are Better Together's pilot program will reduce recidivism by providing prevention workshops for young women, along with capacity building of caregivers training. With the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and the BPHC Neighborhood Trauma Team, they will deliver a holistic program for Boston families to alleviate the challenges and obstacles within families of re-entering children. They will provide support and guidance specific to avoid re-entry into the justice system. Three cohorts for caregivers and youth will be trained and there will be a final retreat with intense mentoring, counseling, and coaching.
YouthBuild Boston	Boston	$185,000	YouthBuild Boston operates two vocational training programs with goals of getting young people in the greater Boston area employed in careers in the Build Trades: The Building Trades Exploration Program & the Pre-Apprentice Program. Construction companies in Boston are looking to fill an ever-growing number of open positions in the industry with a young, diverse workforce that facilitates their compliance with The Boston Plan. YBB provides training that helps to fill this skill and demographic gap in the construction industry in Boston, this grant funding will allow YBB to improve and expand upon these two programs.
ZUMIX	Boston	$500,000	ZUMIX is committed to empowering young people through artistic expression, academic support, and creative workforce development so that young people can stay and thrive in the neighborhood. Working with East Boston High School and Eastie Farm, ZUMIX will build new connections between young people and leverage shared cultural spaces to provide creative and green jobs. The goal is to expand young people's economic opportunities and welcome a more sustainable, entrepreneurial, and connected East Boston.
Brockton Interfaith Community	Brockton	$318,003	Brockton Interfaith Community – Brockton's Community-Owned Enterprise Initiative for Equitable Growth would create a template for community wealth building over the long-term, through the development of cooperative enterprises. By launching cooperatives in affordable housing and construction, the pilot program would address some of the most pressing economic issues in Brockton, such as housing insecurity, a lack of jobs with dignity, and numerous buildings in need of replacement or repair.
Chelsea Business Foundation	Chelsea	$500,000	Chelsea Business Foundation, INC proposes three strategies to mitigate covid effects, and to help Latino and small businesses in Chelsea to recover, grow, and advance. Inflation Mitigation will provide 10-15 qualifying businesses with financial assistance on high inflation items to buffer the financial risk. Digital Empowerment consist of developing the "Chispa BizLab-VR Portal," where businesses will have access to resources, such as, recapturing pre-covid customers, expending to broader markets, and business model shift to incorporate a robust digital strategy. Lastly, one on one technical assistance in key areas to allow businesses to focus on their core business needs.
HarborCOV	Chelsea	$369,651	HarborCOV's partnership with Chelsea Legal Services (CLS) will provide responsive, survivor-informed legal representation for survivors of domestic violence experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The participants of this project will be survivors of domestic violence living in Chelsea. These survivors are often impacted by disproportionate barriers to stable housing due to poverty and abuse, housing discrimination, past criminal justice involvement, safety concerns, eviction history, and employment and workforce challenges.
Hispanic-American Institute	Chelsea	$354,450	The Hispanic-American Institute's Minority Enterprise Center will engage existing and new businesses in downtown Chelsea, including up to 8 restaurant owners, 4 retail clothing and discount stores, 6 supermarket owners, 4 beauty salons and barber shops, 4 multiservice agencies and 4 emerging businesses. One-on-one counseling sessions will be held, with up to 10 to 20 hours of counseling services provided by the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce members. The multiplier effect of this project will consist of attracting new visitors to Chelsea's downtown, particularly from the new hotels and large enterprises that surround the Broadway business district. The project aims to increase customer traffic to the downtown by 15% to 25%.
La Colaborativa	Chelsea	$700,735	La Colaborativa and the Good Jobs Coalition supports Chelsea residents aspiring to secure jobs with livable wages, benefits, and viable pathways out of poverty and beyond the criminal justice system. Through training and mentoring along with opportunities for internship and apprenticeships, program participants will have the ability to build a better financial future. The Coalition's project includes piloting a new program, creating a strategic plan, and expanding their existing services to reach more people in need. Among the project's broad plans are having 18 youth complete 24 weeks of job readiness and be placed in paid internships and 200 adults receive workforce development training, among many others.
MassNOW	Fall River	$149,410	The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women (MassNOW) pilot program will provide free menstrual products in Fall River schools, shelters and community centers. By launching Period Pop Ups to distribute products for free where community members can easily access free menstrual products and other hygiene items. 18-25 peer leaders will manage the pop ups, facilitate menstrual education workshops at community sites, and build leadership skills. These leaders will be at risk young adults recruited from youth serving organizations.
Fitchburg State University	Fitchburg	$417,270	ReImagine North of Main (RNOM) will build on its successful revitalization partnership in Fitchburg with the City of Fitchburg, Fitchburg State University, NewVue Communities CDC, Fitchburg Art Museum, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. (NCMDC), and the MDFA TDI Partnership to reach the ever-growing Small Business ecosystem in Fitchburg. The partners will focus on 1) Small Business & Entrepreneurship Development, and 2) Neighborhood & Commercial District Vibrancy as part of Fitchburg's growing arts and culture economy in one of the most diverse, yet distressed, neighborhoods in North Central Massachusetts
South Middlesex Opportunity Council	Framingham	$50,266	South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. seeks funding for a Re-entry Specialist at the Common Ground Resource Center (CGRC) in downtown Framingham. The Specialist will support 25-30 individuals re-entering society after involvement with the criminal justice system, help reduce the losses they faced during this time, and ultimately prevent future criminal justice system involvement.
Stone Soup Cafe	Greenfield	$300,000	Stone Soup Café operates as a Pay-What-You-Can Café, a socio-entrepreneurial model that invites all members of the community to dine in. All meals are free and store goods are available at no charge. Guests can contribute what they choose for their meals into a donation box. With funding, the Stone Soup Café will continue current operations as well as create a curriculum for a formal culinary arts institute. The institute will provide hands-on training and course work that enables the successful participant the opportunity to earn a nationally recognized kitchen manager certification.
Enlace de Familias de Holyoke	Holyoke	$451,427	Enlace de Familias de Holyoke Inc. aims to provide training opportunities and support that will advance equity and increase economic success for a historically underrepresented population. Coalition members Enlace de Familias, Holyoke Public Schools, MassHire Holyoke and Eforall will work with youth who have dropped out of school, who are at risk of dropping out, or who are out of school and unemployed, as well as reaching out to younger youth of middle school age. The program will serve downtown neighborhoods of Holyoke (Wards 1-4).
Lawrence Family Development	Lawrence	$260,000	Lawrence Family Development's Gang Resistance Intervention Team uses organized drop in basketball programming to target high risk boys and girls living in Lawrence. In partnership with LFD's SISU program and the Suenos Basketball program, GRIT provides life skills, leadership, and social emotional supports as well as targeted academic assistance and parent outreach for young people ages 12-16.
Lowell Community Loan Fund	Lawrence	$500,000	Lowell Community Loan Fund/MCCI is advancing the work of four small Lawrence based business development organizations, Mill Cities Community Investments, EparaTodos Lawrence, TLE Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, and community-based social services partners. They work with historically underserved and under resourced communities, including communities of color, very low income, immigrant, and formerly incarcerated populations. The coalition expects to train, educate, support, and finance over 100 community members seeking to pursue an entrepreneurship path, and to remove the barriers in their way. This project recognizes that small business ownership and its wealth creation potential have the power to help close the wealth gap and disparities.
Troubled Waters	Lowell	$352,000	Troubled Waters/The Bridge Club of Greater Lowell's proposed project will leverage and expand existing partnerships with the Middlesex County's District Attorney's Office, the Middlesex Sheriff's Office, local employers, and other key stakeholders, to provide employment opportunities, addiction and recovery related support, access to housing, and clothing support, to individuals following a period of incarceration or sentencing to supervised probation. 80 underrepresented individuals will be enrolled over a six-month period, approximately 50% will be post-release from the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction, the remaining 50% under supervised probation out of the Lowell District Court. Participants from minority groups, those with substance use disorders, and unemployed offenders will be prioritized for this opportunity. Key goals include ensuring that at least 90% of participants are gainfully employed within 90 days and that 91.5% of participants do not recidivate or increase their criminal justice involvement.
UTEC	Lowell	$500,000	UTEC's Circling Home project aims to provide community-driven programming that creates a bridge from confinement into the community for youth returning to Lowell from incarceration, with the goal to reduce recidivism and incarceration. The services are based on evidence-based programming within a developmentally appropriate setting and an established history of collaboration, which includes intensive street outreach to high-impact gang leaders and in reach to youth in correctional facilities, in partnership with local correctional partners.
Building Audacity	Lynn	$100,000	Building Audacity's On The Grow program will hire and train 50 youth to grow produce using the hydroponic method. Youth will learn how to start a business, develop a product, and work in the Building Audacity mobile pantry to distribute food to 650 low-income families throughout the Greater Boston area. Target participating youth will be from Boston and Lynn, are state involved, court involved, low income, and/or have dropped out of school.
Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction	New Bedford	$200,000	Positive Action Against Chemical Addiction and the Southcoast Reentry Collaborative Community Empowerment Project's goal is to promote more effective and successful reentry for offenders by establishing and maintaining pre-and post-release mentoring relationships. Key objectives include: 1) establishing the administration of the proposed mentoring program, including the expansion of mentoring strategies and program design, 2) enhancing the Southcoast Reentry Collaborative capacity and system efficiency, 3) promoting cost-effective community-based reentry programming through training, technical assistance, employment, and other strategies, 4) improving outcomes for offenders in the mentoring program by establishing and strengthening collaborative community approaches.
Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices	North Andover	$55,000	The Merrimack Valley Black & Brown Business Advancement project aims to create individual, social, and environmental change so black and brown entrepreneurs and youth living in North Andover can gain financial literacy skills, start or grow their business, and thrive in community.  The project plans to 1) Work in partnership with the North Andover Youth and Recreation Services to offer financial literacy and entrepreneurship building opportunities for BIPOC high school youth, 2) Work in partnership with the Town of North Andover to secure outdoor and indoor spaces for monthly Winter/Spring 2022 Black and Brown Owned Business Markets, 3) Provide BIPOC entrepreneurs in North Andover with opportunities to be a vendor (at no cost) at the Black and Brown Owned Business Markets, 4) Work in partnership with North Andover CAM to launch a media campaign highlighting BIPOC business owners and youth leaders in North  Andover, 5) Connect BIPOC entrepreneurs with local resources (i.e. utilizing the  Merrimack Valley Strong database) to help them grow and scale their businesses.
Berkshire Community College	Pittsfield	$240,300	Berkshire Community College proposes to launch the Second Street Second Chances (SSSC) initiative. A one-stop facility that will offer comprehensive wrap-around support services, case-management, and workforce training opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals in order to reduce rates of recidivism in Berkshire County. Berkshire Community College in partnership with the Berkshire County House of Correction, and the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office will work together to provide integrated support services that will help to provide the encouragement, motivation, basic life skills, and life-long learning educational opportunities to former inmates as they seek to successfully re-enter their communities as productive citizens.
Association of Black Business and Professionals	Springfield	$293,500	Association of Black Business and Professionals - Same Sky Venture project will work with black and brown individuals from Springfield who are new and existing entrepreneurs to provide educational, behavioral, and financial resources to start low-risk, low buy-in businesses that will have a vital impact in their communities. Common business models include barber shops/hair and nail salons, landscaping, and cleaning crews. These models are low risk because the start-up capital and ongoing operation expenses are low, increasing the chance of survival.
EDC 413Works	Springfield	$400,000	EDC 413Works, Inc.'s Springfield WORKS strives to mitigate the negative impacts of incarceration in Springfield by launching a cohort of organizations that represent diverse sectors of the social service and educational community, providing mini-grants, designing, and collecting needs assessment information, and applying this information to address gaps in service delivery to families impacted by incarceration and improve residents' workforce participation.
Hampden County Deputy Sheriff's Charitable Foundation	Springfield	$460,620	Hampden County Honorary Deputy Association Charitable Foundation Inc. will create a transitional employment program targeting formerly incarcerated individuals, disenfranchised job seekers, and homeless populations. The Foundation will provide daily employment and wages focusing on achieving self-sufficiency through full-time employment. The Foundation, in collaboration with the City of Springfield, Friends of the Homeless, MassHire, Springfield Works and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, will focus on communities with high rates on incarceration and documented poverty.
Hispanic-American Institute	Springfield	$261,100	Hispanic-American Institute - The local Springfield Coalition is looking to meet the needs of at-risk youth and minority business owners by supporting language skills, basic computer skills classes, the opportunity to receive a high school diploma equivalency, and providing one-on-one business advisory services. Our approach to helping existing and aspiring entrepreneurs is unique and comprehensive. We have assembled a cross-sectoral team consisting of an experienced bilingual and bi-cultural business consulting team, training. They are "connecting the dots" by creating a comprehensive program that will provide 20 – 25 Latino and minority business owners with youth seeking employment and give business owner participants with knowledge and tools to start or grow their businesses.
New North Citizens' Council	Springfield	$81,493	New North Citizens' Council (NNCC) Nueva Visión Nuevo Trabajo project will combine the expertise and resources of two existing programs to target formerly incarcerated Black and Latino men in Springfield with their proven service model that increases workforce participation, builds on collaborations with Black and Latino owned businesses, and strengthens families and the neighborhoods where they live. The project will implement comprehensive, evidence-based, re-entry workforce services that are integrated with recovery supports and social services to ensure participants have a pathway to become productive and responsible citizens. To accomplish this NNCC will leverage our current partnerships with Hampden County Correctional Center, workforce and economic development institutions, human services providers network, and neighborhood leaders to provide participants with the services and resources to support them in getting a job and keeping their job.
Pioneer Valley Workers Center	Springfield	$155,000	Pioneer Valley Workers Center – Creciendo Liderazgo y Poder program aims to train workers in organizing skills to advance workers’ rights, community health, and economic opportunities, and decrease arrests and incarceration. CLP is an eight-part training series offered initially to 20 Springfield Worker Committee members at the Brightwood Baystate Health Center in Springfield, with childcare, meals and a stipend provided.
Women's Fund of Western Mass.	Springfield	$419,875	Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts's Greater Springfield Women's Economic Security Hub focuses on marginalized and economically disadvantaged women to understand their obstacles to stability. Interconnected determinants (identified by service providers brought together by the Women's Fund) such as internet access, housing, childcare, etc., will be used to survey a sample of women, mostly of color and living at or below the poverty line, to inform a report. The project will also develop paper materials in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese to refer survey participants to local resources to address needs uncovered by the survey. Providers and women interviewed will be compensated for insights.
Community Action for Safe Alternatives	Winthrop	$70,000	Community Action for Safe Alternatives' Social Justice Action Group is a year-long leadership and advocacy training program in Winthrop that provides young people with an antiracist framework to support the development of tangible advocacy skills in community organizing, social media messaging, and trauma recovery. The Social Justice Action Group synthesized material from various evidence-informed materials to empower young people in Winthrop to create equitable and positive change in their community.
Black Excellence Academy/Charles Houston Cultural Project	Worcester	$50,000	Black Excellence Academy/Charles Houston Cultural Project, Inc. is an out of school program for 50 Worcester Public School students in grades 1 - 6. The year-long program runs concurrently with the Worcester Public School calendar. The goals of the program are to support working families; accelerate academic performance in ELA and math; expose students to various aspects of STEM with hands-on activities; and enrich knowledge and appreciation of Black history and culture.
Centro Las Americas	Worcester	$382,600	Centro Las Americas, Inc.'s Towards Financial Empowerment program is a bi-lingual community collaboration for Worcester’s historically disproportionately affected communities, to leverage resources, form greater learning opportunities, including for those affected by incarceration, to overcome barriers to economic stability, from housing to entrepreneurship. The program will facilitate successful evidence-based learning, wraparound services, and provide socio-emotional and cultural support post Covid-19 by improving financial literacy, creating new entrepreneurs, support existing businesses and building up families and community. Roughly 45 students will participate in the Start Up and 3 Venture Growth classes. Another 20-25 students will enroll into the CENTRO Financial Empowerment Education and Coaching 8-week course.
Friendly House	Worcester	$63,301	"I, Too" is a collaboration between Friendly House, local business leaders, departments of state and local government and the Worcester Public Schools, to provide 20 young people ages 13 to 17 who are at heightened risk of criminal justice system involvement with a positive role model whom will help to guide, empower, and inspire them.
Living in Freedom Together	Worcester	$491,740	Living In Freedom Together's (LIFT) Building Real Action for Viable Employment (BRAVE) program will provide job training and skill building in Worcester for survivors of the sex trade along with program partner, Latin American Health Alliance (LAHA). The grant will act as seed funding for LIFT to train program participants from LIFT and LAHA to operate a Coffee Truck which LIFT will purchase and outfit. The grant will additionally aid LAHA in establishing an Automotive Garage (the Garage) where the Truck will be kept and maintained.