Barr Awards $17 Million in Second Quarter of 2019

At its second board meeting of 2019, the Barr Foundation Board of Trustees approved grants totaling $13 million, in addition to nearly $4 million approved since the March board meeting. We are pleased to highlight some of our partners and their work below.

In Education, Barr awarded 23 grants totaling $8 million. With Engage New England, new grants will continue the initiative’s aims to develop new educational models for students off-track to graduate high school. Four grants totaling $750,000 will support Engage New England Cohort 2’s continued planning and piloting of redesigned school models. Below are the four Cohort 2 organizations:

• Somerville Public Schools, Somerville, MA, for the planning and redesign of Next Wave/Full Circle High School
• Fall River Public Schools, Fall River, MA, for the planning and redesign of Resiliency Preparatory Academy
• Phoenix Charter Academy Foundation, Inc., Lawrence, MA, for the planning and redesign of Phoenix Charter Academy Lawrence
• Roger Williams University, Providence, RI, for the planning and redesign of University High School

Last fall, we announced an RFP for the third and final cohort of Engage New England. Cohort 3 has demonstrated the interest, vision, and capacity to take on the planning and design of exemplary schools and programs for students who are off-track to graduate. Four grants totaling $600,000 will support the organizations below in planning and design:

• Boston Educational Development Foundation, Inc., Boston, MA, for the redesign of Boston Adult Technical Academy
• Brockton Public Schools, Brockton, MA, for the design of Promise High School
• Holyoke Public Schools, Holyoke, MA, for the design of Opportunity Academy
• Sheila C. Skip Nowell Leadership Academy, Providence, RI, for the redesign of Sheila C. Skip Nowell Leadership Academy

New grants will continue the work of the Wider Learning Ecosystem (WLE), a project to support the creation of flexible, student-centered high schools that blend the lines between high school, college, career and community across New England. Seven grants totaling $3.5 million will provide three-year implementation grants to redesign school models. Below are the seven WLE high schools:

• Blackstone Academy Charter, Rhode Island, for the redesign of Blackstone Academy Charter School
• Great Schools Partnerships, Inc., Maine, for the redesign of Nokomis Regional High School
• Manchester School District, New Hampshire, for the redesign of Manchester West High School
• Manchester Public Schools, Connecticut, for the redesign of Manchester High School
• New Haven Ecology Project, Inc., Connecticut, for the redesign of Common Ground High School
• Somerville Public Schools, Massachusetts, for the redesign of Somerville High School
• Winooski School Department, Vermont, for the redesign of Winooski Middle High School

In Climate, Barr awarded 15 grants totaling $7.3 million. In Clean Energy, a $300,000 grant to Clean Energy Group will support the deployment of energy storage in Massachusetts through advocacy, education, and collaboration with key stakeholders in the region. A $100,000 grant to the American Farmland Trust will accelerate smart solar siting and programs. American Farmland Trust is working in collaboration with Acadia Center, Conservation Law Foundation, and Vote Solar to advance solar energy facilities while protecting our region’s productive, resilient farm and forest land. In Mobility, a $2 million grant to the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition will support its statewide policy education efforts to improve and modernize transportation. A $1 million grant to Community Labor United (CLU) will support its transit justice advocacy. CLU will continue to convene community and labor partners for its statewide Public Transit-Public Good campaign to advocate for an equitable transit system. In Resilience and Special Initiatives, a $700,000 grant to Mystic River Watershed Association will advance its efforts to enhance climate resilient infrastructure, greenways, and community engagement on the waterfront.

In Sector Effectiveness, Barr awarded two grants totaling $98,500. A $60,000 grant to Independent Sector will support scholarships for 20 Massachusetts nonprofit professionals to attend the 2019 Upswell national conference as Upswell Fellows in Chicago. Upswell Fellows will attend the conference and expand their network, gain new knowledge, and engage in immersive opportunities to create positive impacts in their communities and beyond.