Hear from staff and partners about aspirations, accomplishments, and lessons learned along the way.

Massachusetts Named Most Energy Efficient State (Again)

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Mariella Puerto

Co-Director of Climate

For the second year in a row, Massachusetts nabbed the number spot on a list ranking states by their energy efficiency initiatives. In this post, Senior Program Officer Mariella Puerto talks to Ian Bowles, former Secretary of Energy and Environment for Massachusetts, and Jeremy McDiarmid, Massachusetts Director at Environment Northeast, to find out what this designation means, how Massachusetts got it, and what it will take to keep the momentum going.

October 30, 2012 | Category: Climate

Barr Announces Awards to 15 Boston Arts Organizations That Support Young People

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E. San San Wong

Director of Arts & Creativity

We are pleased to introduce a second cohort of Boston arts organizations to receive support from Barr and the Klarman Family Foundation under a new capacity-building grants program aimed at enhancing the artistic quality and long-term strength of organizations that support young people in achieving mastery in an art form.

October 24, 2012 | Category: Arts & Creativity

The Little Cities that Could (and Did and Are...)

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Mariella Puerto

Co-Director of Climate

A new approach in greater Boston is showing early promise accelerating efforts to save money and reduce our carbon footprint.

October 02, 2012 | Category: Climate

Authentic Relationships and Unintended Consequence

Pat Brandes

Guest Author · Former Executive Director

What would it take for a group of nonprofit leaders to be honest, open, and trusting enough with a funder to really share their wisdom—even their critiques of strategy and of how philanthropy works? For Barr, the answer was a happy accident of another challenge we were trying to address.

September 25, 2012 | Category: Barr Fellowship

A Double Bottom Line Win in Massachusetts

mariella puerto brick headshot 2019

Mariella Puerto

Co-Director of Climate

Some low-income residents can spend up to 40% of their incomes on energy and that building emissions are unnecessarily high.

September 18, 2012 | Category: Climate

Marion M. Kane

Pat Brandes

Guest Author · Former Executive Director

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Marion Kane, Barr’s first executive director, passed away Monday night in Falmouth, Maine.

August 23, 2012 | Category: Barr News

On Indigenous Leadership

What does it take to create a community that meets all the needs of its residents—a place rich in local resources that enhance health and safety, a place that provides people with a strong sense of connection to one another, and a place that celebrates life and hope through civic engagement, arts, and culture?

July 17, 2012 | Category: Arts & Creativity

Announcing Barr's New Senior Program Officer for the Arts

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Stefan Lanfer

Director of Communications

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Roxbury native San San Wong as Senior Program Officer in the Arts...

June 15, 2012 | Category: Arts & Creativity

The Currency of Social Change

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Stefan Lanfer

Director of Communications

A new Stanford Social Innovation Review case study featuring the Barr Fellowship explores the surprising return on an investment in relationships among social change leaders—even without set expectations or requirements about what might emerge as a result.

May 17, 2012 | Category: Barr Fellowship

Barr Announces Awards to 15 Boston Arts Organizations Under New Grant Program

Can you imagine Boston without its vibrant cultural life? We can't, either. Yet, a difficult economy and the departure of several longtime arts funders have created a "new normal" for arts in Boston. After many conversations with arts grantees about how best to respond, Barr is taking a new approach to its arts grantmaking—providing deeper, longer-term support for cohorts of mid-sized arts organizations.

April 17, 2012 | Category: Arts & Creativity