Page 29 - BusinessWest February 21, 2022

• “Community Foundation Deepens Partnership to Support BIPOC Arts and Creativity Across Massachusetts” (Oct. 20, 2021); and
• “Community Foundation Announces $150,000 Grant to Healing Racism Institute” (June 10, 2021).
Funding for these projects and so many others have increased significantly during the pandemic, Zobel said. “It’s an anomaly, but people have really been incredibly generous. We’ve even received a lot of contributions from outside the community.”
The foundation reported that its FY21 contributions to the community, across all endeavors, totaled $24.6 million and involved 1,668 total donors. That number includes $16.7 million in grants and $1.6 million in scholarships and interest- free loans to 848 students.
Beyond these numbers, and those press-release headlines, are copious amounts of convening, connecting, and partnering, said Zobel, adding
that, to properly serve the region and responsibly distribute the funds it raises, with an eye on both today and tomorrow, the Community Foundation must do a lot of listening and then acting on what it hears.
This applies to many of the traditional areas of focus for
the foundation, especially education, but also some new ones, such as the
arts, through creation
of the ValleyCreates
program, which serves
to connect (there’s
that word again) the
arts and creative
communities across
Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties.
“We started with a seed, a planning grant from the Barr Foundation, and we did a number of
focus groups and surveys and interviews with key stakeholders in the arts sector in our three counties to understand what kind of support they needed, and also how best we can utilize our dollars to support that sector,” said Nicole Bourdon, program officer for ValleyCreates.
Elaborating, she said those research efforts revealed the need for not only grant writing —
and the foundation has awarded hundreds of $1,000 grants that are combined with coaching
and business-resiliency webinars — but also collaboration, across counties and across disciplines, to build capacity and enable this important sector to speak with a louder, more effective voice.
“We came to understand that the majority of arts organizations in our region are quite small, they have really small budgets, a fair amount of turnover ... and there was, and is, a real need for capacity support,” said Bourdon, adding that the foundation continues to monitor and survey the sector to
“
learn what tools it can offer so it can be what she called a “repository for artists and arts organization where they can gather resources and connect and collaborate.”
Zobel said Western Mass. doesn’t have as many large foundations or private philanthropy as the eastern part of the state, so corraling more support from outside Western Mass., such as the Boston- based Barr Foundation, is critical.
“There isn’t a large source of funding for the arts here,” she added. “That was a place the foundation felt we could be useful. We’ve been building that out and supporting not just the arts, but artists, especially artists of color.”
Degrees of Success
In many ways, ValleyCreates illustrates just how the Community Foundation works, said Zobel, adding that it first arms itself with information, then works with various constituencies to develop strategies for addressing region-wide issues and
Foundation
Continued on page 54
NICOLE BOURDON
We came to understand that the
majority of arts organizations in our region are quite small, they have really small budgets, a fair amount of turnover ... and there was, and is, a rea”l need for capacity support.
DENISE HURST
“We’re moving away from being transactional and just handing
s o m e o ”n e a check.
PROUD TO SUPPORT
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
For nearly 150 years, this community has entrusted Baystate Health with its health and wellbeing. Every day, we are humbled and privileged to make a difference in the lives of our patients.
In support of this year’s Difference Makers, we are proud to recognize the 2022 honorees and celebrate the many positive impacts they have made on our community.
A heartfelt thank you for helping make a difference - because of each of you, there will be brighter days ahead!
BaystateHealth.org
CS13649
BusinessWest
FEBRUARY 21, 2022 29