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BRA distributes community benefits funding to South Boston non-profits this week

Jul 23, 2015

$400,000 in grants from D Street Hotels project hit the streets
 
This week, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) distributed checks totaling $400,000 to twelve South Boston non-profit organizations as a result of the agency’s new process for disbursing community benefits funding associated with development projects. This round of funding was generated through a community benefits agreement for the D Street Hotels project, now called the Element and Aloft, which are currently under construction across from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. CV Properties, the developer, worked with the BRA, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, community members, and South Boston’s elected officials to negotiate the agreement.
 
In an effort to provide greater transparency throughout the development process, earlier this year the BRA solicited proposals from South Boston non-profits to pilot a new method for allocating discretionary community benefits. Standardizing the way these grants are awarded was one major goal of the request for proposals process. Applicants were required to submit a detailed proposal for how they would utilize funding and what impact they intended to achieve with it. The application and names of all grant recipients were then posted on the BRA’s website, www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org.
 
“Being in the South Boston non-profit world for over twenty years, and as president of the South Boston Association of Non-Profits for the past two years, I’m excited by the BRA’s new policy,” said Michael Dowling. “While we continue to foster new collaborations among South Boston’s non-profits and non-profit organizations throughout the region, there is inherent competition in this world, particularly for grant money. Given that competitiveness, transparency on how grants are allocated is extremely important. This change in how the BRA allocates funding is a welcome one. “
 
“We’ll use this money to purchase new boats for the young people who enjoy our program each summer” said Billy Higgins Jr., Director of the Harry McDonough Sailing Center. “Now in our forty-third year, the Sailing Center continues to grow. It’s good to see money from new developments in the neighborhood reinvested in a timely manner in our community. This grant will allow us to make an immediate upgrade to our equipment and facility so we can continue to teach sailing to future generations of young people.”
 
“As the Commonwealth grapples with a full-blown opiate crisis, we are grateful for the swiftness with which the BRA worked to award these grants,” said John McGahan, Director of the Gavin Foundation. “We wear many hats as non-profit leaders, and every minute I spend fundraising is time I don’t get to spend assisting someone with their recovery. The outreach and communication around this funding opportunity made the process relatively easy.”
 
The BRA is currently reviewing applications for the remaining $230,000 of community benefits money associated with the Element and Aloft hotels.
 
The full list of South Boston organizations that received grant funding this week includes:
 
Community Organization Grant Amount
Boys and Girls Club of South Boston $80,000
Harry McDonough Sailing Center $50,000
Massachusetts Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Heroes Memorial Fund $50,000
Catholic Charities Laboure Center $50,000
Gavin Foundation, Inc. $30,000
South Boston Neighborhood House $20,000
Joseph M. Tierney Learning Center $20,000
Medicine Wheel Productions $20,000
Notre Dame Education Center $20,000
South Boston en Accion $20,000
South Boston Collaborative Center $20,000
Paraclete, Inc. $20,000
 

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