logo
Taunton and Attleboro nonprofits land $70K in new grant funding

Taunton and Attleboro nonprofits land $70K in new grant funding

Yahoo4 days ago
Bristol County Savings Charitable Foundation has awarded $70,450 in grants to nine nonprofit organizations in the Taunton/Attleboro region, according to a community announcement.
The grants were part of a larger donation of $404,421 to 45 charitable organizations across the SouthCoast and greater Providence, Rhode Island, regions.
The foundation has committed more than $35 million to various nonprofits since its inception in 1996. In 2024 alone, it awarded a record $2.9 million to 501(c)(3) organizations.
The local organizations that received grants from the Foundation are as follows: Taunton/Attleboro Community, $70,450 – Father Bill's & MainSpring ($10,000), Grit and Grace Sober Living ($5,000), Horizons for Homeless Children ($5,000), Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts ($10,000), Pave Your Path ($5,000), Pride Inc. ($5,450), Reach Out and Read ($7,500), Safe Coalition ($7,500) and The Literacy Center ($15,000).
John Silva, president of the foundation and CEO of Bristol County Savings Bank, presented the grants at a ceremony held at the Providence Marriott Downtown.
'In keeping with the Bank's mission of supporting our local neighborhoods to meet the growing needs of the population, our Foundation is proud to grant more than $70,000 to these deserving nonprofit organizations that we can count on to do good work in the greater Taunton and Attleboro communities,' Silva said.
The foundation was established in 1996 as part of the bank's 150th anniversary celebration. Its purpose is to fund initiatives that contribute to the economic and social well-being of people and institutions in the greater Taunton/Attleboro, New Bedford/Dartmouth, Fall River and Providence regions.
Bristol County Savings Bank, a Massachusetts-chartered bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Beacon Bancorp, is a full-service banking institution with approximately $3.1 billion in assets. Founded in 1846, the bank has 16 full-service offices across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as a commercial loan office in Providence.
The bank's main office and corporate headquarters are located on Broadway in Taunton. For more information on Bristol County Savings Bank, visit bristolcountysavings.com.
This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: These local nonprofits just got a big boost—see who and why
Solve the daily Crossword
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

A tech billionaire vows to make homeless housing affordable and profitable
A tech billionaire vows to make homeless housing affordable and profitable

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

A tech billionaire vows to make homeless housing affordable and profitable

A call for proposals to develop a surplus Metro property on the corner of Wilshire and Crenshaw boulevards drew bids from seven heavyweights in the world of homeless housing. Along with big non-profits like Abode, PATH and Bridge Housing, an eighth bidder — one that has yet to produce a single apartment — presented a bold plan to do what none of the others could. Better Angels, a nonprofit founded by a billionaire tech entrepreneur who has turned his attention to homelessness, said it will build 212 affordable units on the property, plus a medical office building, without needing a dime of taxpayer money. Unlike the other bidders, whose proposals rely on tax credits and other government grants, Better Angeles says it will supply 30% of the capital as equity and finance the rest with conventional loans, allowing it to build faster and at much less cost than typical affordable projects. Among several homelessness initiatives launched by its founder, Adam Miller, Better Angels has set out on an ambitious mission to debunk the conventional wisdom that affordable housing can't be produced without taxpayer subsidies. "The goal is to show the way to make money doing affordable housing because we believe that ... the only way you are going to solve the affordable housing crisis is by letting capitalism work," Miller said. With a $300-million investment fund, Miller is trying to lure for-profit developers away from the luxury market and create an opportunity for small-scale developers to think beyond duplexes and ADUs. Concurrently with its Metro proposal, Better Angels is bidding on a project to redevelop a former Kaiser Permanente facility in Pasadena. It proposes a housing and mental health hub with a mix of 300 market rate, affordable and supportive units for formerly homeless people. It also has entered a bid in a Los Angeles Community College District competition for proposals to produce student housing. If selected, it would build a 54-unit apartment near Sunset Junction in Silver Lake for Los Angeles City College students with preference for those in or exiting foster care. Metro and LACCD have announced that winners will be named this summer. Bidding on the Pasadena project closed in May, and a decision is expected sometime this year. Win or lose on those bids, Better Angels is backing two smaller projects that are well on their way to completion. A groundbreaking will be held in later this summer for a 51-unit apartment that will replace an abandoned single-family home in South Los Angeles. Later in the year, permits are expected to be issued for an eight-story, 72-unit building a block from Manchester Avenue in Westchester. Miller promotes his housing model as an alternative to the decades-old system of double subsidies that use tax credits supplemented by other government grants to finance construction and rental subsidies to support ongoing operation. Tax-credit development is slow and costly because the rental subsidies have to be secured before capital can be raised, and the financing can be a years-long process involving competitive applications to multiple agencies. All the while the developer, in most cases a nonprofit homeless services provider, accrues carrying costs for the land. By providing capital up front with the stroke of a pen, Better Angels potentially cuts years off the process. "It's a very uncomplicated structure," said Anthony Gude, lead developer of the Westchester project. "You don't have to use public subsidies. That makes the capital stack simpler and more reliable." Gude said the 72-unit project will cost $15.5 million. At $215,000 per unit, that's roughly a third of the current cost of construction financed with tax credits. But there is a trade-off for the savings in time and cost. Though classified as affordable, the project will not become part of the homeless housing system. To be profitable, its rents will exceed the very low level needed to get people directly off the streets. As part of the approval process, Gude committed to limit rent of 55 units at low income (for people making 80% of area median income) and 15 units at moderate income levels. On average, that would be about $2,000 for the low-income units, he said. While that would be roughly 40% lower than rents in other new high-rise buildings going up in the bustling area just north of LAX, it's well above the very-low income levels required of tax-credit projects. That differential is evident in the applications for Metro's Wilshire/Crenshaw project. Better Angels' Metro proposal would provide 170 units at 80% of the area median income and 42 units at 110% of median, the latter a level commonly known as workforce housing. The seven competing proposals, all using tax-credit financing, would have some units available for people with incomes of only 30% of the median, considered acutely low-income, and most below 60% of the median. André F. Bueno, Better Angels' director of housing and chief investment officer, said the goal is to create new housing with guaranteed affordability that would serve homeless people directly through master leases to nonprofit agencies or, if not master leased, indirectly by renting to people who have federal Section 8 vouchers but can't use them in the competitive rental market. Miller described it as a homeless housing with "downside protection." "We have flexibility to ensure our limited partners get their return," he said. "We're trying to prove out that there is a different better way to do this that is less costly to the government and more effective at creating housing." Miller, who built Cornerstone OnDemand into a global training and development company, turned his focus on philanthropy after its 2021 sale. After forming an organization that supports research seeking solutions on gun control, Miller and his wife Staci Miller turned their attention to homelessness as their primary local mission, creating the STEP Fund, a no-interest, forgivable micro-loan program to help people facing evictions. It has given out 700 loans with a return rate of 65%. In 2023, the Millers incorporated Better Angels United Inc. as the umbrella for several initiatives. It conducts Resource Days around the county to help homeless people connect with services. It also employs a technical team working to create a mobile phone app for outreach workers and a centralized shelter database. After the Los Angeles fires, Better Angels built a resource navigator app and set up a relief fund. Its Affordable Housing Fund is a for-profit subsidiary of Better Angels created to attract capital to develop affordable housing. "We expect the returns on these projects are going to be market rate — double-digit internal rate of return — and we think that is going to encourage a lot of other people to get in this space and build net new affordable housing," Miller said. Miller is planning to promote three types of housing. About 45% of the fund will go to standard new housing construction. Another 20% will be invested with Good River Partners, whose founder Daniel Heimpel aspires to build housing for youths transitioning out of foster care. With the remainder, Miller hopes to partner with housing developer and modular manufacturer SoLa Impact to help longtime South Los Angeles homeowners convert their properties into multi-family apartments. "The idea is not only to create new affordable housing but to provide an opportunity for intergenerational wealth with people in the neighborhoods," Miller said. Gude and Andrew Slocum, who is leading the project in South Los Angeles, said their plans were possible only because of state and local incentives for affordable housing, including Mayor Karen Bass' Executive Order 1 that streamlined approvals. Among the other bonuses, the five-story building in South Los Angeles and the eight-story building in Westchester require only minimal setbacks from the street and no parking. "We needed every lever that was pulled," said Gude. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Appeal to create 'peaceful haven' for youngsters
Appeal to create 'peaceful haven' for youngsters

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Appeal to create 'peaceful haven' for youngsters

A charity which works with neurodivergent young people is appealing for help to transform an empty storeroom into a "peaceful haven". MAIN, based in Middlesbrough, is seeking £25,000 to create a quiet room - a sensory-controlled space for youngsters to use when feeling overwhelmed. The "calm, safe and low-stimulation environment" would allow them to manage emotions, reduce stress and "help prevent crisis situations", the charity said Some businesses have offered their expertise for free, but funds are needed for materials to complete the project. MAIN supports children and adults who are autistic, neurodivergent, have learning disabilities or complex needs. Services include one-to-one support, opportunities to experience new activities, a parent forum group, along with advice and guidance. MAIN CEO Heather Whyman, said: "Many of the children we support experience sensory overload that can lead to high levels of distress, sometimes resulting in aggression towards themselves or others. "By having access to a dedicated space where they can de-escalate safely and in their own time, we can help prevent crisis situations and better support their continued participation." The quiet room would be a "vital part" of creating a "stable, inclusive and therapeutic environment", she said. "We have such great support from the local community and we know that times are hard for lots of people, but we are a very small charity which relies heavily on donations. "Everyone who is helping us – from the architect to the building works, public relations to marketing support - is doing it for free simply because they strongly believe it is the right thing to do." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Related internet links MAIN More on this topic 'Going to A&E is unbearable for my autistic son' Councillor's autism 'benefits politics' Second cafe staffed by disabled workers to open

OpenAI launches $50 million fund to support nonprofits, community organizations
OpenAI launches $50 million fund to support nonprofits, community organizations

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

OpenAI launches $50 million fund to support nonprofits, community organizations

By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -ChatGPT maker OpenAI is launching a $50 million fund to support nonprofit and community organizations, the artificial intelligence company said on Friday. The fund is the first action following a recommendations report from the San Francisco-based company's nonprofit commission, which was formed in April to guide OpenAI's philanthropic efforts. OpenAI has been working to revamp its corporate structure, which it says is necessary in order to continue raising the massive amounts of capital needed to stay competitive in the AI arms race, a move it is trying to balance with its founding mission, as a nonprofit, to develop AI for the public good. Currently, its nonprofit arm owns and controls its for-profit arm, and OpenAI plans to convert the for-profit entity into a public benefit corporation, of which the nonprofit parent would become a shareholder. The nonprofit commission was established as part of OpenAI's efforts to show that it can remain true to its founding mission despite the corporate revamp. OpenAI said the fund will facilitate partnerships to implement AI in sectors such as education, economic opportunity, community organizing and healthcare. It will also back community-led research and innovation focused on using AI for public good. The nonprofit commission submitted its recommendations report Thursday, following interviews with over 500 nonprofits and community experts. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store