As a city with no shortage of world-class institutions for higher education and medicine, Boston was a natural starting point for the GreenLight Fund, a venture philanthropy fund John Simon and Margaret Hall founded to apply a venture funding approach to local nonprofit support. Although GreenLight has grown into a national network of venture philanthropy organizations, it all began in Boston.
As the original GreenLight Fund, here are some details to know about GreenLight Boston and how to approach this funder.
Who’s behind GreenLight Boston?
Many major local donors back GreenLight Boston, making this an important organization to know in the world of Boston philanthropy. Founding seed partners include the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation and the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust. Over the years, The Boston Foundation, the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation and other well-known givers have contributed to GreenLight’s local efforts. Lesser-known entrepreneurs, investors and individual philanthropists have also helped this organization grow.
Just a couple years ago, GreenLight Fund Boston hired Melissa Luna as its new executive director. Luna has extensive experience working with low-income communities of color and has been based in the Boston area since 1999. Prior to joining GreenLight, Luna led Demand Abolition’s efforts to curb sex trafficking and helped provide a range of services for Latino families and youth at Sociedad Latina.
Who receives GreenLight Boston’s support?
Since GreenLight Boston has been around since 2003, the organization has had plentiful opportunities to expand its reach in local neighborhoods. This is a good funder to know for capacity-building support and for multi-year unrestricted funding to support on-the-ground programs and strategic development. Early-stage ideas are attractive to this funder, which values innovation and collaboration.
Grantees in GreenLight Boston’s portfolio include Becoming a Man, which assists young men from disadvantaged communities, and Blueprint Schools Network, which pursues education reform strategies in high-need schools. Other support has gone to first-generation college students, independence initiatives for families in poverty, teacher effectiveness programs and early literacy campaigns.
A focus on youth and education
GreenLight Boston’s top interests are youth and education, with a special focus on low-income families. Issues like child poverty and grade-level literacy are front-and-center for this grantmaker. In addition, issues affecting older youth aged 16 to 24 also receive attention, such as high school completion and career development. Income inequality and affordable housing are also topics of interest for GreenLight Boston.
Unfortunately for Boston grantseekers, GreenLight isn’t the most accessible funder to approach, and it does not publicly share details about its grantmaking guidelines and procedures. However, you can find more information about this funder in IP’s full profile of the GreenLight Foundation Boston, part of our Boston & New England funding guide.