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Dear Brookline Community,
We achieved several big milestones at the Brookline Community Foundation (BCF) this year: We unveiled a first-ever Understanding Brookline database to help our community track and address local realities, relaunched our Executive Directors Roundtable to enable peer leadership support and collective problem-solving among the town’s nonprofits, celebrated 10 years of support to recent Brookline High School grads through the BCF Scholarship Fund for Brookline High School, and launched two new community-centered funds, the Chobee Hoy Fund for Brookline and Edna Mann Memorial Scholarship Fund for Social Justice and Equity. We made 61 grants and scholarships this year too, and we sold our building at Webster Place, a strategic decision that will strengthen BCF’s impact and capacity to continue meeting our mission going forward.
While each of these accomplishments is worth celebrating, we’re equally proud of a less visible achievement: our consistency.
It’s been a challenging time for many in our community as the costs of food, housing, and childcare continue to rise and as local nonprofits stare down a significant loss of funding when federal relief grants sunset in the coming years. Meanwhile, at BCF, we continue to show up for our community as a grantmaker, convener, philanthropic partner, champion and, for some, a lifeline.
This year, we’re proud to sustain our position as a reliable resource for the organizations that form the fabric of our community, addressing critical needs and opening doors to empowerment, opportunity, and wellbeing. We’re excited to form new
partnerships, too. In 2024, BCF received a record number of grant applications from a truly diverse group of organizations. As a community foundation, we understand that we are often the only source of funding for existing and emerging leaders who are innovating, taking chances, and putting a stake in our community’s stability and its future.
This is our purpose at BCF. We serve as a cornerstone and connector for our community, an early investor, and a reliable long-term resource, every year, no matter the conditions. We’re able to play these roles so consistently because we’re part of a loyal network of donors, supporters, and friends who understand the importance of giving locally, giving regularly, and of pooling our individual strengths and resources to achieve collective community impact.
We thank you for making a commitment to community impact in Brookline in 2024. We do so much more for and with our community when we invest and act together.
In gratitude and partnership,
Aba Taylor
Executive Director