mission

The Brookline Community Foundation creates opportunity and promotes equity
through the transformative power of giving.

BCF is dedicated to ensuring everyone who lives, learns, works, and plays in the Brookline community prospers and thrives. Throughout our history, BCF has been a trusted partner playing a central role in identifying, understanding, and building partnerships to address shared challenges and remove barriers to opportunity and equity in our community.

As one of the largest funders in Brookline, we have invested more than $11.5 million into our community since 1999 to fortify the local safety net, create new pathways out of poverty, and maintain a vibrant, welcoming community. Today, our strategic focus is on advancing racial and economic justice so every community member has access to the essentials we all need to lead healthy lives and to prosper.

Building a better Brookline for all

As a community foundation, we have deep expertise in local philanthropy and work closely with nonprofit organizations, Town government, and community members to create meaningful change. We identify local challenges through community research and drive informed, engaged conversations about how to better support and uplift those most impacted by inequities. We also lead community-wide initiatives and partnerships to elevate community voice in local decision-making.

As a tax-exempt public charity, we are a trusted partner for donors committed to investing in the Brookline community. We manage charitable funds on behalf of generous individuals, families, businesses, and local governments. We work closely with donors to realize diverse philanthropic goals, identify opportunities to invest in and strengthen the nonprofit sector, and steward collective resources to make transformative investments in Brookline.

Values

Lead by Listening – Listening helps us deeply understand community strengths, challenges, needs, and opportunities so we can be an effective collaborator and partner.

Anchored in Equity – Equity is the vision we’re working towards and the processes we’re using to get there that helps hold us accountable to our community and ourselves.

Sustainable Support – Sustainability is crucial for our nonprofits, our neighbors, and our own organization. Investing in Brookline lets us address needs today and well into the future.

Community First – Our community guides our work. We use your insights and guidance to design and refine our work so we can reach our shared goals together.

Vision

We envision a better Brookline for all in which every member of the Brookline community can prosper and thrive. To us, this means that everyone who lives, learns, works, and plays in our community:

  • Has access to the essentials we all need to live healthy lives
  • Feels safe, welcome, and has a sense of belonging
  • Can speak out about community issues and help create solutions
  • Feels empowered to invest in solutions today and for generations to come

Every day, we work with community members, organizations, nonprofits, local businesses, and Town government to help make this vision a reality by advancing racial and economic justice while investing in local efforts to create opportunity and promote equity.