$100,000 BIDMC Grant
Published by MACDC on December 17th, 2020
Seventeen local organizations, including three MACDC members, were selected to receive funding for impactful initiatives from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Asian CDC and Fenway CDC will each received $500,000, while Nuestra Comunidad, in partnership with Opportunity Communities, will receive $100,000 in funding.
Asian CDC will use these funds to expand homeownership opportunities to Chinatown residents, provide eviction prevention, and engage residents in anti-displacement work, and advocate for policies that increase access to affordable housing. Asian CDC’s partners in the project are the Chinese Progressive Association and the Greater Boston Legal Services’ Asian Outreach Unit.
Fenway CDC will organize and campaign at the city and state level to move legislation, budget items, and policies that will increase funding for affordable housing, rental subsidies, further fair housing, improve tenant rights and help address the homelessness crisis in the Commonwealth. They will do this in partnership with Boston Tenant Coalition, Homes for Families, Mass Law Reform Institute, and the Greater Bowdoin Geneva Neighborhood Association.
Opportunity Communities and Nuestra Comunidad will engage community members and allies in a pathbreaking homeownership pilot program. The pilot will support wealth-building for households harmed by systemic housing discrimination and the resulting racial disparities in family assets. The pilot leverages homeownership projects under development in Roxbury, the heart of Boston’s Black community. Nuestra Comunidad and its partners will build 40 homes and sell them to low- and moderate-income households harmed by housing discrimination.
“This important milestone reflects BIDMC’s commitment to all the populations that we serve. We look forward to working with these housing organizations to support programs and initiatives that lead to more equitable and healthy communities,” said Pete Healy, President of BIDMC.
BIDMC will award $6.6 M over three years to nonprofit organizations working in the communities of Allston/Brighton, Bowdoin/Geneva, Chinatown, Fenway/Kenmore, Mission Hill, and Roxbury. The funded organizations work in the areas of housing affordability, jobs and financial security, and behavioral health. This is BIDMC’s first major investment through its Community-based Health Initiative, which was established to identify, prioritize, and address important community health needs.
