On Wednesday, April 11, The Harbus Foundation announced its fourth round of grant recipients at an awards ceremony held at the Business School Faculty Club. This year the Foundation awarded $104,750 in grants to 12 Boston organizations.
The Harbus Foundation is a non-profit foundation that was formed in 1997 and is funded from the profits of the Harbus newspaper. Each year, the Foundation makes grants to local non-profit organizations focused on literacy, journalism or education. In its first four years, the Foundation has awarded over $350,000 to local organizations.
Houston Lane, trustee of the Harbus Foundation, led the awards ceremony, which was attended by all of the organizations receiving grants. During the awards ceremony, recipients were able to give a short description of their organization. The groups awarded grants varied tremendously in their activities and scope. For instance, a grant provided to the Bill of Rights Education Project helps fund a youth newspaper, Rising Times, which provides high school students involved in Project HIP-HOP the opportunity to teach others about their experiences on a summer civil rights tour in the South and other Bill of Rights issues. Another example is a grant given to Deaf, Inc., located in Allston, to support the English-literacy component of its Adult Education Program.
This years recipients included five educational grants, four literacy grants, and three journalism grants. Five of the organizations are located in the immediate Allston/Brighton neighborhood, while the remaining seven are located in the Boston metropolitan area. Six of the organizations have been funded in previous years, while six were first-time recipients.
To receive a grant, recipients made it through a very competitive screening process. Approximately 75 grants applications were received this year, and reviewed by a group of 28 student readers, four trustees and faculty advisor Paul Marshall. Grants were received in January, and successful applicants had to make it through two rounds of review, and an on-site due diligence meeting.
The Harbus Foundation is unique as it is not only committed to funding non-profit organizations, but it also serves as an educational resource to students that get involved in the process. Houston Lane commented, “This is a great way for Business School students to learn more about the community around them while learning about non-profit organizations in a very hands-on way.”
The twelve grants were awarded to the following organizations: Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation, Bill of Rights Education Project, Brighton High School – SCORE Higher, Congrecion Leon de Juda, Crittenton Hastings House, DEAF, Inc., F. Lyman Winship Elementary School, Hyde Square Task Force, Little House, Recording For Blind & Dyslexic, Sociedad Latina and Teen Voices.
