Grove Hall Initiative
In 2010, Eos launched Boston Rising as an independent organization to target the tough problem of intergenerational poverty in Boston. Recognizing that poverty is integrally tied to place, Boston Rising primarily focused on a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to the Grove Hall neighborhood. Boston Rising has been reincorporated into Eos as the Grove Hall Initiative (“GHI”). Our grant making is targeted in three core areas we believe are necessary building blocks for the success of any individual: jobs, education, and social connections. The principal philosophy guiding investment decisions is that low-income people have the capacity and desire to lift themselves out of poverty and grants should be made to enable them to do so. Major grantees over the course of the last four years have included: Boston Public Schools, Family Independence Initiative, Boston After School & Beyond, Grove Hall Trust, Black Ministerial Alliance, Teen Empowerment and LISC Boston. Eos periodically issues Requests For Proposals (RFP) for new grant opportunities.
Highlights:
Family Independence Initiative (FII)
The Eos Foundation was one of four local organizations to bring this national program to Boston. The Family Independence Initiative puts the power and ability for social and economic mobility directly in the hands of low-income families and communities. To date Eos funds have directly supported 227 households (over 830 individuals) in Grove Hall. We continue to support residents through FII.
Boston After School & Beyond (BASB)
An organization committed to ensuring that “every child in Boston has the opportunity to develop to his or her full potential,” Boston After School & Beyond has partnered with Eos to provide Grove Hall students with high quality summer experiences. Each year Eos funds directly support over 80 Grove Hall students’ attendance at summer programs through BASB. According to BASB Executive Director Chris Smith, “With the support of the Eos Foundation, we are not only serving more young people from Grove Hall in highly engaging summer learning programs, but also breaking new ground in benchmarking onhealthy program quality and student performance.”
Phillips Exeter Academy Summer Program
The Eos Foundation has directly sponsored 40 Grove Hall youth to attend quality summer programs in partnership with the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Each year, Eos funds 6-8 students from the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School to participate in a multi week summer immersion experience at the boarding school. Many Frederick Middle students who have gone through the Exeter Summer School mark it as a seminal moment in their education experience thus far. In 2016, Eos will sponsor 3 students from the Jeremiah E. Burke High School and 7 students from the Frederick Middle School who will begin their Exeter adventure this summer.
Boston Public Schools (BPS)
Believing in the importance of a strong Boston Public School system, Eos has committed a significant amount of time and funds to BPS. Our largest BPS grant funded the position of the Director of Outreach, Sustainability, and School-based operations at the Trotter school. This position has been critical in helping the Trotter meaningfully improve academic performance. This Director position has since expanded in scope to include the Mather School in Grove Hall. Additional Eos investments have been made in BPS summer programs as well as unrestricted grants to Grove Hall schools.
Neighborhood Business Plan Competition
In 2012 Boston Rising hosted a business plan competition called the “Q-Contest” for local entrepreneurs living in or servicing Grove Hall. Eos funding provided 22 applicants with access to business plan training through a partnership with the Center for Women and Enterprise and awarded start-up seed funding to eight entrepreneurs.
In 2011, Eos provided funds to Boston Rising to seed the Grove Hall Trust, a neighborhood trust completely governed by the residents of Grove Hall. The trust was established to enable smaller community projects to be funded efficiently and by resident trustees who know their own community needs better than outsiders. GHT became an independent 501c3 organization in 2013.