The Foundation for MetroWest granted $120,000 to local hunger relief agencies in 2016. This is a 10% increase over 2015 in grant funding… but that was not the only increase this year. The Foundation doubled its support to organizations that primarily identify as farms, a strategic move that aligns the MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund’s focus with a key recommendation outlined in the 2014 MA Local Food Action Plan: increase the production and consumption of Massachusetts-grown foods. We spoke with one farm grantee, Gaining Ground Farm in Concord, about how this grant will impact their work.

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We are looking forward to a great semester of learning, community building, and grantmaking at our fall programs in Natick, Sudbury, Hopkinton, Lincoln Middle School, Nashoba Brooks School, The Fenn School, and Concord Academy!

One of our former YIP students, Kate Guttilla from Needham, has been accepted to the Youth Philanthropy Connect Leadership Team. This is a national board of youth advisors to the California-based Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation. Kate will help contribute to the development of Youth Philanthropy Connect, and assist with their regional conference, held in Waltham on November 20. All students are welcome to attend the free regional conference!

Learn more about the YPC Youth Conference

If you or someone you know would like be involved in our middle or high school Youth in Philanthropy program, we are accepting applications for the fall from middle school students in Lincoln, as well as for various locations for spring 2017.

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September 24- Family Event- Full Circle by Circle of Hope

September 30 – Gore Place Moonlight Tour

October 9 – Chestnut Hill Farm’s 2nd Annual Harvest Festival

October 15 and 16 – Natick Artists Open Studios

October 17- Start of the MetroWest Health Documentary Film Series

Stearns Farm CSA of Framingham was created through the friendship of two women, Margaret Welch and Penelope Turton. In 1954, Margaret Welch owned the land on which her friend Penelope Turton began the farm. Welch eventually donated the land in 1975 to the Sudbury Valley Trustees, stating that she hoped the Trustees would allow Turton to “continue use of this tract for farming.” Turton, originally from England, fell in love with farming and worked the land of Stearns Farm from 1954-1990. In a 1990 interview with the Boston Globe, Turton reflected on her decision to start a farm, “I decided to try to see if there would be any fun and any money in farming. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Today, thanks to the generosity of Margaret Welch and the vision of Penelope Turton, Stearns Farm CSA is still a working farm. To become a part of this historic legacy, shares in the farm’s summer 2017 CSA open in October.

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Stearns Farm CSA is a recipient of a 2016 MetroWest Hunger Relief Fund grant from the Foundation for MetroWest.

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2016 Wellesley Youth Development Competitive Grant Program. Application deadline is 5:00 PM on Friday, September 30, 2016.

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2016 Hopkinton Youth Development Competitive Grant Program. Application deadline is 5:00 PM on Friday, September 30, 2016.

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Upcoming Nonprofit Seminars

One seat left- Learn more and register now

Evaluation Demystified: Using Simple Data to Improve Outcomes
Presenter: Rebecca Gallo, MetroWest Health Foundation
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2016
9:30-11:30 am
Location: Costin Room, Framingham Public Library, 49 Lexington Street, Framingham

THIS WEEK- Learn more and register now

Unlocking the Power of Visual Storytelling
Presenter: Michael Selissen, Case Mountain Communications
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Time: 9:30-11:30 AM
Location: Wayland Free Public Library

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Board Governance: But Were Afraid to Ask

Presenters: Amy Cahners and Susan Donahue, Cahners and Donahue Associates, LLC
Date: Thursday, October 27, 2016
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Location: Wellesley Community Center

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Major Donor Mambo
Presenters: Sunny Stich, Sunny Stich Consulting and Stephanie Truesdell, Vice President of Philanthropy & Communications at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Time: 9:30-12:00 pm
Location: TBD

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Building Your Resources: The Board’s Role in Fundraising
Presenters: Amy Cahners and Susan Donahue, Cahners and Donahue Associates, LLC
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2016
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Location: Wellesley Community Center

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How Small Organizations Successfully Structure & Manage Their IT
Presenter: Russell Greenwald, VP & Director, IT Practice, Insource Service Inc.
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Time: 9:30-11:30 am
Location: TBD

Description and registration coming soon!

Leader of the Pack! What does it take to be an effective Board Chair?
Presenters: Amy Cahners and Susan Donahue, Cahners and Donahue Associates, LLC
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm
Location: TBD

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Save the Date- Stewardship 102 with Simone Joyaux, Joyaux Associates, January 19, 2017