Blossom Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Blossom Fund predominantly supports organizations that concentrate on education, outdoor natural spaces, and women’s economic justice and development. It works mainly with organizations working in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as Mexico and Central America.
IP TAKE: Blossom prioritizes local and grassroots groups that may be frequently overlooked by traditional funding sources. This is an excellent funder for smaller outfits in specific geographic areas. This funder accepts proposals via snail-mail, but read the fund’s guidelines carefully before submitting materials. This can be a crowded grantmaking space in that the Blossom Fund prefers to fund its grantees for multiple cycles, making it more challenging for newer grantseekers to get in the door. Overall, Blossom is an accessible and supportive funder.
PROFILE: Established in 1994, the Blossom Fund is a private foundation that supports grassroots work for women’s economic justice, programs for girls, local cultural and educational activities and programs that encourage young people to take advantage of outdoor spaces in cooperative ways. Stateside, the fund focuses grantmaking in the greater Boston area; however, abroad, the fund prioritizes organizations working in Central America and Mexico.
Grants for Women, Girls and Global Development
The Blossom Fund supports organizations that promote “the social or economic development of women, girls and their communities” in Boston and Central America. In Massachusetts, Blossom funds organizations such as Northeast Action and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, while in Central America it supports groups like the Maya Educational Foundation, Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, and Thousand Currents. While the fund’s international grantmaking prioritizes women’s economic development, its taxes reveal other focuses as well. For instance, Blossom funded the International Development Exchange (IDE), which works to build strong communities in the Global South. IDE’s work there includes programs dedicated to food security, economic development, climate justice, women’s rights and poverty alleviation.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Blossom Fund supports “community-based educational and cultural projects in Brookline, Boston and Cambridge,” Massachusetts. It is particularly interested in supporting programs that improve library facilities and increase their role as community centers, projects that promote “cooperation among students, educators, parents and members of the local community,” and music programs that increase “participation in musical activities that foster community-based live musical performances.” Grantees in this area include Project Deep, Coolidge Corner Theater, Cambridge School Volunteers, Central Square Theater, Year Up and America SCORES New England.
Grants for Arts and Music
As part of its overall education grantmaking, the Blossom Fund supports programs that promote “active participation in musical activities that foster community-based live musical performances.” It has supported Boston-area theaters, musical organizations, and other groups such as Coolidge Corner Theater, Central Square Theater, Artbarn Community Theater, and Berklee College of Music.
Grants for Community Development and Environmental Conservation
The Blossom Fund supports programs that “increase the use and awareness of Boston area outdoor resources,” such as parks, rivers, lakes, wildlife sanctuaries, and harbors. It supports a wide range of Massachusetts-based environmental groups, including EcoLogic Development Fund, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Charles River Watershed Association, Environment America Research and Policy Center, New England Aquarium Corporation, and the Trees Water & People Fund.
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, the Blossom Fund made over $600,000 in grants. Blossom’s grantmaking typically ranges from about $2,000 to $20,000, although it has occasionally awarded funding in the $25,000 to $70,000 range. Funding is renewable upon reapplication, but Blossom prefers giving to organizations with “small annual budgets” for programmatic and start-up support. It rarely awards grants for general operating support. For a more in-depth understanding of the kinds of organizations that receive support from Blossom, download its PDF of past grantees.
The Blossom Fund accepts requests for funding by mail. Applications are due by September and March 15 each year. Returning grantees must submit a report on the previous grant before applying for continued funding.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
