Tufts Employees Give Grants to Local Groups

The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) committee recently awarded grants to seven organizations in Medford. TNSF collects donations from university employees throughout the year and then awards grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts’ host communities (Somerville, Medford, Grafton and Boston’s Chinatown) and that actively engage Tufts volunteers in their work.

A committee comprised of Tufts administrators, faculty and staff meets annually to review proposals and select grant recipients. In 2012 there was a total of $20,380 available to distribute through TNSF. The committee received 49 proposals representing more than $74,000 in requests and selected 32 programs and projects for awards. Members of the TNSF committee base their decisions on a desire to address the most pressing needs in the communities and to encourage expanded involvement of Tufts volunteers.

The Medford grant recipients for 2012 are:

– Coalition for Arts, Culture, and a Healthy Economy (CACHE): $250 for assistance with production costs of the annual Circle the Square festivals.

– Community Cupboard Food Pantry of the Unitarian Universalist Church: $2,000 towards increased costs of operation during the winter months, including serving a larger number of clients with a supply of staple foods, as well as the cost of fuel during the winter.

– Heading Home: $250 towards educational programs at the Medford Family Life Education Center (MFLEC).

– Medford Family Resource Coalition: $1,000 for financial aid assistance for students attending the Medford Public Schools After School Program.

– Medford Historical Society: $500 for the cost of an archiving kit for the “Archiving Your Medford” project, a free symposium for local not-for-profit organizations to gather and preserve their historical records.

– Outside the Lines Studio: $500 for two months of for art materials.

– Saint Clement School: $500 towards the cost of science lab equipment.

“Each year, the range of grant requests from community agencies is more diverse and more telling, meaning that the committee faces an increasingly more difficult decision. This year’s grant proposals were thoughtful and compelling. We wish we could fund all of them,” said Barbara Rubel, director of Community Relations. “We hope the employee contributions to TNSF demonstrate how vital our host communities are to the university and we want to thank the Tufts volunteers, faculty, and staff who made this possible.”

TNSF is a giving option of the annual Tufts Community Appeal (TCA), in which the university encourages its employees to contribute to charitable organizations at the regional, national and international levels. The TCA unites faculty and staff across all campuses of the university, and demonstrates the support the Tufts community for local and global efforts. It reflects the university community’s belief that individual action can make a difference in the world.

Questions regarding the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund can be directed to the Community Relations Office at Tufts University (617-627-3780).

– Information from Tufts University