Awards from the SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund provide nonprofits serving Attleboro, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton $814,000 to address pressing economic conditions due to pandemic.
NEW BEDFORD, MA – For individuals and households with income at or below 80% of the applicable area median income and households with no or minimal access to sources of economic relief, the pandemic has exacerbated their ability to pay rent and utilities and purchase food. Eighteen nonprofits serving Attleboro, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton are addressing these pressing needs and have been awarded a total of $814,000 from the SouthCoast Community Foundation. This award cycle marks the 14th round of grantmaking from the organization’s SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund and is made possible, in part, with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
“Despite life getting somewhat back to normal, it has been anything but for so many in our region,” stated Sarah Rose, Director of Engagement for the SouthCoast Community Foundation. “Our nonprofit partners see an uptick in social determinants for health and well-being, particularly for those who recently immigrated to the United States. We are fortunate that the state, in addition to caring, philanthropic individuals and institutions, continue to support our Emergency Response Fund generously, making it possible to partner with the organizations doing this important work that continue providing this critical assistance to our communities.”
The nonprofits that applied and were awarded grants will support historically excluded populations with programs and financial assistance for food security, housing, utilities, emergency child care, transportation, and remote work or school technology. The grantees include:
| Organization Name | Amount |
| Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative | $50,000.00 |
| Brockton Area Multi-Services, Inc. | $50,000.00 |
| Brockton Family & Community Resources | $23,000.00 |
| Brockton Interfaith Community | $40,000.00 |
| Brockton Neighborhood Health Center | $50,000.00 |
| Cape Verdean Association of Brockton, INC | The Immigrant Assistance Center of Greater Brockton | $50,000.00 |
| CEDC-Community Economic Development Center of SE MA | $70,000.00 |
| Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores | $45,000.00 |
| Citizens for Citizens | $50,000.00 |
| Father Bill’s & MainSpring | $55,000.00 |
| Health Imperatives, Inc. | $25,000.00 |
| Hockomock Area YMCA | $35,000.00 |
| Immigrants’ Assistance Center | $75,000.00 |
| NorthStar Learning Centers | $67,000.00 |
| Old Colony YMCA | $50,000.00 |
| PACE, Inc. | $55,000.00 |
| The Literacy Center | $13,000.00 |
| United Interfaith Action of SE MA | $11,000.00 |
| Total | $814,000.00 |
Fall River recipient Citizens for Citizens’ food pantry feeds hundreds of households each week. “Our food pantry would simply not exist without strong partnerships and support from local organizations like SouthCoast Community Foundation,” commented Executive Director Liz Berube. “With their support, we were able to confidently expand our food pantry services to meet community demand with greater quantities of food during the pandemic and beyond.”
The Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative Food n’ Friends program collaborates with 36 faith-based partners and 500 dedicated volunteers to cook, package, and distribute emergency meals. Offered Lisa Piscatelli, Executive Director, “We are serving nearly 80,000 emergency meals — at five drive-up, walk-up meal sites, in four municipalities. With the rising cost of groceries and gas, household budgets are being stretched. The SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund award allows us to continue providing these essential nutritious and comforting meals.”
Moises Rodrigues, Executive Director of the Cape Verdean Association of Brockton, stated, “The City of Brockton, more specifically the Cape Verdean community and other minority groups, have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many without food, shelter, and other basic human necessities. We are grateful to the Southcoast Community Foundation to be included in this round of funding and helping us assist the residents we serve.”
The Community Foundation established the SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund in partnership with local funders in March of 2020. The Fund provides flexible resources to organizations that work with those most impacted by COVID-19. To date, the organization has raised more than $12.1 million and granted more than $9 million from this fund. Donations to the SouthCoast Emergency Fund can be made online. For general inquiries about the Fund, please contact emergencyfund@southcoastcf.org.
The SouthCoast Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving the communities of Southeastern Massachusetts through philanthropy. The Community Foundation mission is to mobilize philanthropy by matching donors and resources with community needs for the benefit of our region. Since 1995, the organization has distributed over $50 million from more than 200 funds to humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations in the region. For more information, visit www.southcoastcf.org.
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Image courtesy of Citizens for Citizens