Looking forward. Giving back!
A Message from the President & CEO
Dear Friends,

If you care about where you live, then you need to vote in your local elections.

On Election Day in Lowell, next Tuesday on November 5th, there are two very important ballot questions:
  1. A new way to elect the city council and school committee; and
  2. A measure to adopt the Community Preservation Act.

There will be a new process for electing the Lowell City Council and School Committee in 2021 as the result of a Federal Court Consent Decree. The Ballot question provides two options:
  1. Proportional Ranked Choice voting; or 
  2. Neighborhood Election Districts and At-Large Seats. 
This is a non-binding Ballot question so in December the City Council will need to vote to adopt one of the two measures. (For more information see City of Lowell -   Lowell Votes .)

The other Ballot question is binding and asks if the voters of Lowell want to adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The CPA helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities. The CPA is funded through a local option surcharge on property tax bills and a state match of those surcharges. (For more information, see  Community Preservation Coalition  and  The Lowell Sun .)

Also next Tuesday, the voters will elect a new Lowell City Council and School Committee. There is no level of government that is more directly responsible for serving your community than your local elected officials. Local government can affect almost every aspect of your daily life.

Typically, just 1 in 5 voters participate in off-year local elections — meaning your vote at the local level can have an even bigger impact. So please get out and vote – it’s a privilege, a duty and a path to a stronger democracy.
\
Regards,
October 2019
GLCF in the NEWS
Community Events




GLCF Team with Celebrate Giving Keynote: Prabal Chakrabarti
Paul Blount, President and CTO, Custom MMIC; 2018 Custom MMIC scholarship recipient Grace Remillard of Groton, MA, who attends University of Massachusetts Lowell; and Charlie Trantanella, Chief Scientist, Custom MMIC.
GLCF President and CEO Jay Linnehan with 2019 GLCF Business Philanthropy Partner Award recipient Karen McCloskey from NETSCOUT.
GLCF Highlights Local Business Philanthropy at this Year's Celebrate Giving
On Tuesday, October 15, 2019 the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) hosted its annual Celebrate Giving event. More than 200 members of the community attended this year’s event that highlighted the contributions of local philanthropists and business leaders who are committed to making an impact on the community through business philanthropy.

This year’s keynote speaker was Prabal Chakrabarti, Senior Vice President & Community Affairs Officer, Boston Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Bank Boston initiated the Working Cities Challenge (WCC) program in 2013 and the City of Lowell is a grant recipient. The program is designed to advance collaborative leadership in gateway cities to transform the lives of their low-income residents.

The event also included our community partner, Paul Blount, President of Custom MMIC who spoke about the company’s commitment to scholarship support of women in engineering. Additionally, the 2019 GLCF Business Philanthropy Partner Award was presented to NETSCOUT for their Heart of Giving community grant program. 

More Celebrate Giving:
WANTED: 2019 Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund Grant Applicants

The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts and the Greater Lowell Community Foundation are accepting grant proposals for the Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund.

Offered jointly through the Greater Lowell Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts, the Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund’s purpose is to advance the community health of residents in thirteen (13) communities: Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, and Westford.

Grant awards will range from $5,000 up to $20,000; however, larger scale collaborative projects with requests that are more than $20,000 will be considered if the increased funding request is justified by the impact of the project.

Cycle Opens: October 22, 2019

Submission Deadline: November 27, 2019 at 12:00 P.M.
GLCF Spotlights
Artist Bethany Peck will exhibit: Salt Water, Marsh & Meadow at the Greater Lowell Community Foundation from Oct. 15, 2019 to Jan. 10, 2020.
GLCF Hosts New Bethany Peck Exhibit: Salt Water, Marsh & Meadow
Lowell, MA - Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) will host the new exhibition, “ Salt Water, Marsh & Meadow .” This exhibit features paintings by artist Bethany Peck , a New England contemporary abstract landscape painter. The exhibition will be held at the Foundation’s offices at 100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202, Lowell, MA from Oct. 15, 2019 to Jan. 10, 2020 and can be viewed by the public between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
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Opening Reception:  Thursday, November 7, 2019 from 5 - 7 pm
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GLCF Grants in Action
Focus on WESTFORD Grants

The Foundation is proud to serve the following communities:
Ashby, Ayer, Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsboro, Westford, Wilmington.

In this edition of our e-newsletter, we are highlighting recent Westford grant recipients.
GLCF GRANT: Helping Westford Students Reach for the Stars
GLCF is an Underwriting Partner for a project that Stony Brook Middle School is participating in, a national model STEM education program engaging over 300 students in a very real microgravity experiment design and proposal writing. Their participation culminates in one of the student-proposed experiments selected to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit, where it will be operated by the astronauts. The experiment would be part of a payload for Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 14 to ISS, which will launch in spring/summer 2020.
GLCF GRANT: Neutralizing Unused Opioids for Westford Seniors
In 2017, Westford’s substance abuse prevention coordinator, Ray Peachey and the Health Department received a $5,000 grant from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. The money would go toward purchasing the kits and have been given out to elderly citizens at the Senior Center or through the Meals On Wheels program for free. Kits include proprietary activated carbon, according to the product’s website, and those who use the kits will see their pills absorbed into a black, gooey mixture. 

Westford’s substance abuse prevention coordinator, Ray Peachey, shows how to use a drug deactivation kit to dissolve pills (or liquid) in a solution that mostly deactivates them. The town is giving them out to people to prevent unused opioids from getting into the environment. (Julia Malakie / Lowell Sun)
The Westford Fund recently sponsored an event featuring philanthropist Bill Cummings as he presented his memoir, Starting Small and Making It Big
The Westford Community Fund
The Westford Community Fund is directed at providing long-term sustainable support of Westford nonprofits and assist small businesses. Advised by concerned community members who generate awareness, raise funds, and recommend nonprofit recipients for funding, the Westford Fund was the first Community Fund established at GLCF.

GLCF Fiscal Sponsorships in Action
History UnErased:
LGBT+ History in MA Schools
Food • Visual History Exhibit • Interactive Presentation

Learn about the new LGBT+ history content in the Massachusetts History & Social Science curriculum framework -- and more!

This FREE 3-hour workshop will take the mystery out of LGBT+ history with an introduction to Intersections and Connections, the first and only LGBT+ inclusive U.S. history curriculum aligned with state and national standards. (Grades 8 - 12+) 
Sat, November 16, 2019
9 a.m. – noon
Middlesex Community College
Cowan Center
33 Kearney Square
Conference Room 302
Lowell, MA 01852

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT
GLCF Featured Photos
GLCF Grant Recipient Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell shared updates on their most recent Critical Home Repair Project for a Westford senior.
NETSCOUT's Heart of Giving team celebrating their recent 2019 GLCF Business Philanthropy Partner Award at their corporate headquarters in Westford.
Women Working Wonders Fund, a permanently endowed fund at GLCF, celebrated Power of the Purse Plus on Oct. 24. Funds raised support grants to empower women, funding nonprofit programs that assist women in transition, provide leadership development in girls, and contribute to the beautification of the environment.
Mass Humanities Governor's Awards in the  Humanities  was conferred upon (l-r) Danielle Allen, Lee Blake, Nancy Donahue  and Jeffrey Musman on Oct. 27 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Partners in Philanthropy
PREMIER PARTNER:
PLATINUM PARTNERS:

Nancy L. Donahue
GOLD PARTNERS:

SILVER PARTNERS:

A complete list of our sponsors is viewable on the Foundation's website (click here ).
978-970-1600


GLCF is Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.

Our accreditation provides assurance that we have sound policies and practices in place. In short, it means we meet the highest standards for local giving.