Everyone’s excited for Spring, and so are we—Springfield that is.

Access Strategies Fund and supporting organizations like the Partnership for Democracy and Education LLC, have been exploring under-resourced opportunities in gateway cities for over a decade. From funding research, program development, and investments, to organizing resources through partnerships; we have learned many lessons about what it takes to support independent political power-building in gateway cities and beyond.

For us, it’s crucial that we continue these explorations and investments. We know that gateway cities hold the key to building winning state-wide strategies.

Apart from our past grant-making efforts to grassroots community-led groups in Greater Boston and gateway cities, we’ve shown up by spearheading funder-led Census tables that have served as incubators for essential state-wide civic engagement initiatives like the Democracy Hubs.

In the past year, our team has been visiting different gateway cities, talking to grassroots groups, identified by our grantee partners, and gathering first-hand accounts of the challenges community organizers and organizations face in seeding movement-building infrastructure and independent political power. That’s why we are beyond excited to collaborate with our long-time partners in this new pilot project that focuses on Springfield.

We believe that by engaging in long-term collaborative relationship-based partnerships we can begin an alignment process that encompasses funders, donors, multi-entity organizations, and community-based groups to create long-term systemic change in Springfield.

Why Springfield?

Key demographic and electoral hub
High level of community-based groups already working with each other
Potential for leveraging and organizing multiple streams of resources

Our Partners

Our role

Grantmaker
Resource organizer
Alignment process facilitator
Strategy development supporter

We are grateful to be doing this work with those on the frontlines. For us this is an opportunity to redefine the role of philanthropy, and expand the boundaries of the kinds of resources leveraged to fund and support this work. And we invite all innovators, visionaries, and changemakers to engage in conversations and explorations with us.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

FCCP’s Network Leader Award

Last week we were in Phoenix, Arizona sharing about our work in Massachusetts. And our Executive Director, Guillermo Quinteros, accepted FCCP’s Network Leader Award at this year’s 2024 Annual Convening. The Network Leader Award honors an individual affiliated with an FCCP member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in service of FCCP's vision, mission, and values.

Boston Foundation's $4 million investment in local social justice leaders

Congratulations to Darian Burwell Gambrell, executive director, DEAF, Inc.; Gamaliel Lauture, co-executive director, Brockton Interfaith Community; Mike Leyba, co-executive director, City Life/Vida Urbana; Noemi Mimi Ramos, executive director, New England United 4 Justice; Shanique Rodriguez, executive director, Massachusetts Voter Table; and Dwaign Tyndal, executive director, Alternatives for Community and Environment.

MaMuse at Bethel AME church

MaMuse will be performing on Friday evening, April 26, at Bethel AME church. You can order tickets here. The concert will partially benefit Jubilee House, a project of New Roots AME church.