NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, NECN and the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation today announced a total of $225,000 in Project Innovation grants will be presented to four organizations that are using innovation to tackle everyday problems and urgent COVID-19 needs in the community. The nonprofit organizations selected as Project Innovation 2020 grant recipients all exhibited flexibility with their programming and will use their funding to deliver services and programs that address the needs of those impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
This year, a total of $2.475 million in Project Innovation grants have been awarded to nonprofit organizations in 11 markets, including the Boston/New England region.
“Awarding this grant money to these particular organizations means more than ever right now,” said Chris Wayland, President and General Manager of the NBC and Telemundo Boston Owned Properties & Regional Sports Networks. “The survival of our communities' nonprofits during this pandemic is crucial and we are hopeful that by funding each of these outstanding service programs, we can help them, help others.”
The Boston/New England Project Innovation 2020 grant recipients include:
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND - $25,000 Grant
The mission of the International Institute of New England (IINE) is to create opportunities for refugees and immigrants to succeed through resettlement, education, career advancement and pathways to citizenship. IINE continues to serve the immigrant community in Greater Boston. They have shifted many of their programs online, including an online platform for Suitcase Stories, and are serving their clients with critical case management services like legal assistance, wellness checks, emergency housing and food assistance, among others.
COMMUNITY SERVINGS - $75,000 Grant
Service job training program that will provide medically tailored, nutritious, scratch-made meals to chronically and critically ill individuals and their families. Community Servings has continued its operations including ramping up efforts due to increased need and adapting its services to account for COVID-19, like creating two separate delivery teams in the case one gets affected and providing a week's worth of back-up groceries to clients in case there is a delay in service.
OUR NEIGHBORS TABLE - $75,000 Grant
Our Neighbors' Table's hopes to mobilize for a Food Secure Region. Their approach to food assistance is aimed at providing flexible, personalized programs to individuals and families living in northeastern Essex County. Our Neighbors' Table continues to provide food assistance to individuals in need and has adjusted its programming in light of COVID-19, including offering online grocery ordering and curbside pickup.
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FOUND IN TRANSLATION - $50,000 Grant
Founded in 2011, Found in Translation is a Boston-based nonprofit with a two-fold mission: To give low-income bilingual women an opportunity to achieve economic security through the use of their language skills, and to reduce racial, ethnic, and linguistic disparities in health care by unleashing bilingual talent into the workforce. Found in Translation is designed specifically for low-income and homeless bilingual women and trains these women to become professional medical interpreters. It has transitioned its upcoming information sessions to online webinars in the interest of public safety and will also be moving all programming for its participants and alumnae online temporarily.
Project Innovation applications opened on Jan. 11 and closed on Feb. 15. The Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and NBC/Telemundo owned stations reviewed applications virtually beginning March 2020. Applications were evaluated to determine groups’ ability to advance their communities in the areas of storytelling, community engagement, culture of inclusion and youth education, as well as their preparedness and capacity to deliver quality programming that meets the pressing needs that have developed in their communities during this unprecedented time.
Project Innovation 2020 grants were presented to eligible non-profit organizations in select markets including New York (WNBC, WNJU), Southern California (KNBC, KVEA), Chicago (WMAQ, WSNS), Philadelphia (WCAU, WWSI), Dallas-Fort Worth (KXAS, KXTX), Boston (WBTS, WNEU, NECN), Hartford, CT (WVIT, WRDM), Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV, WZDC), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (WTVJ, WSCV), San Francisco Bay Area (KNTV, KSTS), and San Diego (KNSD, KUAN).
