2010 Financial Statements (PDF)

2009 Financial Statements (PDF)

December 2011 

Farewell to the Regional Program 

This month marks the close of our Regional Grants Program, offered in its current configuration since late 2001. During that time, the Foundation awarded more than 200 grants totaling $3 million in four interest areas: Youth Development and Opportunity, Community Building, Preservation of Community Character & Assets and Capacity Building.

It’s been a wonderful program that has enabled the Foundation to work with a broad array of nonprofits on a variety of issues but it was time for a change. Recent economic conditions highlighted the need for us to narrow our focus to achieve greater impact.

During our strategic planning session in the fall of 2010, Foundation Trustees chose to sharpen that focus from four issue areas to just one: Youth Decelopment. After some discussion we decided to call the Program “Children, Youth & Families” to include children of all ages and  parents of young children who play such a crucial role in insuring kids get off to a good start in life. We’ve spent most of 2011 listening and learning about good programs, good agencies and good grantmaking practices. Many thanks to all who have taken the time to chat with us. Details of the new program can be found here.

In the meantime, we acknowledge with some regret that our new focus will mean a parting of the ways with some long-time programs and friends who no longer fit our revised funding guidelines. We hope there will still be ways to work together and we’ll continue to be on the lookout for resources to share with the nonprofits in our region whether we fund them directly or not.

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February 2011

Announcing Program Changes

The Regional Program

Beginning 2012, the Foundation will revise guidelines for this program area, narrowing our four Regional Program fields of interest to a focus on Children, Youth & Families. Details of the program will be released in late 2011 or early 2012. The final Regional Program grant cycle is planned for December 2011. The proposal deadline is October 1.

For more information, please contact Marilyn Martino, executive director, at 978-443-0849.

The Environmental Program

In our Environmental Program, the Trustees have decided to end funding in the Northern Forest after more than a decade-and-a-half of involvement. This shift will take effect immediately as we phase out work with current grant partners and refrain from making any additional investments in this area. The decision results from a combination of diminished resources and a desire to narrow our funding areas to increase impact.

The Foundation will continue its support for Gulf of Maine Fisheries through the by-invitation-only program initiated in 2008.

Our departure from the Northern Forest funding stage is bittersweet, to say the least.

When we first began our involvement in the mid-1990s, the term “Northern Forest” was just emerging and plans to preserve and protect its 26 million acres of beautiful land and rural communities were fractured or nonexistent.

Today, the Northern Forest is a clearly defined region with an active voice in regional and national policy. Many exceptional organizations are working collaboratively to conserve land, trees and wildlife while building sustainable sources of revenue for the people who depend on the region’s natural resources for their economic well-being. Over time, we’ve witnessed a softening of the disconnect between pure conservation and community sustainability and seen a dramatic influx of support and involvement by state governors and legislators, who now appreciate the region’s challenges and opportunities.

We are not attempting to justify our phase-out by implying the work is done, but we do feel we’re exiting the scene at a time when the future looks more hopeful than when we arrived – and we do so a bit wistfully.

We hope our Northern Forest friends and partners will continue to keep us apprised of their activities and progress. We’ll always feel connected to the spectacular region and will continue to root for its healthy future.

The Trustees and Staff of the Sudbury Foundation

Photo courtesy of  wwip