About Us

Our mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts.

Matt Conti

There is so much potential all around us. We aim to serve as both stewards and catalysts of that potential. As stewards, we nurture and enhance vital community assets. As catalysts, we cultivate and advance the breakthrough ideas that will shape our collective future.

To learn more about Barr's work and our partners, explore our retrospective of the past two years.

Watch the following video where Barr's president and trustee, Jim Canales speaks about the Foundation's mission.

"We aspire to be both stewards and catalysts."

Our Core Values

We are guided by core values defined by our founders. These values are fundamental to who we are and what we believe constitutes effective philanthropy.

  1. Strive for impact

    We aspire to advance ambitious solutions to big challenges.

  2. Invest in leaders

    We support effective, visionary and collaborative leaders, as they drive change.

  3. Center racial equity

    We aim to address structural racism, inequality, and power imbalances.

  4. Act with humility

    We recognize the privilege inherent to philanthropic work and trust our partners to lead.

  5. Take the long view

    We consider how today’s decisions will impact future generations.

  6. Embrace risk

    We accept that bold action requires comfort with the risk of failure.

  7. Demonstrate curiosity

    We invite new perspectives to inform our work and to help us learn.

Paul Schnaittacher via Holyoke Public Schools

How We Work

Learn more about our approach to grantmaking, our policies and financials, and our office space.

Learn more about How We Work

Our Trustees

The Barr Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees who provide strategic direction and fiscal oversight for the Foundation’s affairs, in service of its mission.

Since September 2017, the board has grown from three members to nine. It is anticipated that the board will continue to include others to share in the governance of the Foundation.

Our board chair’s blog post about the evolution of the Foundation’s governance is available here.

The trustees gather for a group photo.

Marilyn Humphries

Pictured from left to right: Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Jim Canales, Mark Edwards, Barbara Hostetter, Amos Hostetter, Sue Tierney, Lee Pelton, Caroline Hostetter Walsh. Not pictured: Tracy Palandjian.

Vanessa Calderón-Rosado

Chief Executive Officer, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción
Vanessa's Bio

James E. Canales

President
Jim's Bio

Mark Edwards

CEO and Co-founder, Upstream USA
Mark's Bio

Barbara W. Hostetter

Co-founder and Chair of the Board
Barbara’s Bio

Amos B. Hostetter, Jr.

Co-founder
Amos' Bio

Caroline Hostetter Walsh

Trustee
Caroline's Bio

Tracy Palandjian

CEO and Co-Founder, Social Finance
Tracy's Bio

M. Lee Pelton

CEO & President, The Boston Foundation
Lee's Bio

Susan F. Tierney

Senior Advisor, Analysis Group
Sue's Bio

Our Team

Racial and Ethnic Diversity of Barr Staff

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

34 Staff Respondents

We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace. Learn more about who we are and our staff demographics by visiting our GuideStar profile.

Asian or Asian American (4)

Staff members who identify as Asian or Asian American.

Black or African American (5)

Staff members who identify as Black or African American.

Hispanic, Latinx (4)

Staff members who identify as Hispanic or Latinx.

Multiracial or multiethnic (1)

Staff members who identify as Multiracial or Multiethnic.

White (19)

Staff members who identify as White.

Additional ethnicities (1)

Interested In Joining Our Team?

See Current Job Openings

Recent Barr News

Read more blog posts about the Foundation