Hear from staff and partners about aspirations, accomplishments, and lessons learned along the way.

Erin Long via Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts

Arts Leaders Team Up to Address Shared Challenges

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E. San San Wong

Director of Arts & Creativity

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Jamilah Bradshaw

Program Officer, Arts & Creativity

With new funds for collaboration, four pairs of grantee partners in Barr’s ArtsAmplified initiative pursue solutions to benefit their communities and the broader arts and nonprofit sectors.

October 11, 2024 | Category: Arts & Creativity

Announcing the 2024 Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts Fellows

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John Travis

Senior Program Officer, Education

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April McKoy

Guest Author · Senior Director, Springpoint

The call for transformative leadership went out, educators from across the state answered.

September 26, 2024 | Category: Education

Barr Awards $34.5 Million in Third Quarter of 2024

New grants will support community-based organizations advancing transportation and climate justice efforts across Massachusetts, literacy and youth leadership development programming for students, and art and cultural spaces that nurture community and connection.

September 24, 2024 | Category: Barr News

Strong Relationships with Grantees Are Essential to Effective Philanthropy

Man smiling and looking at the camera in front of a colorful painting.

Jim Canales

President & Trustee

Roger Nozaki

Roger Nozaki

Vice President for Strategy and Programs

What we learned from candid feedback from Barr’s grantees.

September 18, 2024 | Category: Learning and Evaluation

Our Last Stop on the Boston BRT: The Right Time to Step Away

[STAFF] Lisa Jacobson Brick Photo 2022

Lisa Jacobson

Senior Program Officer, Mobility

How we pivoted when the original vision wasn’t working. We thought we had a perfect plan to modernize Boston’s bus system — until it faced unanticipated roadblocks.

September 16, 2024 | Category: Climate

Exploring Arts Vibrancy in Massachusetts: Strengths and Opportunities

Jen Benoit- Bryan

Jen Benoit-Bryan

Guest Author · Director , SMU DataArts

Katie Ingersoll

Katie Ingersoll

Guest Author · Director of Communications, SMU DataArts

A new report and map produced by SMU DataArts for the Barr Foundation documents high levels of arts vibrancy across the state of Massachusetts and prompts an important conversation about who is included in arts datasets.

September 12, 2024 | Category: Arts & Creativity

Paying Arts Workers Equitably Improves Life for Everyone

Paying arts workers equitably improves life for everyone. It’s not only the right thing to do for art workers, but also the right thing to do for communities and art itself.

September 11, 2024 | Category: Arts & Creativity

Three Questions with Kathryn Wright, Senior Program Officer for Clean Energy at the Barr Foundation, and Jay Campbell, Partner at Hart Research

Sam Schacht

Sam Schacht

Guest Author · Project Manager, Clean Energy States Alliance

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Kathryn Wright

Senior Program Officer, Clean Energy

Interview: Sam Schacht of Clean Energy States Alliance speaks with Kathryn Wright, Senior Program Officer for Clean Energy at the Barr Foundation, and Jay Campbell, Partner at Hart Research about what we can learn from the findings from their offshore wind survey.

September 10, 2024 | Category: Climate

Announcing the 2024 Live Arts Boston Grantees

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Jamilah Bradshaw

Program Officer, Arts & Creativity

Catherine T. Morris

Catherine Morris

Director, Arts + Creativity, The Boston Foundation

Seeding futures for the performing arts—over $1 million in new grants to 30 individual artists in Greater Boston

August 08, 2024 | Category: Arts & Creativity

Five Questions with Natasha Ushomirsky, Program Officer, Education

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Natasha Ushomirsky

Senior Program Officer, Education

Natasha Ushomirsky, program officer for the Build Public Will portfolio, shares what inspires her commitment to community building for equity in education and how her life experiences inform her work.

July 22, 2024 | Category: Education