Company Profile
Company Overview
The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusettsis a tax-exempt public charity founded in 1995 to improve the quality of life in Southeastern Massachusetts by facilitating, advising, convening and/or responding to critical community issues. The Community Foundation offers donors, both individuals and organizations, flexibility in fulfilling their philanthropic goals. Individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help their region meet the challenges of changing times. The Foundation invests and administers these funds, with assets pooled for investment purposes. Individual funds in turn make grants benefiting charitable organizations in Southeastern Massachusetts.
While the Foundation’s primary grant-making focus is the SouthCoast communities of Greater New Bedford, Greater Fall River and Southern Plymouth County, the Foundation serves 41 cities and towns throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Since 2005, the Foundation has distributed more than $20 million in grants and scholarships, with $3.5 million awarded in the most recent year. These distributions come from 225 funds with total assets of $33.5 million that support youth programs, expand economic opportunities, increase educational attainment, promote sustainability, invest in the creative economy and, through the Women’s Fund, improve the economic status of women and girls.
The Foundation also facilitates community initiatives by partnering with and convening other agencies and groups. Recent initiatives include the Early Literacy Initiative, the SouthCoast Youth Alliance, and the Education Roundtable.
With 2015 marking the 20th anniversary of the Foundation, the Board believes the Foundation is well positioned to continue to vigorously pursue our vision of a better quality of life for our region. For example, as a leader in education, the Foundation manages 75 education funds, including 5 local educational foundations, 62 scholarship funds, and 15 educational funds for individual schools and programs. The Foundation sponsors AHA! (Art History Architecture), which organizes the monthly arts and culture nights in New Bedford and now in Fall River as well. One of the flagship funds at the Foundation is SEEAL (the Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance), whose mission is to support its partners’ capacity to provide quality environmental education and stewardship in our region. The Foundation also focuses on building the capacity of other non-profits in the region by providing training and technical assistance.
Company History
The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts was launched in 1995 by a group of dedicated volunteers who wanted to create a new avenue for encouraging philanthropy in Southeastern Massachusetts.
The seeds for the Community Foundation were planted in 1991 by a group of concerned citizens who formed a steering committee to discuss the need for a public community foundation. Over the next four years, a feasibility study funded by the Island and the Polaroid foundations was conducted, the first Corporators meeting was held, and a board of directors was appointed in 1994.
In 1995, CFSEMA incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, obtained nonprofit tax-exempt status from the IRS, and hired Anne M. Beaulieu as its first president. The Foundation’s first $100,000 gift was received that year, and in 1997 CFSEMA received a gift of one million dollars to establish the drug abuse prevention and education effort known as Youth Entitled to Success (Project YES). Since then, the Community Foundation has grown to include 225 funds and more than $33 million in assets.