The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts is committed to increasing equity and opportunity so that all who live in our three counties have access to a satisfying quality of life.
Our Strategic Focus Areas to advance this vision:
We will use a portion of our resources to fund broadly to meet wide-ranging and evolving needs.
We will focus and lead in areas we believe will have significant impact on increasing equity and opportunity, utilizing all forms of capital to advance the following:
- Efforts to Meet Basic Human Needs deepening our focus on food security, housing access, and crisis response.
- Career Pathways Through Education and Training creating clearer and more accessible pathways for community members to reach their educational, career, and financial goals.
- Strengthen Arts and Creativity by helping to build a more inclusive, connected and well-resourced arts and creativity sector.
Exploratory Focus Areas:
We will also explore focus areas that allow us to clarify our role related to early childhood care and education and environmental sustainability through local action.
We will accomplish this work by:
- Listening deeply to understand the needs and assets of our community.
- Commissioning and disseminating data to increase understanding and innovation.
- Inspiring, connecting and partnering with donors to make their giving more impactful.
- Building coalitions and partnerships.
- Providing grants and scholarships to support organizations, people, and ideas.
- Advancing the organizational effectiveness of non-profits through trainings, convenings, and support materials.
- Strengthening our own Foundation systems and people, and building our financial resources to best support our vision for the future.