Medford’s Community Fund Committee Awards over $250,000 in grant funding to Medford-focused nonprofits

The following was submitted by the city of Medford: 

Through the city’s Community Fund Committee, 43 nonprofits that serve the Medford community have been awarded over $250,000 in grant funding to be used to expand services, resources and outreach, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced.

The committee opened the fourth-round application process in September and established a deadline of Oct. 31 for submissions. Each applicant submitted a project description, accounting for how the funding would help assist their organization’s needs and provide a broader scope of their work to enhance the community’s priorities.

In this round, the city received a record number of applications, nearly 50 in total, with funding requests totaling over $650,000. With a limited amount of funding, the committee had to carefully analyze each submission and determine where the funding would have the most positive impact.

At the end of the discussion process, the committee unanimously decided to award 43 nonprofits with funding.

The mayor identified alternate funding sources for two nonprofits that were not awarded grant funding this round. Additionally, committee member Erin Murphy-Rafferty was able to secure funding, through her employer Suffolk Construction, to help fund the American Legion’s two grant applications that will support veteran housing and make facility upgrades.

“We had an overwhelming number of submissions this year which made this process quite difficult, but I’m thrilled the committee was able to award over $250,000 in funding to so many deserving organizations,” Lungo-Koehn said. “I’m especially thankful for the generosity of Suffolk Construction for agreeing to fund the American Legion’s projects that support our veterans. Thank you to the members of the committee for their thoughtfulness and expertise as we finalized this round of funding.”

Congratulations to following organizations on their Community Fund Grant Awards:

• Action for Boston Community Development

• American Legion Post 45

• Arts Collaborative Medford

• ArtsAlive Medford

• Baden-Powell Service Association of Mystic Valley

• Brooks School PTO

• CACHE in Medford

• Chevalier Theatre Organ Society

• Down by Riverside

• Evangelical Church of Holiness

•  Food Link

• Friends of Medford Rowing

• Friends of Medford Recreation

• Friends of the Medford Public Library

• Housing Families

• Malden Warming Center

• McGlynn Elementary PTO

• McGlynn/Andrews Middle School PTO

• Medford Band Parent Organization

• Medford Chamber of Commerce

• Medford Community Chorale and Youth/Young Adult Chorus

• Medford Educational Foundation

• Medford Farmer's Market

• Medford Invitational Tournaments

• Medford Professional Firefighters Association

• Medford Recreational Hockey

• Medford Senior Citizens

• Medford-Brooks Estate Land Trust

• Medforge Community Makerspace

• MHS-MVTHS PTO

• Missituk Elementary School PTO

• Mystic Players Revival

• Mystic River Watershed Association

• Mystic Valley Elder Services

• Mystic Valley YMCA

• RISE Multicultural Services

• Roberts Elementary PTO

• Shiloh Baptist Church

• The Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition

• The Immigrant Learning Center

• The Welcome Project

• Trees Medford

• Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1012

The Community Fund Committee was initially created as part of the Surrounding Community Agreement between the City of Medford and Wynn, MA LLC (Encore) and was tasked with determining the best utilization of the annual Community Fund Payments received by the city. In June 2024, the committee awarded over $200,000 in funding to 36 nonprofits.

Eligibility and Reporting Requirements

To be eligible to receive funds, applicants must be a registered 501(c)(3) and either a Medford-based organization or an organization that services Medford residents. Organizations that received funding in the previous grant round and have yet to expend all monies relevant to your project, were not eligible to apply.

If an organization was awarded funding in this current round, as a requirement, you are expected to produce quarterly reports on your project's progress. In addition, you are also required to send monthly invoices and/or receipts to the City of Medford for reimbursement. As a reminder, this money should only be used to support Medford residents or for the benefit of a Medford based 501(c)(3).

All awardees will receive a formal letter outlining the specific details of their reporting requirements.