Guidelines for Applicants
Background of Charlesview, Inc.
Charlesview, Inc. is an interdenominational, faith-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization comprised of three area congregations: Congregation Kadimah Toras-Moshe, St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church, and Brighton Community United Methodist Church. The organization that included two other local churches of the time—the Methodist Churches of Allston and Brighton and Saint Gabriel Passionist Parish—built the original Charlesview Apartments located in the North Allston neighborhood of Boston in the 1970s to provide quality housing to low- and moderate- income individuals and families. That property was sold allowing Charlesview, Inc. and its partners to redevelop and occupy the new Charlesview Residences in 2013, less than half a mile from the original location. We are proud to note that Charlesview Residences includes a thriving community center and has received several prestigious local and national awards for its design and operation.
Vision/Mission:
The Charlesview story is one of community empowerment, interfaith cooperation and collaborative public/private partnerships. Inspired by the shared values of their faiths and their long-term commitment and ability to work together since 1968 to build and sustain affordable housing, the board representing the partnering congregations of Charlesview, Inc. created the Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger and Charlesview Community Fund in 2013. Named in memory of a founding Charlesview, Inc. board director, the Fund aims to help the Allston-Brighton community’s efforts to be a thriving neighborhood where opportunities abound, and all residents can reach their potential. The Fund will join with other community efforts to provide additional resources to nonprofits helping low- and moderate-income individuals and families living in Allston-Brighton to pursue their dreams.
Funding Priorities:
There are many existing resources and life-enriching relationships in the Allston-Brighton community. The Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger and Charlesview Community Fund aims to strengthen, deepen, and grow these resources and relationships and ensure that they benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and families who live in Allston-Brighton. The Fund targets its support in five core areas listed below. The following are examples of projects the Fund has considered but are not limited to.
- Education: Examples include after-school homework and enrichment programs, adult education, youth leadership development, citizenship preparation.
- Participatory Arts Education: Examples include youth and adult art and/or music programs, community arts projects, expressive therapies.
- Health/Mental Wellness: Examples include physical, social, emotional wellness programs, nutrition, disease-specific programming, substance use services, programs that address an identified health disparity in the community for individuals, families or groups.
- Housing/Shelter: Examples include housing readiness programs, resident leadership and empowerment efforts, housing transition and stabilization services.
- Workforce/Asset Development: Examples include job readiness and training, financial literacy.
The Fund will give priority to nonprofit organizations that are expanding services, need support in leveraging other resources to provide improved services, or require seed funding to launch a new innovation. Capacity-building projects will also be considered. The Fund will allow up to 20 percent of the requested grant to be used for general operating expenses. All proposed services MUST specifically and primarily serve the Allston-Brighton community. Periodically, the Charlesview, Inc. board will re-evaluate the Fund’s priorities and giving process.
Of note, while the Fund targets organizations headquartered or already heavily invested in the Allston/Brighton neighborhood, it will consider organizations from Greater Boston that are interested in expanding their work to the Allston/Brighton community. Public and private schools will not be directly funded but are encouraged to partner with organizations to submit applications in any of the core areas. Moreover, we strongly urge applicants to partner with other organizations or local schools to increase the effectiveness and reach of the proposed programming.
Community projects sponsored by Charlesview, Inc’s partnering congregations may also apply annually to the Fund but must be consistent with the Fund’s procedures and priorities.
Examples of Previous Awardees include: Brazilian Women’s Group to expand outreach to immigrants in the Allston/Brighton community; Allston/Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force to develop increase the youth coalition and develop an alcohol messaging campaign with the coalition and college age youth; The Literacy Connection to increase individualized tutoring for Non-English speakers; Community Rowing, Inc. for a collaborating with the Oak Square YMCA to provide youth with opportunities to row on the Charles; Kithara Project to provide classical guitar lessons to youth in the community; Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts to develop and train area parents as “Child Watch” provider and to add additional bi-lingual staff to increase outreach in early intervention programming; and Project Citizenship to provide citizenship application services to Allston/Brighton residents.
Kithara Project
Kithara Project’s mission is to improve the lives and opportunities of children and youth through the classical guitar. Kithara Project currently serves over 130 students in four comprehensive, year-round guitar education programs: the first, at the Fiorentino Community Center, in Allston; the second, in Mexico City; the third, in Albuquerque, NM; and the fourth, in Brighton, at the Oak Square YMCA.
