MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced John F. Kennedy Family Service Center as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. The Kennedy Center received $2 Million.
The John F. Kennedy Family Service Center is a multi-service organization dedicated to increasing the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children, families, and seniors in need. For nearly 60 years, the “Kennedy Center” has provided early education programs, community and family support, and Home Care for elders. The Center’s longstanding mission has been to provide individuals and families in Charlestown with opportunities and tools they need to lead productive and fulfilling lives. The Kennedy Center continually adapts specific services to meet the current needs. During the COVID pandemic, this mission took the form of distributing food, PPE and other supplies throughout the neighborhood, organizing testing and vaccination sites and creating “school at home” kits for families with young children in lockdown.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.
“We are immensely proud to have received this gift! Support from Yield Giving ensures that we can sustain critical services while expanding opportunities to meet the changing needs of our community,” said Thara Fuller, Executive Director. “We are grateful for the recognition of our work, and the support from our Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers who remain deeply committed to making a difference in the daily lives of individuals and families in need. With this award, we will continue to feed the hungry, nurture children, and care for elders.”
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
The John F. Kennedy Family Service Center, Inc. is a multi-service non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children, families, and seniors in need. For nearly sixty years, the Kennedy Center has established a reputation for the delivery of high-quality social service programs for residents of Charlestown, MA.
Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.