The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) has been selected as one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program, which awarded $35 million this year. Chosen through a competitive review process that drew a record 959 applicants, the Boston-based organization will receive $750,000 over 10 years.
Headquartered at BAGLY’s Downtown Boston Community Center — the only LGBTQ+ youth community center in the city — BAGLY serves thousands of young people annually through its three programs: Health & Wellness, Stabilization & Success (SANDS), and Youth Leadership & Advocacy (YLA). BAGLY’s programs address three identified community issues facing LGBTQ+ youth, and disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ youth of color, transgender and gender-expansive youth, and LGBTQ+ youth who are living at or below the poverty line. To maximize accessibility, all of BAGLY’s programs, events, and services are provided free of charge.
“All of us at BAGLY are excited and inspired by the robust and ongoing support from the Cummings Foundation,” says Grace Sterling Stowell, BAGLY’s Executive Director. “With this level of commitment, BAGLY’s life-saving, life-changing programs will continue to help LGBTQ+ youth build a supportive community for themselves and their friends, receive factual and affirming healthcare information and services, and take action in their communities on behalf of all of us. Nearly 5,000 LGBTQ+ youth, throughout the Commonwealth, look to BAGLY and the AGLY Network to be there for them when no one else is, and the Cummings Foundation’s 10-year commitment means we’ll be there for them when they need us.”
This year, the Woburn-based Cummings Foundation increased its annual grant program from $30 million to $35 million and shifted to fully unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to direct grant dollars where they are needed most.
Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes noted that the changes reflect growing concerns among Greater Boston nonprofits about rising costs, increased demand for services, and sustained uncertainty around public funding.
— from a BAGLY press release
More: bagly.org; cummingsfoundation.org