Investing in our community
Boston Children’s is helping to spark and create lasting social and environmental improvements through making investments in projects that benefit the health of our local community. These investments are comprised of discretionary capital out of Boston Children’s endowment funds that Boston Children’s has designated for community development loans.
Making investments is one of the four pillars in Boston Children’s Anchor strategy. This means that the hospital will identify projects that are in need of flexible funding such as low interest, long-term loans and provides them with funds to get started, expand, or help secure additional funding.
The hospital invests in projects that benefit children and families who are experiencing the greatest health inequities. It also looks at how the investments can support certain populations, neighborhoods, and communities that are a priority for Boston Children’s Community Mission.
Projects of interest may include those that provide affordable housing for families, improve access to food, education, and child care, or support minority or women-owned businesses.
A Community Investment Advisory Committee, which includes both Boston Children’s staff and external advisors, helps the Office of Community Health and the Investment Office in finding, reviewing, and advising on which potential investments to make.
Boston Children’s partners with community-based organizations, local philanthropies, government, and other healthcare institutions to ensure resources are aligned and that these investments are meeting the needs of our community.
A few examples of recent investments are below:
Affordable housing
Boston Children’s is partnering with New Hope Community Capital and The Community Builders to provide early-stage financing for transit-oriented, mixed-income and mixed-use housing projects with for families in the Jackson Square and Allston-Brighton neighborhoods.
Food
In partnership with the BOS Collaborative, a partnership convened by Boston Medical Center, Boston Children’s is using the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. to provide a recoverable grant to City Fresh Foods to provide additional quality jobs and employee stock options.
Minority-owned businesses
Partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corp. Massachusetts, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and BayCoast Bank on the Massachusetts Small Business Growth Fund to build wealth for businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color in Boston and the South Coast of Massachusetts.