Advancing Educational Opportunity and Economic Mobility Across Greater Boston
WESTWOOD, MA – The Trustees of the Yawkey Foundation today announced $295,000 in Program & Small Capital grants to education-focused nonprofit organizations in Greater Boston. These grants continue the philanthropic legacy of the Foundation’s founders, Jean and Tom Yawkey, and their enduring commitment to expanding access to quality education and economic opportunity.
Since 1977, the Yawkey Foundation has invested more than $132 million in education initiatives that strengthen pathways to academic achievement, career readiness, and economic mobility across the communities the Yawkeys called home – Greater Boston and Georgetown, South Carolina.
“Education has the power to transform not just individual lives, but entire communities,” said Alicia Verity, CEO of the Yawkey Foundation. “These organizations are doing the essential work of opening doors for individuals who too often face barriers to opportunity – whether that means providing a rigorous college-preparatory education, guiding first-generation students through the path to and through college, or building the skills and confidence that lead to lasting resilience and self-sufficiency.”
The 2026 Education Program & Small Capital Grant Recipients:
Bethel Institute for Community Development
Foundation to Advance Catholic Education
The Foundation also sustains multi-year partnerships with organizations providing educational opportunity across the region, including a $3 million grant to Lawrence Catholic Academy and a $2.5 million grant to Franklin Cummings Tech.
These grants also build upon the Foundation’s ongoing investments in college scholarships through the Foundation’s signature Yawkey scholarship program, endowed scholarships for community service learning, and longstanding support of the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars program.
Program & Small Capital Grants support impactful nonprofit organizations in delivering on their core missions by funding innovative programming, vital small-scale projects, and essential equipment. Grant amounts typically reach up to $100,000 for immediate, discrete, time-bound initiatives that are critical to an organization’s work.