Boston, MA – The Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) announced today it has received a $35,000 grant from the Boston Foundation to support the general operations of CWE Eastern MA. With the support of this grant, CWE Eastern MA will provide training and technical assistance to 500 women (and men) throughout the Greater Boston area, providing them with the financial and business skills necessary to build resilient small businesses, create jobs, and generate income.

"This grant will help support our mission to economically empower women," Gabrielle King Morse, CWE President & CEO said today. We have witnessed the transformative effects when women succeed in business. It's not just about financial stability – it's about creating a ripple effect that touches their families, their communities, and the entire economy.

CWE was founded in 1995 and today serves more than 3,000 people in our CWE Eastern MA Women's Business Center by providing greater access to the resources, tools, and support they need to achieve business success.)

"Empowering women and business owners of color to succeed is vital if we are to make Boston a more equitable city. CWE has a track record of providing entrepreneurs and small business owners the critical training they need to establish and manage their businesses, create jobs and lead in their communities," said Orlando Watkins, Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Boston Foundation. "We are pleased to have been able to partner with CWE in this important work."

Funds for this grant come from the Boston Foundation's Permanent Fund for Boston, an endowed pool of funds built over more than a century by generous contributors who want to help the Greater Boston community thrive. Each year, the Boston Foundation distributes more than $15 million in discretionary grants and other resources from the Fund, which are largely awarded through a competitive process open to nonprofits serving the Foundation's catchment area, stewarded by the Foundation's Program Department staff and approved by the Foundation's Board of Directors.

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Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) is an inclusive economic empowerment organization helping women business owners and aspiring women entrepreneurs launch and grow their business by providing greater access to the resources, tools, and support they need.

Founded in 1915, the Boston Foundation is one of the most influential community foundations in the country. Partnering with community members, donors, the public sector, businesses, and nonprofits, we aim to repair past harms and build a more equitable future for our city and region. Supported by the Annual Campaign for Civic Leadership, we publish research into current critical issues, convene people in public forums to discuss the city's agenda and the region's trends—and use our shared knowledge to advocate for public policies that promote equity and opportunity for everyone. TBF is also one of New England's largest grantmakers, supporting nonprofits in Greater Boston through our endowment and working closely with our donors to support nonprofits locally, nationally, and internationally.

The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), a consulting unit of the Foundation, designs and implements customized philanthropic strategies for families, foundations and corporations around the globe. To learn more about the Foundation and its work, visit TBF.org.

Capacity Building, Technical Assistance, and other Beyond-the-Grant resources for current TBF Grantee Partners:

• Catchafire is an online platform designed to match your critical organizational needs with skilled volunteers who deliver responsive, flexible support to complete projects for your nonprofit that you might not otherwise have the human capital or budget to complete. Whether your organization needs a brand refresh, compensation plan, website build, email marketing templates, board assessment, copyediting, data dashboard, or everything in-between, you can learn all about the process of posting scoped projects, screening skilled volunteer candidates, and making a match, at the Catchafire website. If you are interested in participating, please email Leigh Handschuh, Senior Manager, Programs Learning and Engagement. Please note, the Boston Foundation will cover the Catchafire membership fee of interested nonprofit partners, with a limited number of first come, first served slots available on an annual basis.
• Nonprofit Update is a bi-monthly e-newsletter from the Boston Foundation&'s Programs Learning and Engagement team. Within each edition, you will find grant opportunities, RFPs, timely events and workshops, pro-bono resources, and tools for your organization. Please visit TBF's subscription page to sign up to receive the Nonprofit Update in your inbox.
• The Racial Equity Capacity Builders Directory connects nonprofits with racial equity consultants and programming support organizations to aid nonprofits in their efforts to advance racial equity within their organizations. We invite organizations to download the latest version of the Directory and watch the recording of a webinar facilitated by the authors of the Directory, which provides insights about how to hire a racial equity or DEI consultant and ready your organization to begin or continue this work.