YouthBuild Boston Receives Community Empowerment Grant

Last week, YouthBuild Boston was 1 of 62 organizations awarded the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant in the inaugural round of funding!

Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy made the announcement at UTEC - one of the grant recipients. The Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program is supporting projects and programming that are designed to respond to community-defined economic opportunities within eligible communities. The competitive, one-year grants support applicants seeking to address issues in communities that have historically faced disproportionate challenges to economic growth. Additionally, to achieve the program’s equity goals, projects in locations that have experienced high rates of incarceration and widespread poverty, or are in communities comprised of traditionally disadvantaged and underrepresented populations, were prioritized.

The 62 grant recipients represent 17 communities from across the Commonwealth with efforts focused on workforce development, small business development, community health, high school dropout prevention, and housing stabilization. Among the awardees, 26 are in Gateway Cities; 44 are self-identified Minority Owned and/or Woman Owned Business Enterprises; four are self-identified LGBTQ Owned Business Enterprises; and 15 are first-time vendors with the Commonwealth. “Investing in community-led efforts to promote economic growth is of paramount importance, especially as we recover from the damage done by COVID-19,” said Speaker of the House Ronald J. Mariano. “These Community Empowerment and Reinvestment grants will play a critical role in helping historically underserved communities across the Commonwealth continue to build back from the hardships brought on by the pandemic.”

YouthBuild Boston is honored to be amongst so many amazing organizations working to strengthen historically marginalized communities across Massachusetts.

Please take a moment to read the full press release from Governor Baker’s Office.