Community Endowment of Lexington Awards Nearly $25,000 in Grants

On June 19, the Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL), an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest, awarded grants totaling $24,570 to six nonprofit and town organizations serving the Lexington community. This latest round of grantmaking brings the CEL’s total giving to more than $134,000 since its founding in 2013. The award celebration was coupled with a Thanks a Million event in celebration of the CEL reaching its $1 million endowment goal.

“We are honored to support a range of programs and projects that will have a meaningful impact on town residents,” said Nancy White, co-chair of the Community Endowment of Lexington. “Our grantmaking is thanks to the generosity of neighbors who are committed to fostering a strong sense of community and care for future generations.”

CEL funds organizations working to strengthen the Lexington community in the areas of Arts and Culture, Community Building, Health and Human Services, and the Environment. The 2018 CEL grantees include:

• Friends of Lexington Bikeways. To support a tri-town community celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway that will feature events in Lexington, Arlington and Bedford, and along the bikeway.
• Lexington Chamber Music Center. To support The Front Porch Project, which is aimed to explore intentionally slowing down and creating purposeful, community-focused concerts on neighborhood front porches.
• Lexington Historical Society. To support a season-long celebration commemorating the centennial anniversary of the ending of WWI. The celebration will include lectures, exhibits, programs, and a panel discussion.
• Special Needs Arts Programs, Inc. To launch a pilot ceramics program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Town of Lexington. To purchase tablets that are outfitted with a translation application to improve communication between town staff and Lexington residents and visitors whose first language is not English.
• William Diamond Junior Fife & Drum Corps, Inc. To purchase, as part of the Corp’s first capital campaign, five new authentic-quality fifes and three hand-sewn uniforms, benefiting multiple generations of Lexington’s youth.

The CEL seeks to invest in Lexington-based initiatives that are: creating forums for community dialogue and education; advancing and protecting the rights of vulnerable community members; encouraging the development of new leaders; and building local wealth to accelerate social progress. A group of local Lexington residents form the CEL Community Board, and with the support of additional resident input, work collectively to decide on the most impactful grants for the Lexington community.

About Community Endowment of Lexington

The Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL), an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest, promotes a spirit of philanthropic giving to help enhance the quality of life for all Lexington citizens now, and for the future. CEL is a permanent grantmaking source of funding to support our community needs and opportunities, and provide ways for donors to give back or leave a legacy to our community. For more information, visit www.foundationformetrowest.org/Lexington.

About Foundation for MetroWest

Established in 1995, the Foundation for MetroWest is the only community foundation serving the 33 cities and towns in the region. We promote philanthropy in the region, help donors maximize the impact of their local giving, serve as a resource for local nonprofits and enhance the quality of life for all our residents. Since inception, the Foundation has granted $15 million to charitable organizations and currently stewards more than $22 million in charitable assets for current needs and future impact. To learn more, please visit www.foundationformetrowest.org or call 508-647-2260.