MFI Legacy Fund Grant Pays Huge Dividends to Medfield

The following provided by the Medfield Foundation, Inc.

Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund Grant Pays Huge Dividends to Medfield

When the Medfield Youth Outreach team from Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) submitted a grant request to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund team to hire Bright Solutions Consulting to review and assist with writing MCAP’s federal Drug Free Communities grant application, it seemed like a long shot. Those involved all believed that the goal of making Medfield a recognized Drug Free Community was worth pursuing.

The Legacy Fund team took a chance on MCAP and awarded it a $5,000 grant in November 2018 and MCAP immediately went to work with the consultant on their federal grant application. The grant request was submitted in early 2019 and the team waited for the big announcement. On November 6, 2019 it was announced that MCAP was awarded a FY 2019 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $625,000 paid over five years by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This grant will allow the coalition to hire a full-time prevention coordinator who will carry out evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing youth substance use in the Medfield community, services that have been proven to reduce substance abuse in other towns.

“The MCAP coalition owes the success of the DFC grant application to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund grant, which allowed MCAP to hire an experienced grant writer,” said Chelsea Goldstein-Walsh LICSW, the Interim Director of Medfield Youth Outreach. “We are looking forward to launching a proactive and comprehensive effort to decrease youth substance use and promote wellness in the community.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is an endowment established for the long-term benefit of the Medfield community which will also engage in annual grant-making to support community-driven projects. “This is exactly how we see the funds from the Legacy Fund being used to benefit Medfield,” said Todd Trehubenko, co-chair of the MFi Legacy Fund. “We think of the grants we can provide to be like an accelerant, helping add fuel to help grow programs and services that benefit Medfield residents.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund’s fundraising goal of $1,000,000 will enable the fund to grant annual funding requests. They are currently looking for founders/investors to help build the endowment which will enable this level of giving back to the community.

About Medfield Foundation

The Medfield Foundation (MFi) is a 100% volunteer run 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation whose mission is to enrich the lives of Medfield residents, build a stronger community, and facilitate the raising and allocation of private funds for public needs in the town of Medfield. Since its inception in 2001, the Medfield Foundation has raised over $2,300,000 (Yes, two million three hundred thousand dollars!) to support community-wide initiatives in Medfield.

MFi was founded based on the realization that some residents were interested in contributing more than town taxes to support projects and services that would enrich life in Medfield. You are urged to go to http://medfieldfoundation.org to learn more.