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Greater Lawrence Summer Fund

Powering Summer Opportunities for Young People

The Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF) focuses on closing the opportunity and achievement gaps for thousands of youth in greater Lawrence each year by increasing access to enrichment and academic opportunities during the summer months.

For more than 30 years, GLSF has supported high-quality summer programs that:

  • Enhance social, emotional and academic abilities
  • Promote safety and physical and mental health
  • Advance skills development and reduce summer learning loss

Grant Guidelines

funding priorities

The Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF) supports enriching summer opportunities for young people in Greater Lawrence by supporting programs that:

  • Provide young people with opportunities for skill development, personal growth, joy, restoration and exposure to new experiences.
  • Provide enriching educational opportunities that reduce summer learning loss and the opportunity gap.
  • Affirm, preserve, and celebrate racial and cultural identity
  • Promote and encourage interaction, communication, and relationship building among youth and staff
eligibility

Applicants must have a 501(c)(3) tax status under the IRS tax code and serve residents of the designated communities of Lawrence, Methuen, Andover, and North Andover.

Agencies located outside the area are eligible to apply but proposals must include details on how Greater Lawrence youth are able to participate. (e.g. transportation is a factor in approving such programs.) Approved programs should reserve funds received from GLSF to youth from the designated communities.

ECCF is committed to non-discrimination. We support organizations that use all reasonable efforts to recruit, hire, train, promote and serve persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law, except where such status is a bona fide qualification for the service being provided and is related to the organization’s mission.

Stand alone programs within umbrella organizations may be eligible if they meet the following criteria:

  • The umbrella organization provides the 501(c)3 status but not much more.
  • The program has a separate budget and raises its own funds to cover this budget. (Note: If the program has only a small amount of administrative costs covered by the umbrella organization, they are still eligible to apply.)
  • There is a letter of agreement/understanding between the program and the umbrella organization.
  • The program is core to the mission of the umbrella organization and serves a substantial number of the core client population.

GLSF grants will not be awarded:

  • To individuals.
  • For sectarian or religious purposes. Note: GLSF is limited to non-sectarian programming for youth of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. Programs sponsored by religious organizations are eligible, provided enrollment is open to all youth, and the program is free of mandatory religious instruction, worship, or other sectarian activities.
  • For political purposes.
  • For debt or deficit reduction.
  • For capital campaigns for buildings, land acquisition or endowment.
  • To support academic research.

Residential camps should meet American Camping Association (ACA) guidelines. Day programs should meet the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) licensing requirements.

selection criteria

In addition to the priorities outlined above, we consider the following:

  • Strong leadership that is diverse, inclusive, and representative of the community it serves
  • Ability, expertise, and relationships to achieve the program’s intended impact
  • Demonstration of equity and inclusion as values
  • The program should be fiscally sound with a balanced budget
application deadline

March 15, 2024

application procedure

Proposals must be submitted through ECCF’s Application Portal.

If you do not yet have a login for our application Portal, please read our Grant Application Process page which will give you access to the Portal.

review process

ECCF staff, together with the GLSF Committee members, reviews all proposals to the Fund each spring. The Committee makes grant recommendations to the ECCF Board of Trustees for approval. The review process takes approximately two months. Our goal is to notify agencies of the grant award by the end of May, well in advance of program start dates.

The GLSF Committee awards grants to agencies based on need and quality of programming. These are established through Committee proposal reviews and the information gained through annual site visits which are done while the programs are in session.

A staff person or member of the Committee may contact applicants for additional information about a proposal or to arrange a site visit during the review process.  The Committee may also contact other funders, community leaders or local agencies to learn more about the organization applying for funds and to discuss the outlined plans.  Copies of proposals submitted to ECCF may be shared with others during the review process.

reporting requirements

GLSF grant recipients must submit a final report via the application via the application portal by October 1

2023 Summer Fund Grantees

Summer Fund Grantees

Aaron’s Presents, Inc.

ACT Lawrence

acting Out Theater

Beyond Soccer, Inc.

Blessed Stephen Bellesini, OSA Academy, Inc.

Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence

Brooks School

Central Catholic High School

Communities Together, Inc.

Elevated Thought Foundation Inc.

Esperanza Academy

Essex Art Center

Family Services of the Merrimack Valley

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts

Greater Lawrence Community Boating

Groundwork Lawrence

Ironstone Farm

Lawrence Community Works

Lawrence Family Development, Inc d/b/a Lawrence Prospera

Lawrence History Center

Lawrence Public Library

Lawrence Recreation Department

Merrimack College

Merrimack Valley Immigrant & Education Center, Inc.

Merrimack Valley Spartans Football and Cheer

Merrimack Valley YMCA

Methuen Arlington Neighborhood, Inc.

MSPCA-Angell

Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School

Phillips Academy Andover

Pingree School

ServingStars

Si, Se Puede

SquashBusters

St. Ann’s Home and School, Inc.

Suenos Basketball Inc

Teach For America – Massachusetts

The Community Group, Inc.

The Governor’s Academy

UNH Tech Camp

Utopia Dance Company

Windrush Farm Therapeutic Equitation, Inc.

Youth Development Organization

YWCA Northeastern Massachusetts

APPLICATION PORTAL

APPLICATION DEADLINE

March 15, 2024

GRANTS NOTIFICATION

By May 31

GRANT RANGE

Up to $15,000 (Average is $6,000)

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATIONS

Limited to summer programs serving youth from the Greater Lawrence communities of Lawrence, Methuen, Andover, and North Andover.

FINAL REPORT FORMS

Final reports should be submitted through the Application Portal.

GLSF 2023 Report

nonprofits & grants

get in touch

Carol Lavoie Schuster headshot

Hehershe Busuego

Director of Programs & Racial Equity
(978) 777-8876 x128
h.busuego@eccf.org

how can we help?

We would love to hear from you.

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  1. 175 Andover Street, Suite 101
    Danvers, Massachusetts 01923