Sunday Meetings Suspended
At this time, the Boston Ethical Community has no public Sunday meetings scheduled.
BEC Announces 2017 Grant Awards
The Grant Committee’s months-long process of soliciting and evaluating grant proposals drew to a climax in late September with the final allocation of the grant budget. The Committee selected seven applicants to receive grants in areas ranging from political asylum to homelessness and food justice.
The seven grantees for 2017 are:
, Cambridge ($4728). Funding to train student leaders in the movement for divestment of fossil fuels from college and university endowment portfolios.
, Boston ($10,000).College Bound Dorchester seeks out “youth core influencers” and offers them the support they need to prepare for and successfully attend a 2- or 4-year college program.
(Lawrence ($5000). Funding for their project to help troubled teens.
($10,000). Funding for the .
, Lincoln ($10,000). Funding to support youth programs in sustainable agriculture in several urban locations.
, Boston ($10,000). Funding to aid grantees of political asylum and a new post-grant manual and services to help those who have been granted asylum navigate the paths to a green card and eventual citizenship.
, Cambridge ($10,000). Funding to support a shelter for homeless youth in Cambridge. Y2Y is a project of the .
The Grant Committee members visited each of the grantees at their respective locations as part of the selection process. Without exception, the selected applicants were impressive for their operation, their vitality, and their dedication to their work.
Summer Recess
Boston Ethical Community is now on summer break.
If you have a question about our grants program, send it to [email protected].
Labor
Submitted by Marvin Miller
May Day, May 1, International Workers’ Day, which originated in the U.S. but is celebrated mostly elsewhere, is an appropriate time to think about labor.
Throughout human history until very recently, the acquisition of subsistence has depended on the effort of muscle, both human muscle and that of their domesticated animals. This dependence began to change with the industrial revolution when people learned how to use non-muscular energy — wind, water, steam, and electricity. Now, most of the energy that people use is not muscular.
Grantmaking 2.0
Submitted by Fred Hewett
The second year of grantmaking at Boston Ethical Community is now underway, following on our success in 2016. In our first year, we made grants to five deserving nonprofits, all of which, by the end of this program season, will have made presentations at our Sunday meetings. Seeing the full cycle, from the grant proposals through to the actual implementations, gives us confidence and encouragement to continue our philanthropic work
June 11: Corey Dolgon, “Kill it to save it: An Autopsy of Capitalism’s Triumph Over Democracy”
Corey Dolgon is a professor of sociology at Stonehill College.
Professor Dolgon will talk about his new book, .
About Kill It to Save It:
“For decades now, American voters have been convinced to support public policies that only benefit those in power. But how do the powerful extract consent from citizens whose own self-interest and collective well-being are constantly denied? And why do so many Americans seem to have given up on quality public education, on safe food and safe streets, on living wages—even on democracy itself? Kill It to Save It lays bare the hypocrisy of contemporary US political discourse, documenting the historical and theoretical trajectory of capitalism’s triumph over democracy.”
June 4: Semi-Annual Members’ Meeting
All members are encouraged to attend this meeting to discuss the Community’s business.
May 28: Memorial Day Weekend Observance
BEC members and friends gather to observe the Memorial Day holiday. All welcome.
May 21: Alexandra Piñeros Shields, Essex County Community Organization
Alexandra Piñeros Shields is the Executive Director of the Essex County Community Organization.
BEC was proud to award a grant to the Essex County Community Organization last year to aid in their ongoing efforts to foster community relations on the North Shore.
From their website: “ECCO is a diverse network of congregations and organizations across the North Shore building relationships and power to put human dignity at the center of public life. We work together across race, class, and faith lines to ensure that all people on the North Shore can thrive, grow, and dream.”
May 14: TED Talk (video), “How to have better political conversations”
TED Talk by Robb Willer, followed by a discussion.
A quote from the talk: “If you want to persuade someone on some policy, it’s helpful to connect that policy to their underlying moral values. And when you say it like that it seems really obvious. Right?“