History

Foley Hoag LLP has a long history of civic activities and pro bono publico legal representation.

The Foley Hoag Foundation is an outgrowth of that tradition. In 1980 Foley Hoag LLP received compensation for its successful representation of certain plaintiffs in the so-called Boston School Desegregation Case.

Established in 1981 as the only foundation in Boston to focus exclusively on the improvement of race relations, the Foley Hoag Foundation has had a front row seat to an eventful period in the city's history.

The foundation has shown extraordinary ambition and has benefited from a dedicated board including J. Elizabeth Harris, Hubie Jones, and Michael Keating. In 2007, two new board members were recruited to succeed Ms. Harris and Mr. Jones, whose combined years of service total nearly half a century. Mossik Hacobian is the executive director of Urban Edge Community Development Corporation, and Jeanne Pinado is the director of Madison Park Community Development Corporation. These two nonprofit organizations have contributed enormously to the quality of life in inner-city Boston.

Among its distinguishing features are a regular payout of 20 percent of assets, a low administrative budget, a stated interest in leveraging other funders, a well-attended annual meeting for grantees, and a youth advisory group.

The foundation was the first in Boston to have a youth-advised fund, and over 50 young people have served on its advisory board. Their recommendations have accounted for approximately 25 percent of the foundation’s payout.

Since 1981, the Foundation has awarded grants to totaling $1,319,388 to nearly 250 organizations. The trustees are fortunate to have the unqualified endorsement of Foley Hoag LLP, which has provided an enormous amount of financial, administrative and moral support.

Grantmaking Trends

The Foundation was established in the aftermath of Boston’s school busing crisis, a period of profound racial tension for the city. The partners of Foley Hoag and the Foundation’s trustees agreed that the Foundation would prove most effective by supporting those organizations that confronted racism head-on. The composition of the city has changed dramatically since 1980 and the Foundation now has a different set of issues and challenges to address.

The decade of the 1980s required immediate confrontation of the stark effects of school desegregation. Neighborhood tensions were of paramount concern and grants were made for programs that combated racism in a very direct manner. The 1990s evidenced a shift from overt to covert racism often manifested by a rise in youth violence. The Foundation shifted emphasis to youth leadership initiatives.

Recently, the arrival of immigrant populations from Brazil, Cape Verde, Central America, Haiti, Ireland and Vietnam has added a richness and complexity to Boston’s city’s racial dynamics, helping to blur long-established neighborhood boundaries and to soften what has been primarily a black/white struggle. As Boston has become a more diverse city, the issue of racism has become more complex. These new waves of immigration, coupled with state and local education and welfare reform and the effective re-segregation of the public schools, present a new set of challenges that are in many respects as difficult to address as manifestations of outright prejudice.

Minorities, now a collective majority in the city, remain disenfranchised in key areas of housing, education, and employment. Boston’s patchwork of neighborhoods, while adding to the city’s character and charm, can serve to reinforce entrenched patterns of social isolation, segregated housing and schooling, and income inequality.

On a positive note, the trustees have witnessed dramatic improvement in Boston’s racial climate. Progress in race-related matters has been incontestable, and the trustees are particularly pleased with the leadership shown by the city’s diverse and entrepreneurial nonprofit sector in addressing issues of social isolation.

Youth Advisory Board

In 1992, the Foley Hoag Foundation established a Youth Advisory Group, enabling trustees and staff to communicate directly with Boston youth who are impacted by racism.

Two years later, in 1994, a Youth Advised Grant Program was established, the first such group in the city. More than sixty young people served on this advisory board and their recommendations accounted for approximately twenty-five percent of the Foundation’s grants.

During this time, trustees and Grants Management Associates staff introduced teen participants to philanthropy and nonprofit activity by providing training in the proposal review process and budget analysis. These youth gained experience in the unique field of philanthropy and community service and learned about nonprofit organizations in the city, philanthropy and its workings and ways in which organizations try to combat racism. Grants from the Youth Advised Grant Program met the general guidelines of the Foundation and directly involved youth in program leadership.

At the end of 2002, the Foundation began the Metro Boston Equity Initiative and to engage more young associates at the law firm in the proposal review process. These changes brought an end to the Youth Advisory Board, at least for now. The trustees remain grateful to the many youthful volunteers who helped set the Foundation's direction during a critical time in the life of the city. Their perspective was unique and persuasive, and remains a lasting influence.

The Metro Boston Equity Initiative

In 2003, the Trustees commissioned the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University to undertake an in-depth study of race relations in present-day Boston. This first comprehensive regional study undertaken by the national academic center was made possible with generous support from the Boston Foundation, the Hyams Foundation, the Fannie Mae Foundation and the John Hancock Foundation who joined with the foundation in sponsoring the project.

The Initiative's series of research papers examined residential segregation in the larger metropolitan area, and documented how this phenomenon contributes to profound inequities in public education and opportunities for employment and economic advancement.

The first phase of the research was presented at a national “Color Lines Conference” in August of 2003. Sponsored by the Harvard University Civil Rights Project, the conference examined the changing nature of race and civil rights policy in the 21st century.

For more information on the Metro Boston Initiative, please contact Grants Management Associates.