Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
Community Foundation's New Leader Focuses on Equitable Economic Mobility
Foundation: Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Ford Foundation
When Katie Zobel announced in 2022 that she'd be stepping down as president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the agency in Springfield, Mass., was one of the first to draw her attention.
"I looked in the conference-room windows, and I saw the papers lining the walls detailing their strategic-planning process and all their priorities for the next year," Megan Burke, the new president and CEO, tells BusinessWest.
"There were no secrets, they just put it right out there."
Burke, who has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit management, philanthropy, fundraising, and advocacy, was recruited for the position at the same time she was being recruited for it.
She says she admired the organization's transparency," we need to be more like this" and after several rounds of interviews, she was picked to replace Zobel, who'd been with CFWM since 1991.
"I think I bring a lot to the job, but I have a lot to learn from the community about what they think is important and what they believe we should be doing better," Burke tells BusinessWest.
One of her goals is to amass similar forces and create momentum in her new role at CFWM, which serves 69 communities in...
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
"We may have never imagined that fascism would be looming in our lifetimes, and yet, this is where we find ourselves." That's the takeaway from a New York Times op-ed by actress and activist...more
Employees of BlackRock, the world's biggest asset management firm, will soon be able to sock away money for retirement without worrying about running out of it. The firm has teamed up with the...more
A beloved Ohio music hall is getting a makeover. The Zanesville Times Recorder reports the city received a $6.5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development, the Ohio Department of...more
The German state of Bavaria and the Australian state of Queensland are teaming up to work on a host of cutting-edge projects, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, clean energy,...more
Cyprus is aiming to be an example of "ecological living and sustainable development" in the years to come, and the first Green Agenda Cyprus Summit will be held there on May 20. Speakers at the...more
The House is set to vote Monday on a bill that would make it harder for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The SAVE Actshort for Safeguard American Voter Eligibilityis the brainchild of...more
The House is set to vote Monday on a bill that would make it harder for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The SAVE Actshort for Safeguard American Voter Eligibilityis the brainchild of...more
When Heidi Allison and her husband, Larry Rhoades, opened Nate's Place a year ago in Oxnard, Calif., they had one goal: to help at-risk teens and young adults stay on the right track with sobriety...more
Lisette Nieves was the first Puerto Rican woman and the first Brooklyn College grad to be a Rhodes scholar when she graduated from the college in 1992. Now she's the president of the Fund for the...more
A group of 30 Nobel Peace Prize winners gathered at the Vatican this week to talk about promoting peace, and one of them had a message for today's "profit-centric" society: It's time to create a "...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
3 Social Enterprises Earn Honors at Social Enterprise Award
Three social enterprises were recognized at the 2013 President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award for their major contributions to society. SATA CommHealth and Bliss Restaurant landed Social Enterprise of the Year titles, while Bettr Barista Coffee Academy bagged the award for Social Enterprise Start-up of the Year.