ACF Announces Fall Grantees

BOSTON and SAN FRANCISCO – February 1, 2024 – The Audax Charitable Foundation (“ACF”), a 501C3 charitable organization launched by Audax Private Equity to support grassroots organizations in the local Boston and San Franscisco communities, announced today eight new gifts as part of the ACF’s fall funding cycle. With these latest commitments, ACF has now provided grants to 16 local charities in 2023, representing commitments of $630,000, and $1.4 million since ACF’s official launch in 2021.

“We’re excited to support the missions of our fall grantees, each of which is doing incredible work to advance their respective causes and drive positive change through grassroots programs that directly impact our local communities,” noted Pam Martin, Senior Managing Director of Audax Private Equity and President of the Audax Charitable Foundation.

Each of ACF’s four focus areas – Education, Healthcare, Social Support & Services, and Arts & Cultural Programs – were represented in the grantee selections. Within these categories, the new grantees include:

Education

SEO Scholars San Francisco was among those selected to receive ACF’s $50,000 multi-year grant. SEO Scholars is a rigorous eight-year academic program that seeks to help low-income, first-generation students in the Bay Area attend and graduate from four-year colleges through programs focused on core academics, college advising and admissions, and academic persistence and success.

Healthcare

Boston-based Samaritans, a recipient of a one-time $7,500 grant, provides life-saving suicide prevention services in Massachusetts through a range of programs, including crisis helplines and peer-to-peer texting services, community education and outreach, and grief support.

Arts & Cultural

The Esplanade Association, which revitalizes and enhances the Charles River Esplanade in Boston and works in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, received a $50,000 multi-year grant. The funding will help support outreach and engagement to build more diverse audiences that reflect the city’s neighborhoods for in-park Arts & Culture experiences.

Social Support & Services

Colin’s Joy Project, based in Boston, seeks to bring joy to children and their families through the enhancement of indoor and outdoor play spaces and the sponsorship of family programming in the local community. ACF’s $50,000 multi-year-grant will expand access for bereaved children to attend Experience Camps, in addition to other initiatives.

Boston-based Casa Myrna Vazquez, which also received a $50,000 multi-year grant, aims to end domestic and dating violence through intervention, awareness and prevention. The ACF grant supports Casa Myrna’s ‘Save for a Change’ program that incentivizes participants to take steps that engender economic stability.

Arlington EATS, which received a $50,000 multi-year grant, aims to eliminate food insecurity and hunger in the local Arlington, Massachusetts community through a mix of programs that provides access to fresh, healthy food, while engaging with the local community to increase visibility around the socioeconomic disparities that contribute to food insecurity.

Best Buddies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island seeks to create opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies received a $50,000 multi-year grant that will support the organization’s Pre-Employment and Jobs program in Greater Boston.

Boston-based Shooting Touch also received a one-time $7,500 grant to help advance its Boston Community Enrichment Program to provide access to development opportunities, advancing the organization’s mission to mobilize the power of basketball to bridge health and opportunity gaps for youth and women facing racial, gender and economic inequalities.

To be considered for a grant, organizations need to be nominated by an Audax Private Equity employee during one of ACF’s two annual funding cycles. A selection committee comprising a cross-section of Audax employees determines which organizations receive grants. The committee prioritizes local charities addressing unmet needs and grassroots organizations whose impact can scale with ACF funding.

“The selection committee, every funding cycle, faces the unenviable task of choosing a limited number of grants from a large pool of nominated charities. This latest round was no different,” noted Keith Palumbo, Partner and Co-President of Audax Private Equity. “We’re excited to support the grantees selected and look forward to seeing how the ACF contributions help to advance their respective missions.”

“We continue to be impressed with the level of engagement among Audax employees to nominate worthy causes, spearhead the selection process, and then engage with our grantees to understand the issues they’re addressing and directly help when possible,” noted Young Lee, Partner and Co-President of Audax Private Equity. “At a time when many socioeconomic challenges are becoming more acute for families, we’re inspired by the work of the charities selected and proud to support their missions, which we believe will have a direct impact on our local communities in Boston and San Francisco.”