The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) program this month announced the recipients of $18,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations.
The annual donation is funded by contributions from faculty and staff of the university, and benefits nonprofits in Tufts' host communities of Medford, Somerville, Chinatown and Grafton.
Members of the TNSF committee, including Tufts administrators, faculty and staff, selected recipients from among 46 proposals requesting a total of more than $70,000 in grants, according to a press release from the Office of Community Relations.
Donations to the fund increased from last year by about $4,000, according to Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel.
The committee collected donations between October and December of 2009, and added them to money made available through payroll deductions that accumulated during the 2010 calendar year, Rubel said.
The organizations must also have members of the Tufts community working in a volunteer capacity, Rubel said.
Several charities that focus on nutrition improvement received grants. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Middlesex County received a $375 donation to support their Healthy Habits nutrition education programs hosted at the Mystic−Healey Clubhouse in Somerville.
The committee also donated $250 to the Somerville Council on Aging to fund nutritional programs for seniors, and Medford's Outside the Lines Studio received $375 to initiate a healthy cooking program for its clients.
Nonprofits that support the homeless also received money, such as Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Rehabilitation, which received $1,000 to provide winter clothing for people without shelter. The Somerville Homeless Coalition was awarded the same amount for kitchen improvements at their adult shelter.
The Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc. (CAAS) received $500 from donations allocated by the committee. It will use the donation to purchase CharlieCards for low−income individuals who cannot afford transportation to and from job interviews.
"Sometimes just having the T pass and being able to take a bus or a train to where you need to go can unlock all kinds of doors for a person," CAAS Planning Director Dennis Fischman said.
Fischman said that TNSF grants to the agency have in the past gone towards new technology or developing new curriculum for its various programs.
"Usually the Tufts neighborhood service grants focus on very tangible things: either the purchase of something or paying for something that you can see in action at the agency," Fischman said.
The fund does not give money to regular operating expenses or salaries, Rubel said.
The committee also donated to Somerville−Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) to supplement their Meals On Wheels program, which delivers over 700 meals daily in Somerville and Cambridge, according to SCES Assistant Executive Director Mary Ann Dalton.
The program, which is run through many nonprofits nationwide, brings food to older adults who are unable to prepare their own, Dalton said. This year's $250 contribution from TNSF will provide approximately 50 meals, according to Dalton.
"It's a vital lifeline for these individuals and it allows them to remain independent at home with that level of support," she said.
Dalton said that SCES receives government funding for Meals On Wheels, but because it goes beyond the typical provisions of Meals on Wheels programs by providing dinners and weekend meals, it requires outside fundraising.
"While we do receive government funds to support the program, they're not sufficient to cover the costs of the program," Dalton said.
TNSF is a continuation of the Tufts Community Appeal, which was founded approximately 50 years ago as a way to encourage faculty and staff to contribute to charity, according to Rubel.
"Fifteen years ago, we got interested in an option that was being run at a couple other schools, where faculty and staff could contribute to a fund that would be redistributed to the nonprofits in the community," Rubel said. "We copied their good idea, and the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund was born," she said.
Through the Community Appeal, faculty and staff can donate through a number of outlets, including TNSF, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, EarthShare of New England and Tufts Financial Aid.
TNSF has granted money in the past to pay for roofs and shelters, handicap access for a food pantry and renovations to a group home for the disabled, according to Rubel.
"We like it to go to something that will have more than a single use," she said, adding that each donation should stem from a personally motivated decision.
"Charity should always be something that's very personal," Rubel said. "There are so many different ways to help, and people just do what's in their hearts."
TNSF in 2008 raised $24,000, its highest amount, Rubel said. In 2009, donations dropped to $14,000 due to the fluctuating economy, she added. Next year, the committee expects to collect close to $20,000, Rubel said.
