20 Stories of Change GreenLight Boston: 20 Years of Impact, Partnership & Transformative Change Feb 6, 2025 Boston Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email In 2004, GreenLight Fund was founded by John Simon, a successful venture capitalist and entrepreneur, and Margaret Hall, a nonprofit executive skilled at leading and building out nonprofits. They shared a vision for creating a network in which novel, innovative programs are brought into Boston to address and dismantle the barriers that were preventing people from reaching economic prosperity. What started as a tiny flicker of light has turned into a vibrant flame — with GreenLight’s impact now reaching 14 cities across the country. This work would not be possible without the individual, community, and systems-wide partnerships we’ve built and the impact of GreenLight’s early network in Boston that propelled the organization to where it is today. As GreenLight Fund Boston celebrates 20 years of our work, we want to take the time to pause and reflect on what that has looked like for Boston, GreenLight’s founding site, and to elevate a few of the testimonies of GreenLight’s partners, investors, advisors, and community members over the years. Looking Back on GreenLight Boston’s First 5 Years Let’s start by taking a leap back in time to our first milestone — our 5th anniversary which we celebrated in 2009. Friends of the Children, GreenLight’s first ever investment, was entering its fourth year of programming and the impact was being felt across the city. Friends of the Children’s mission is to support, develop, and foster high academic achievement and strong character development in children (Achievers) from at-risk and underserved communities. Between 2008-2009, Friends of the Children showed incredible success in their program model: serving 109 students over the course of the school year, with 98% of Achievers progressing to the next grade on time, 89% attending school regularly, and 94% avoiding disciplinary action at school. In addition, three other portfolio organizations had been selected including Raising a Reader, Peer Health Exchange, and Youth Villages Lifeset — to address the pressing needs of literacy rates, health education, and youth aging out of foster care, respectively. Friends of the Children Boston Reflecting on 5 Years “I would say the most rewarding thing about the first five years has been the programs that we brought to Boston, the people that we’ve gotten engaged with, the community that’s been built to come together, and all the kids and families we’re making a difference for.” John Simon GreenLight Fund Co-Founder and Board Chair “The way change happens in communities, the way that we’re really able to make a difference on the problems and issues that face the most vulnerable people in our city is relationships. It’s those children and those families having the relationships that they need to be successful, but it’s also the relationships that GreenLight is able to create with so many generous people in the venture capital, private equity, entrepreneurial communities, in the funding community in Boston.” Margaret Hall GreenLight Fund Co-Founder and Former CEO “The GreenLight Fund provides its organizations a solid launching pad that gives us the ability to fly, which we in turn do for the children we work with. In addition to the direct investment, GreenLight has connected us with experts in the fields of mentoring, organizational growth, fundraising, development, and capacity building. We are still riding the wave of support and success. We are still feeling the ripple of GreenLight’s investment. “ Imani Paris Jeffries Former Executive Director of Friends of the Children “To be honest, I don’t even think of them as funders. When I think of Greenlight Fund, I think of them as my partners. Of course, they have been funders, and that part of the partnership has been appreciated, but it’s so different than that. I mean, I feel that for GreenLight, the success of our program is as important to the folks there as it is to me.” Donna DiFillippo Former Executive Director at Raising a Reader MA “Really the most satisfying aspect of it has been seeing organizations be identified, recruited, hatched, and then take root and grow and thrive and flourish.” Bill Schnoor GreenLight Boston Donor 10 Years of Impact: GreenLight Fund Boston’s Journey In 2014, GreenLight Fund had catalyzed into a national organization with a clear vision and strategic process for fundraising, selecting innovative programs and expanding into new cities, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and San Francisco Bay Area. By this point, GreenLight Fund Boston had invested in a total of 9 portfolio organizations serving children and families in Boston. A critical part of the investment process is feedback from the Selection Advisory Council, which is composed of a diverse group of community members with unique perspectives and experiences both personally and professionally. SAC members partner with GreenLight sites to help support each step of the selection process; providing informed insight on local needs and current interventions, building partnerships, leveraging connections during the implementation phase, and providing ongoing support as needed. Reflecting on 10 Years “GreenLight Fund creates this network of non-profits where we’re able to lean on each other, share best practices, and at the same time really support the bottom line of each organization which is the families, students, and young people.” Juma Crawford Former Friends of the Children Executive Director, GreenLight Fund Board Member “One of the things that I’m proud of when I think about our involvement at Bank of America with GreenLight is that we were there early, it was innovative and we jumped in, we looked at the leadership and said if anyone can do it, they can. “ Kerry Sullivan GreenLight Fund Board Member, Former President of Bank of America Charitable Foundation “GreenLight has taken a very novel approach in my mind, which isn’t trying to say, let’s try and get organizations to do something they don’t do, and let’s not try and create organizations completely from scratch, but let’s go out around the country and find out what the best organizations are that could fill those gaps and then bring them to Boston.” Rob Small GreenLight Fund Boston Donor 15 Years: Continued Evolution and Learnings In addition to the Selection Advisory Council, GreenLight Boston designed the Family Partners group, as an added mechanism to elevate the voices of community residents with lived experiences and obtain their expertise throughout the selection process. GreenLight Boston’s work of bringing innovative programs to the city to address pressing needs would not be possible without the support of our Selection Advisory Council, Family Partners, generous donors, and advisors throughout the years. Celebrating 20 Years of Community-Driven Change In December 2024, GreenLight Fund Boston celebrated 20 years of impact, innovation and community-driven change. During this remarkable milestone, we reflected on the incredible work that we’ve achieved since our founding – investing a total of $11.2M in our portfolio of 15 organizations, and leveraging an additional $158M through partnerships. From enhancing early childhood education to promoting economic mobility among returning citizens, our work has reached over 340,000 individuals and families over the past year alone. At our annual An Emerald Evening celebration, we got the chance to hear from a few of our community members who have been positively impacted by GreenLight Boston’s portfolio, including Claudia Chavarria and her two children, Carlos and Dalia. She shared her experience with Raising a Reader MA, which has been working with families in Boston since 2006 to increase access to books and develop consistent reading habits at home, boosting reading readiness among kindergarteners. Claudia and her family’s journey with Raising a Reader began in 2016, when they received a red bag with books to bring home and share. “Watching my kids grow — from those early days to now — has been an incredible experience as a parent. It hasn’t always been easy, but the achievements have been so rewarding. Access to books and the time we spent reading together made a huge difference in their academics. Books have done more than build their reading skills—they’ve helped them grow into kind, confident kids who thrive at school.” Today, Claudia is working as a Program Manager at Raising a Reader, giving back to the organization that changed her and her family’s lives. Clauda Chavarria and her two children at GreenLight Boston’s Annual Gala Reflecting on 20 Years “Being rooted in equity and innovation means that GreenLight is proximate to the issues that we’re trying to solve. It means we are uplifting the voices and the perspectives of those in our community who are facing the daily challenges we’re trying to address.” Melissa Luna GreenLight Fund Vice President of Site Success and Boston Executive Director “Two words that come to mind when I think about GreenLight Fund are visionary and effective.” Courtney Allessio Boston Selection Advisory Council Member “20 years ago, GreenLight was just an idea, and what was just an idea and a glimmer and a hope and a vision now is operating in 14 soon to be 16 cities, reaching a million children and families a year creating massive change, and for that we’re forever grateful” John Simon GreenLight Fund Co-Founder and Board Chair “Raising a Reader has given me the tools to reach my children in different ways. Not just for creating reading habits, but helping me to become a better parent, to be aware there are so many things I can do to change my children’s future.” Guadalupe Panameno Senior Program Manager at Raising A Reader “The extensive selection process to find the next best thing for Boston was very informative, and I’m proud that I was able to contribute to my community in this way.” Janet Iraola GreenLight Boston Family Partner What’s Next For GreenLight Boston We are so grateful to be celebrating 20 years of community-driven change and look forward to what’s to come in the next 20 years, with the support of our community partners, investors, Selection Advisory Council, Family Partners, and neighbors who are committed to driving equitable and lasting change in Boston. GreenLight Fund Boston Celebrates 20 Years
