Boston

Delivering innovation and leadership as our flagship site

Overview

Homebase for revolutionary thinking and inventive solutions

A hub for innovation and home to many firsts in our nation. Yet one of the widest wealth gaps in the country can be found here with families of color having few assets to invest in better opportunities for future generations. Our city thrives when all residents thrive. Along with our portfolio organizations we partner with the community to break down systems of inequity and build a stronger future for all Bostonians.

Portfolio

Investing in proven organizations to bring to Boston to address community-identified needs

We search the country to bring ground-breaking organizations that represent the best in their fields – in innovation, measurable results and ability to scale.

See All Organizations

The logo for LMF with a stick person holding two orange blocks over their head.
The Fountain Fund logo with black text and a green hand above with blue water spouting out.
The Child First logo with a blue swirl in the bottom right corner.
The WOW logo in purple and white with youth guidance lining the bottom.
The Per Scholas Logo in blue text with a blue graduation cap in the top left corner.
The BAM Logo in black and white with a youth guidance arrow in the bottom.
The CareMessage logo with a grey background and multi-colored thought bubbles interlocked with a heart in the middle.
The Child First logo with a blue swirl in the bottom right corner.
The New Teacher Center Logo with orange, purple, and tan block letters and three interlocking illustrations of faces.
College Advising Corps logo with purple and blue shapes overlapping.
The UpTogether logo in purple with trusting and investing in families below, while shapes in a line above, including a pink arrow, stick people, homes, and green arrows.
Peer Health Exchange logo.
The Raising a Reader Logo with pink rays of sun extending out above the text and Massachusetts in a pink block below.
The Friends of the Children logo with Generational Change, One Child at a Time below, with the I in friends and children displaying a 1.

Making an Impact in Boston

In 2023 – 2024

340,786

individuals reached

422

local staff working at portfolio organizations

$162M

in additional funding leveraged

“GreenLight is a powerful network of people who care about Boston and the next generation of organizations that are helping to build a better Boston.”

Yeison, a graduate from Per Scholars Boston, speaks about his experience with the program.
In Boston
$27.65

is the average hourly wage earned by 2024 graduates

Read the Story

Picture of Stephen Pina, the subject of this story.
In Boston
94%

of participants reported significant life improvements

Read the Story

Ashley, the subject of this story, smiling wearing a Boston Arts Academy shirt.
In Boston
97%

of youth met or made progress towards their school success goals

Read the Story

Boston Team & Partners

GreenLight Boston is made up of a diverse group of changemakers from across the community, working together for positive impact.

Blueprint Schools Network

Blueprint Schools Network

CareMessage

CareMessage

Child First

Child First

College Advising Corps

College Advising Corps

Friends of the Children

Friends of the Children

New Teacher Center

New Teacher Center

Peer Health Exchange

Peer Health Exchange

Per Scholas

Per Scholas

Raising A Reader

Raising A Reader

Single Stop USA

Single Stop USA

The Fountain Fund

The Fountain Fund

The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship

The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship

UpTogether

UpTogether

Youth Guidance – BAM

Youth Guidance – BAM

Youth Guidance – WOW

Youth Guidance – WOW

YV LifeSet

YV LifeSet

By the numbers

Discover how GreenLight Fund Boston drives economic mobility through innovative, community-led solutions with measurable impact.

The data and stories below showcase impact from July 2024-June 2025.

Download the Report

$11.2M

Invested in Portfolio Organizations to Date

$173M

Additional Leveraged Dollars

241,656

Individuals and Families Reached

41

Selection Advisory Council Members

470

Staff Members Working for Portfolio

15

Portfolio Organizations

98

Active Local Board Members

Portfolio Organization Investments

Since 2004, GreenLight Boston has invested in a range of evidence-based nonprofits driving measurable impact across the city.


The Fountain Fund

Key result

94% of participants reported significant life improvements, with 86% better able to support and connect with their families.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

42

Per Scholas

Key result

Graduates launched their tech careers with an average starting hourly wage of $27.65.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

242

Youth Guidance: Becoming a Man

Key result

79% of BAM scholars showed growth across all 14 values in the Holistic Student Assessment, with top areas of improvement in critical thinking, assertiveness, learning interest and empathy.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

875

Single Stop

Key result

82% of students in the program persisted through college for the full academic year.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

920

Raising A Reader Massachusetts

Key result

87% of participating families read together at least three times a week after one year in the program.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

7,520

Friends of the Children – Boston

Key result

97% of youth in program met or made progress towards their school success goals and 97% avoided involvement with the juvenile justice system.

Individuals reached in 2024-25

752


Real Stories. Real Change. Real Impact in Boston.

Read participant stories that show what impact looks like in action.

Shawn Brown | Executive Director, Youth Guidance Boston

GreenLight is intentional about bringing portfolio organizations together. I always say, collective collaboration and collective effort equal collective impact—that’s what GreenLight is about and what drives results for our young people.

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Team

Amber Black
A headshot of Amber Black with a nature background.

Amber Black

Associate Director, GreenLight Boston

Zac Rich

Zac Rich

Executive Director, GreenLight Boston

Inika Vimal
A headshot of Inika Vimal with a nature background.

Inika Vimal

Program Associate, GreenLight Boston

Advisory Council

Jessica Ackerman

Deloitte

Irfan Alibhai

Burkehaven Family Foundation

Omaira Alicea

State Street Foundation

Courtney Allessio

Catalant Technologies

Karley Ausiello

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley

Kelly Brawn

Life Science Cares

Ayesha Cammaerts

The Boston Opportunity Agenda

Jessica Castro

Trefler Foundation

Rahn Dorsey

Eastern Bank Foundation

Gayané Ebling

Ebling Family Foundation

Eric Esteves

Boston Main Streets Foundation

Nicole Fontes

Goodwin

Elizabeth Foster

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Elsa Gomes Bondlow

Ripple Acts

Frankie Gonzalez

Nike

Andre Green

SkillWorks

Amanda Hadad

HomeStart

Nadia Harden

New Commonwealth Fund

Alena Harrison

Bain Capital

Bridget Kenneally

Deloitte

Lisa Krakoff

The Roger and Lisa Krakoff Foundation

Roger Krakoff

The Roger and Lisa Krakoff Foundation

Pamela Leins

The Boston Education Foundation

Brittney Macomber

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

Natalie Martinez

Girls Inc. of Boston and Lynn

Kristin McSwain

City of Boston Office of Early Childhood

Branden Miles

Mayor’s Office of Black Male Advancement

Ed Powell

Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston

Larissa Quinn

Bain Capital

Ed Rocha

Rola Languages

Dan Salera

Salera Consulting

Sally Sharp Lehman

Sharp Lehman Consulting, LLC.

Gary Smith

Christina Turner

Cambridge Community Foundation

Signature Investors

Henry Ancona

Bain Capital logo with a blue box with light blue and red triangles interlocked inside.
The Bank of America Logo with red and blue stripes positioned in a diamond shape over the text.

Steve and Deborah Barnes

blueconic logo with blue in blue letters.
100 years Boston Foundation Logo with a blue city skyline inside an orange block to the left of the text.

Michael and Lisa Bronner

Renuka Babu Brown

Katie and Paul Buttenwieser

The George and Marie Chabot Charitable Foundation

Comerica Bank Logo with curved blue stripes above it.

John and Stephanie Connaughton

deloitte logo with green period.

Jeff and Mary DiSandro

David and Sally Dornaus

Tom and Gayané Ebling

Paul English

Peter and Mary Ellen Rourke Falvey

Jeff Feingold

Fractyl Logo with a Red slanted F above it.
Goodwin Logo with orange G.
iHeart Media Logo with an antenna inside a red heart above it.

Steve and Lisa Jenks

Meeta Kapadia

The Kozin Family

Roger and Lisa Krakoff Foundation

Bill and Diana Ledingham

Becky and Mark Levin

Localytics Logo with orange thinking bubble above it with increasing graph shape inside.

The Lovett-Woodsum Foundation

Paul and Kristin Marcus

Jude and Francis McColgan

Peter and Cindy Neville

Nuance logo with green split N above it.
Optum Ventures Logo with black half v shape and orange circle.

Tim and Lynne Palmer

PWC Logo with orange, pink, and yellow graphic.

The Reeder Family

Retik Mello Foundation

Scott Friend and Leslie Riedel

Brett and Sarah Rome

Mark and Etta Rosen

MacKenzie Scott

Sonali Shah

Sigma Prime Ventures Logo.

John and Susan Simon

Brian and Stephanie Spector

United Way Massachusetts Logo.
U.S. Trust Bank of America logo.

David Verrill

V2 Communications Logo with V2 in a green box.

Caitlin Vorlicek

Wells Fargo Advisors logo with wells Fargo in a brown box.

Natalie Wright

Founding Seed Partners

Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee

Corporation for National and Community Service logo with three white stars with a blue background attached to white and red stripes.

Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust

The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation

Barbara and Amos Hostetter

Marianne and Ken Novack

Kimberly and James Pallotta

The Schnoor Family

The Tudor Foundation

Type

Meet Zac Rich: GreenLight Fund Boston’s New Executive Director

Insights

Meet Zac Rich: GreenLight Fund Boston’s New Executive Director

Sep 4, 2025

Boston

GreenLight Fund Names Zac Rich as New Executive Director

Announcement, Press Release

GreenLight Fund Names Zac Rich as New Executive Director

Jul 29, 2025

Boston

GreenLight Boston: 20 Years of Impact, Partnership & Transformative Change
Play Video

20 Stories of Change

GreenLight Boston: 20 Years of Impact, Partnership & Transformative Change

Feb 6, 2025

Boston

GreenLight Fund Brings The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship to Boston

Announcement, Press Release

GreenLight Fund Brings The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship to Boston

Jan 15, 2025

Boston

Prioritizing Diverse Perspectives for Greater Impact: Engaging Deeply with Community
Feedback+Denver Conference announcement with an image of the Denver skyline.

Insights

Prioritizing Diverse Perspectives for Greater Impact: Engaging Deeply with Community

Jun 5, 2024

Boston, Greater Newark, Kansas City, National

For Boston residents returning from prison, a new fund aims to provide a financial lifeline
A headshot of Jay Vilar with a window in the background.

Media Mention

Boston Globe

For Boston residents returning from prison, a new fund aims to provide a financial lifeline

May 27, 2024

Boston

GreenLight Fund Names Ali Knight as Chief Executive Officer
A headshot of Ali Knight with a window in the background.

Announcement, News, Press Release

GreenLight Fund Names Ali Knight as Chief Executive Officer

Apr 16, 2024

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Greater Newark, Kansas City, National, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Twin Cities

Rising to the Moment: College Advising Corps Navigates FAFSA Changes
College Advising Corps students gathered together on a glass staircase inside a building.

Insights

Rising to the Moment: College Advising Corps Navigates FAFSA Changes

Mar 26, 2024

Boston