Brings 2025 Total Granting to $1.125 Million, Marking Second Consecutive Year
Reliant Foundation Has Given More Than $1 Million in Grants
Reliant Foundation today announced it is awarding $1,065,000 in Community Grants to 59 nonprofits across Central and Metro West Massachusetts. This brings the Foundation’s 2025 grant total to $1,125,000, marking the second consecutive year the Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in Community Grants.
Reliant Foundation’s mission-driven grants program is focused on strengthening mental health and behavioral health resources for children and youth; helping individuals of all ages reach recovery from substance use; building the pipeline of professionals to provide mental health, behavioral health, and recovery services; and supporting initiatives to reduce stigma around mental health and substance use. Over the past eight years, the Foundation has provided nearly $6.6 million in funding to area nonprofits.
“Last year marked the first time in our history that we granted more than $1 million; to be able to do it for a second consecutive year gives us an immense sense of pride and impact,” said Reliant Foundation president Kelsa Zereski. “As nonprofits everywhere are having to make difficult programming decisions, driven largely by funding constraints, we feel an even greater obligation to support their missions. Fortunately, our donors and volunteers continue to step up year-after-year to help us fundraise so we can provide this level of funding, and our Board of Trustees has remained steadfast in their commitment to expanding our impact.”.
“Our grantees are doing extraordinary work under increasingly precarious circumstances – facing rising community needs with fewer resources than ever before. Their resilience inspires us, but it also underscores just how essential sustained donor support is to the health of our nonprofit ecosystem,” said Kristine Bostek, Reliant Foundation Board Chair. “Every contribution—large or small—helps ensure that vital services remain available to those who rely on them. On behalf of our entire board, I want to express our deepest gratitude to all who stand with us. Your generosity enables our mission, strengthens our partners, and brings hope to the communities we collectively serve.”
The following non-profits, located throughout Central, North Central, South Central and MetroWest Massachusetts, are receiving grants from the Foundation this fall:
508 Cheers – Teen Trauma Tuesdays programming
Abby’s House – Evidence-Based Support: Women’s Services Program
African Community Education – Think/Give learning activities at Saturday Program
Addiction Referral Center – Project B.R.A.V.E. (Building Recovery Accessibility through Validation)
Adolescent Consultation Services – Youth Mental Health Services at Framingham Juvenile Court
Advocates – Clinical mental and behavioral health care to uninsured and underinsured youth
Anna Maria College – JOBS Initiative (pathway for training and student support)
Bancroft School Worcester Partnership – Worcester Partnership Program with Elm Park School
Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest – MetroWest Care Connection Program
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central MA and Metro West – Rise Together Mentoring Program at Girls Inc.
Boston Bulldogs Running Club – Weekly Run program in Worcester to help individuals reach recovery
from substance use disorder and reduce stigma around addiction
Boys & Girls Club of MetroWest – Licensed social worker position at Framingham Clubhouse
Boys & Girls Club of Webster-Dudley – Mental health and behavioral health programs
Boys & Girls Club of Worcester – Mental health and behavioral health programs
CASA Project Worcester – Shine the Light Initiative
Center for Health Impact – Multilingual Recovery Coach training
Community Harvest Project – Nutritious foods for Worcester’s residential recovery programs
Community Healthlink – Programming at residential recovery homes, substance use disorder programs
Dismas House – Substance use prevention Initiative
Doc Wayne – Community Clinic for youth and families in the Metrowest region
Edward Street – Master Teacher Coaching Program
GAAMHA, Inc. – R.O.O.T.S. Therapeutic Farm Program at Evergreen Grove
Genesis Club – Zero Stigma Project
Girls Inc. of Worcester – Wellness Institute Program for Teen Girls
Girls on the Run Worcester County – Mind & Motion: Building Resilience in Girls across Central MA
Jeff’s Place – Children’s Bereavement Center
Jeremiah’s Inn – Renovations for the new Edward Street Residential Recovery Program
Latin American Health Alliance – Bilingual Recovery Coach Training
Legendary Legacies – Legacy transport program
MA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children – Survivor services program for children and youth
MARE (MA Adoption Resource Exchange) – Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Caregiver Training
Series and a TBRI Family Support Group
Open Sky Community Services – Inner Voice Outer Change self-empowerment model at THE PLACE for
Empowerment
Our Bright Future – Our Bright Future SEL Coordinator
Pernet Family Health Services – Pernet Youth Program
Rainbow Child Development Center – Mental Health Program for Underserved Children
Regional Environmental Council – YouthGROW Program
Recovery Collaboration Project – Program support services including sober housing scholarships and
outreach supplies
Revive of the USA – Sustaining programs and services at Recovery homes in Leominster and Worcester
for women and men
RFK Community Alliance – Behavioral health services for children
Ready Inspire Act – Sisters Leading Sisters Peer Support
RISE Above – Pro-social opportunities that improve mental and physical health and build resiliency for
children in foster care
Riverside Community Care – Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care (PBHUC) Program
Safe Exit Initiative – Harbor Drop-in Center support
Senior Connection Inc. – Carelink: Mobile Mental Health for Grandfamilies
Seven Hills – Expansion and full implementation of a Social Disconnection Specialty Practice within the
Seven Hills Behavioral Health system of care
Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services – Reducing barriers to clinical help for vulnerable populations
Spark Kindness – Addressing the Emotional Health and Resilience of Children, Youth and Families Project
Spoonfuls – Food recovery and hunger relief work in MetroWest to Recovery homes
The Club: Lunenberg Teen Center – GROW SMART Initiative-gaining resilience and overall wellness
through skills mastery and resilience training
Veterans Inc. – Recovery Coach and Mobile Case Management Position
Westborough Connects – Together We Thrive: connecting community to strengthen mental and
behavioral health
Whitin Community Center – WCC Youth Outreach and Social Skills Program
Worcester Addresses Childhood Trauma – Trauma Training Tuesday Series
Worcester RISE for Health – Ubuntu: RISE’s behavioral health program
Worcester State University – Peer to Peer Healthy Minds Initiative for WSU Students
YMCA of Central MA – Behavioral Health Clinician at the Montachusett YMCA
Youth Villages Massachusetts – LifeSet program for young people aging out of foster care
YWCA of Worcester – Social emotional health support in the early education and care center
For more information about Reliant Foundation, or about how you can make a difference in the lives and health of our community, visit reliantfoundation.org.
About Reliant Foundation
Established in 1988, Reliant Foundation is an independent public charity whose mission is to advance community health priorities through strategic philanthropy and collaboration. As a 501(c)3 charity, the Foundation offers grants to non-profit organizations within its service area for the purpose of supporting programs that battle critical community health issues like children’s and adolescent mental health, behavioral health, and substance use disorder. Our charity partners work with thousands of individuals in our community to provide life-saving mental health and behavioral health services, recovery coaching, and impactful education and initiatives to reduce the stigma around these issues. For more information, please visit www.reliantfoundation.org
