Breakthrough Greater Boston Awarded a $500,000 Catalyst Grant

August 22, 2017

Breakthrough Greater Boston was awarded a $500,000 Catalyst Grant from the Wellington Management Foundation to propel significant organizational growth over the next four years. This substantial investment will support Breakthrough’s original Cambridge site, its growing Boston site, and its brand new Somerville site that will launch this school year. This is the largest grant received by Breakthrough Greater Boston in its 25-year history.

Founded in Cambridge in 1992, Breakthrough Greater Boston is a year-round, tuition-free program that offers six years of academically intensive out-of-school time services to highly motivated, traditionally underserved middle and high school students. Unique to Breakthrough is the Students Teaching Students model which trains high-achieving high school and college students to teach classes and help run the programs. Breakthrough Greater Boston opened its Boston site in 2013 and will serve its first class of rising 7th graders in Somerville in Summer 2018.

“This timely investment made by the Wellington Management Foundation is not only a founding gift for our Somerville site but will serve as a catalyst for a larger and more successful Breakthrough,” said Elissa Spelman, Breakthrough Greater Boston’s Executive Director. “The one-time grant, spread over the next three years, will allow the organization to build its capacity to best serve our increasing number of students and teachers over time. The Wellington Management Foundation has been a long-standing partner to Breakthrough and played a major role in our expansion to Boston. We are immensely grateful for the Foundation’s support and for their significant impact on education in the Greater Boston community.”

About Breakthrough Greater Boston
Breakthrough Greater Boston transforms urban education for students and teachers. Through six years of intensive, tuition-free, out of school time programming, Breakthrough changes students’ academic trajectories and supports them along the path to four-year college. Simultaneously, Breakthrough builds careers in education through an unparalleled teacher training program for college-aged students that features competitive recruitment, research-based training, and daily coaching from master teachers. Breakthrough’s unique Students Teaching Students model inspires college students to become the next generation of urban educators and students to become college graduates.
Visit www.BreakthroughGreaterBoston.org to learn more.

About the Wellington Management Foundation
The Wellington Management Foundation was founded in 1992 in Boston, Massachusetts and supports programs and organizations that improve the education and educational opportunities of economically disadvantaged youth. Through Annual Grants and Catalyst Gifts, the Foundation supports more than 60 education focused nonprofits in eastern Massachusetts and 10 global cities where Wellington Management has offices. The Catalyst Giving Initiative was launched in 2015 to help education-focused nonprofits that are showing meaningful and sustainable academic outcomes move forward in a significant way towards their strategic vision.