Reliant Foundation grants $850K to 54 Central Mass. nonprofits

A group of people sitting at a large conference table.

Image | Courtesy of the Reliant Foundation Reliant Foundation trustees meet to discuss the organization's latest round of grants.

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By Eric Casey

Dozens of Central Massachusetts nonprofits have received funds ranging from $5,000 to $30,000, as part of the Worcester-based Reliant Foundation’s 2023 community grants.

These donations will help advance the goal of the foundation’s mission-driven grant program, which aims to help improve services related to mental health and substance use in the Central and Metrowest regions of the state, according to a Nov. 20 post on Reliant’s website.

The largest grants were two $30,000 grants, one to foster child advocate CASA Project Worcester County for its Shine the Light Initiative and one to mental health nonprofit GAAMHA, Inc of Gardner for its R.O.O.T.S. (Resilient, Open-Minded, Optimistic, Thriving, Serene) Program, according to a spreadsheet of donations provided by Reliant to WBJ.

Organizations that received a donation from Reliant for the first time included Behavioral Health Partners of Metrowest in Framingham, which received a $20,000 donation for its MetroWest Care Connection Program, Community Legal Aid of Worcester, which received a $17,500 donation for its Family Preservation Project, and African Community Education of Worcester, which received a $10,200 donation for weekend youth programming.

In addition to the fall season grants, Reliant announced $60,000 in three off-cycle grants that were made earlier this year. These donations included three $20,000 donations, one to Worcester’s UMass Memorial Health to fund a training program addressing prescriber education and opioid use treatment, one to Southbridge-based youth nonprofit Our Bright Future to fund the hiring of a part-time social worker, and one to Worcester-based United Way of Central Massachusetts to fund a new fitness court.

Founded in 1988 as part of Worcester physician organization Reliant Medical Group, the Reliant Foundation became an independent public charity when Reliant Medical was acquired by Minnesota-based healthcare conglomerate Optum. The foundation’s mission is to improve healthcare services in the Central and Metrowest regions of the state. The foundation had $1.7 million in revenue in fiscal 2021 along with $32 million in total assets, according to the latest data available on the nonprofit database Guidestar.