Nonprofits

Clark University has been granted $2 million in gifts from four Worcester foundations to amplify and drive learning and research within the university’s Center for Media Arts, Computing, and Design.

In January, more businesses were incorporated in Central Massachusetts than in any other month since at least January 2017, outpacing the state as a whole, which also set a record for new business starts.

Larry Lucchino, the former president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox and the person most instrumental in moving the Pawtucket Red Sox to Worcester, has died at age 78, according to reporting by the Boston Globe. 

The Massachusetts Cultural Council has awarded 53 grants, totalling in $246,844, to help fund Worcester-based arts and cultural programs through the City’s Worcester Arts Council. 

Brendan Aylward first started volunteering for the Special Olympics as a teenager in high school. After years of volunteering with the organization, Aylward found purpose and passion working in the adaptive fitness industry.

The new center will be larger than the organization’s current facility at the zoo and allow for an expansion of its educational and outreach programs.

stART on the Street Co-Founder Tina Zlody will step down from her position as director of the Worcester art festival after 19 years and be replaced by the co-founders of the nonprofit Creative Hub Worcester.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has received $18.6 million in donations in the last two months, the university announced as part of the inauguration ceremony of Grace Wang, who took over as its 17th president in April.

Clark University, the Leominster East Side Community Center, and the MetroWest YMCA Regional Early Learning Center are among the 20 Central Massachusetts entities slated to benefit from $23.08 million in federal funding pending final approval by the U.S. Senate and President Joe Biden.

The money from the fund can be used for one-time initiatives, projects, and consulting services to aid in the economic development or workforce needs of Central Massachusetts.