Since 2001, the board has distributed grant awards to local organizations that enhance quality of life for residents in Mission Hill and Fenway.

Our history

The Mission Hill / Fenway Neighborhood Trust, Inc. was established as a fund in 1995 by Beth Israel Hospital as a condition of the Hospital's purchase of the former Massachusetts College of Art building at Brookline and Longwood Avenues.  In 1988, as a result of the efforts of Rep. Kevin Fitzgerald, a special act of the State Legislature required establishment of the fund by whoever was to purchase the land from the state.  The 1988 law required that the Trust administer and operate a fund that will give loans or grants to community-based Mission Hill and Fenway non-profit organizations, community development corporations, and groups that enhance quality of life for residents through affordable housing, youth and senior programs, social services, and whatever the Mission Hill / Fenway Neighborhood Trust board deems appropriate.  A 9-member Community Advisory Committee (CAC) set criteria for the selection of Board members; an equal number of representatives from Mission Hill and Fenway were required.  The original contribution had grown to $1.5 million in the decade it took to finalize the details of how the Trust would be managed.  In 1999 the first Board members were appointed, and in 2001 the first awards to local organizations were distributed.  The original board members, selected via a CAC-based nomination process, were Ed Blackman as chair, Bettye Robinson, and Charles Wilbraske from Mission Hill; and Helen Singleton, James Morgan, and Lauren Dewey Platt from Fenway.  Current board members are Lauren Dewey Platt as chair, Bonnie Thryselius, and Steve Chase from Fenway; and Alison Pultinas, Paula Lawrence, and Monjuree Yousuf from Mission Hill.

Current Board

From left to right - In the back                            Alison Pultinas, Lauren Dewey Platt (Chair)
Monjuree Yousuf, Steve Chase
- In the front
Bonnie Thryselius, Paula Lawrence                        
 

Past Members

Ed Blackman (Original Chair)
Tracy Cusick
Chrystal Kornegay
James Morgan
Richard Orareo
Tina Pankievich
Bettye Robinson
Joe Ronayne
Helen Singleton
Jamie Thomson
Charles Wilbraske Shirley Rhodes