By THOMAS GRILLO
DANVERS — When a nonprofit manages and distributes millions, it tends to be well-known, like the Massachusetts State Lottery.
But that’s not the case with the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF). It might be the North Shore’s biggest secret weapon that you’ve never heard of. The agency’s new website, launched on Friday, could improve its visibility.
“You’ve probably heard of the Boston Foundation, they manage about $1 billion in giving,” said Julie Bishop, vice president of philanthropy. “We’re the Boston Foundation in Essex County, only smaller.”
Started in 1998, ECCF is one of 800 community foundations nationwide that promote philanthropy, makes grants and encourages community leadership projects. It manages $55 million in contributions and distributes $5 million annually to schools and other charities.
Last year, ECCF awarded more than $540,000 in grants from the Hardscrabble Education Fund to teachers and administrators working to make a difference in the lives of students. The money was used to assist educators with projects that encourage experiential learning, promote teacher development, enhance technology in the classroom and augment the curriculum.
Started in 2002 by an anonymous donor who dreamed of making a difference in local public school districts, the fund has distributed more than $2.7 million to educators in Beverly, Lynn, Marblehead, Nahant, Salem and Swampscott. Some of the money was used to introduce SmartBoards and iPads in elementary schools, teach English and technology skills in middle school classrooms, purchase supplies for high school science lab activities and more. Since its founding, the nonprofit and its family of more than 180 charitable funds have granted $38 million to nonprofits, schools and students in Essex County and beyond.
“A lot of people do not understand what community foundations do,” Bishop said. “Obviously, schools and nonprofits know us, but we are trying to get better known.”
One way it hopes to do that is with the new website, impactessexcounty.org, which ECCF is promoting to help spread the word about its mission.
One year ago, the foundation embarked on the first phase of Impact Essex County, a community leadership project that hopes to improve the quality of life for the county’s 750,000 residents.
The site includes information on 100 indicators tracking the quality of life from Lynn to Lawrence to Salisbury and everywhere in between.
“Because we are a community foundation, we provide lots of info about the community, we know all the agencies, the issues and the work that’s being done,” said Bishop.
This new data website tells the story of Essex County that features the result of months of comprehensive research, and the data will drive ECCF’s countywide needs assessment and the subsequent work to address the most critical issues in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County.
“The data will help us examine all of the needs in Essex County and how we can bring people together for collective grant making,” she said.
For example, ECCF discovered the opioid crisis is much more of an issue in Essex County than in nearby Middlesex County.
“As a result, we can collectively make some changes,” she said.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.
