Liberty Mutual Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Liberty Mutual Foundation’s homeless initiative provides broad support for homeless individuals and families in the areas of housing, case management and vocational training. Education funding supports early childhood, K-12 and higher education, prioritizing underserved and underrepresented students from urban areas in the U.S. The foundation’s accessibility program focuses on disabled people of all ages, funding services, increased access, housing, education and vocational training programs. This funder does not name geographic priorities, but organizations based in Boston, Dallas and Seattle receive a significant share of its grants.
IP TAKE: The Liberty Mutual Foundation makes about $25 million a year in grants and is a surprisingly accessible corporate funder. It accepts applications for its foundation grants via an online submission system and reviews applications every month. There is a separate application for corporate donations and sponsorships. Applicants can expect a response within eight weeks of submission. It’s pretty responsive, but not the most approachable.
PROFILE: The Liberty Mutual Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Liberty Mutual Group, a multinational Fortune 100 insurance firm. The foundation makes about $25 million in grants a year, while the Liberty Mutual Group makes an additional $10 million in contributions and sponsorships. Through its grantmaking, the foundation aims to “invest in community initiatives dedicated to empowering individuals who are experiencing homelessness, advancing access for people with disabilities, and expanding educational opportunities for underserved students.” It maintains three giving areas: homelessness, education and accessibility. Liberty Mutual also runs an extensive employee volunteer and donation program, Liberty Torchbearers, which reflects the interests of employees. Grantmaking prioritizes the greater Boston area, where Liberty Mutual maintains its corporate headquarters, and other areas in the U.S. where the company runs regional offices.
Grants for Housing, Community and Economic Development and Public Health
Liberty Mutual’s homelessness initiative, its largest area of giving, aims to reduce homelessness by providing housing, basic needs, case management and vocational training and counseling services to homeless individuals and families. Funding is national in scope, but tends to support organizations operating in Boston, Dallas and the state of Washington. In Boston, the foundation has supported the Healthcare for the Homeless program and Action for Boston Community Development, which provides case management and workforce development opportunities to homeless youth. In Dallas, the foundation has supported the North Texas Food Bank, AIDS Services of Dallas and Family Gateway, which provides shelter and services to homeless families. Other grantees include Cambridge Family and Children’s Services, Horizons for Homeless Children, the New England Center and Home for Veterans and HopeWell, which helps homeless youth attain stability through housing and employment.
The Liberty Mutual Foundation also supports work and economic opportunity initiatives via its homelessness and accessibility funding programs. In the work and opportunity space, the homelessness program prioritizes vocational training and placement programs for homeless people in Boston, Dallas and Seattle, while accessibility grants have gone to organizations that help disabled individuals develop skills that help them enter the workforce and attain independence. One grantee, Boston’s Breaktime Café, provides homeless youth with training and work experience in food services. Another grantee, Partners for Youth with Disabilities, helps young people develop skills and supports inclusivity of workplaces and communities. Other work and opportunity grants have supported My Possibilities of Texas, Best Buddies Massachusetts, Friends of Youth Opportunity Boston and New Friends New Life, which supports employment opportunity for victims of sex trafficking in Texas.
While Liberty Mutual does not name public health as an area of grantmaking focus, it gives related grants through its homelessness and accessibility initiatives. Public health grantees typically provide health services to homeless and/or disabled people. The Boston Medical Center Corporation received funding to expand access to its child wellness programs to homeless and refugee families. Boston’s Whittier Street Health Center received support for its physical and mental health services to formerly incarcerated men. And the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation received funding for its outreach programs for disabled children.
Grants for Education
The foundation’s education program encompasses various interests that range widely. Grantmaking occurs at the national and local levels here.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
The Liberty Mutual Foundation expanded its early childhood education funding in 2019, naming the specific goal of increasing access to quality pre-k programs and “helping neighborhood-based centers compete for city funding and national accreditation.” Some early childhood funding also stems from the foundation’s accessibility initiative, which supports services and programs for disabled people of all ages, including special education preschools and initiatives that increase access to playgrounds, parks, museums, libraries and other public spaces. In Seattle, the foundation has supported the Denise Louie Education Center, which offers high quality early childhood education to children from low-income, immigrant and refugee families. Other early childhood education grantees include Jumpstart for Young Children, the South Boston Neighborhood House and Boston’s Crispus Atticus Children’s Center. Accessibility funding has supported program expansion for disabled children at the Boston Museum of Science, the New England Aquarium, the Seattle Children’s Theater and Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo.
Grants for K-12 Education
Liberty Mutual’s education funding prioritizes in- and out-of-school learning opportunities for underserved students in grades K-8 and college readiness programs for high school students. A significant portion of K-12 funding stays in Boston. One grantee, Boston After School and Beyond, supports high-need students to improve academic skills over the summer break. Other grantees include Fenway High School, the Conservatory Lab Charter School, Cristo Rey High School and afterschool programs at East Boston Social Centers, the Latino STEM Alliance, Boys and Girls Clubs and local YMCA and YWCA organizations.
Grants for Higher Education
Liberty Mutual’s higher education funding focuses on programs that help first-generation and underrepresented students succeed academically and complete college degrees. Funding also supports higher education and career education for young adults with disabilities. Grantees include Seattle University, the Urban College of Boston, Year Up and the WorkForce Development Center’s Aerospace Assembly Vocational Training Program.
Important Grant Details:
The Liberty Mutual Foundation makes about $25 million in grants a year, while its parent company makes an additional $10 million in contributions and sponsorships. The foundation’s grants range from $15,000 to $1 million, with an average grant size of about $25,000. This funder tends to support local organizations with strong reputations in areas near its corporate and regional headquarters. Boston, Seattle and Dallas appear to have been areas of priority in recent years. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s individual program pages or its searchable grants database.
The Liberty Mutual Foundation accepts grant applications via its online application system, which begins with a brief eligibility quiz. Applications are reviewed monthly, and applicants can expect to receive a response in six to eight weeks. Liberty Mutual also accepts requests for corporate donations and sponsorships through a separate portal.
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