BOSTON (December 15, 2021) – Boston Uncornered was awarded a $1 million grant from the Barr Foundation to expand the work of the nation’s only corner to college solution to end generational urban poverty in New England. Boston Uncornered engages young adults most actively involved in community violence by supporting them, being accountable to them, and believing in them. The organization has proven that supporting the formerly and active gang-involved individuals they call Core Influencers to overcome limitations imposed on them — both real and perceived — through engagement, educational access, autonomous mentors, and financial resources can end gang violence.
“We are grateful for the support and leadership of Barr Foundation,” says Boston Uncornered Co-Founder and CEO Mark Culliton. “They believed early on that Core Influencers are the revolutionaries who can and will change the world and this transformative investment is further evidence of their courage.” The pandemic has had an outsized impact on Boston Uncornered students . In the past year, Uncornered added its first Executive Director, created leadership opportunities for formerly gang involved young people, started an internship program that creates a career pathway for its students, and doubled the number of students who receive stipends as they pursue post-secondary credentials. Communities where Uncornered mentors have been most active since 2016 have seen a three-fold reduction in violence. Seventy percent of the students have enrolled in college, which is more than double the national average of enrollment of gang-involved young people in post-secondary education programs.
“Boston Uncornered has demonstrated effectiveness in supporting former gang-involved young people as community leaders and in increasing their participation and completion of postsecondary education opportunities,” said Jim Canales, President and Trustee of the Barr Foundation. “We are excited to support the deepening and expansion of this unique and effective solution throughout Boston and across the country.”
Funding from Barr Foundation, which is a three-year grant to support the organization’s New England expansion, is an important step towards making Boston Uncornered a national model for ending gang violence and systemic generational urban poverty. Boston Uncornered saves the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $700,000 each year, as their support of Core Influencers is one third of the cost of keeping this population in prison or in various stages of the judicial system.
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About Boston Uncornered
Boston Uncornered is a solution to gang violence and systemic generational urban poverty that was launched in 2016. Boston Uncornered provides neighborhood-based mentors, college-focused education, and financial assistance in the form of guaranteed income for highly influential Core Influencers as they become positive change agents – breaking cycles of poverty and violence by transforming neighborhoods. Uncornered is poised to be a national model for using education to end systemic generational urban poverty and violence. For more information, please visit www.uncornered.org
About Barr Foundation
The Barr Foundation’s mission is to invest in human, natural, and creative potential, serving as thoughtful stewards and catalysts. Based in Boston, Barr focuses regionally, and selectively engages nationally, working in partnership with nonprofits, foundations, the public sector, and civic and business leaders to elevate the arts, advance solutions for climate change, and connect all students to success in high school and beyond. Founded in 1997, Barr now has assets in excess of $3 billion, and has contributed more than $1 billion to charitable causes. For more information, visit barrfoundation.org or follow @BarrFdn.