Lauren Booker

Oct 16, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Lauren Booker

During Vice President Kamala Harris’s live interview with author and radio personality Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday, the Democratic presidential candidate made an appeal to Black voters by outlining her agenda for reparations and wealth building.

Sep 11, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Lauren Booker

Jennifer Hanlon Wigon, chief executive of Women’s Lunch Place, knows the unique pathways that can lead a woman into homelessness. The daytime shelter and advocacy center in Boston served more than 2,000 women during the 2023 fiscal year, according to Hanlon Wigon. These women were in the midst of several crises: 84 percent were unemployed, 73 percent had experienced trauma or violence, 64 percent were homeless. A majority — about 71 percent — were women of color.

Aug 28, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Lauren Booker

How do you maximize collective power? It’s a question that’s always top of mind for Nia K. Evans, the executive director of the Boston Ujima Project. Since launching in 2017, the organization has prioritized cultivating an ecosystem that embraces different viewpoints, such as those from community members, business leaders, and investment partners. By 2018, Evans said, it launched the nation’s first democratically governed investment fund, which includes members in its decision-making process.

Aug 8, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Lauren Booker

These students, Simpson said, are “under the radar.” They make Cs and Ds and aren’t “high flying athletes.” But by mentoring them, Simpson said they can become honor roll students and also elevate their communities. As a founding member of the local nonprofit, Simpson was one of their first school-based mentors and group leaders. He’s watched the organization expand over almost a decade to have it’s own space in Hyde Park, where mentees can access a gym, kitchen, TVs, and computers.

Jul 30, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Lauren Booker

The organizations receiving this year’s awards are part of a diverse cohort: 82 percent are Black or Latino, and more than 60 percent identify as women or non-binary. Their organizations are based across Massachusetts in cities including Brockton, Worcester, and Springfield, and their work focuses on NCF’s own priorities such as economic empowerment, policing & criminal justice reform, and health equity.