Here are the winners in this summer's 25 categories for Best of Patch Readers' Choice Jamaica Plain.
All this summer you've nominated and voted for your favorite JP businesses and places in categories ranging from Best Burger and Best Nonprofit to Best Coffee and Best Yoga Studio. We've tallied all the poll votes and now it's time to announce the winners, Where it was close, I've included second and sometimes third place: Best Burger Favorite Coffee Vegan/Vegetarian Dish Best Hot Dog Favorite Beer List Favorite Pizza Shop Best Bartender Favorite Takeout Place Favorite Community Garden Best Sushi Best Asian Restaurant Best Latin Restaurant Best Nonprofit Best Outdoor Dining Best Comfort Food Best Yoga Studio Best Place for a First Date Best Dog Walker Best Dry Cleaner Best Cocktails Best Barber Best Nail Salon …
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JP residents give 4.1 percent of their income to charity. That's more than the average Bay Stater but below the 4.7 percent national average.
If you had to list the 50 states in terms of how much their residents give to charity, where do you think the six in New England would rank? Would the relatively progressive attitudes in the Northeast correspond with a charitable mindset? Doesn't look like it. In a recent analysis put out by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, New England states huddle at the rock bottom of the rankings, occupying numbers 45 to 50. Southerners give more than twice as much, while people in Utah give almost four times as much. According to The Chronicle's number, which were gleaned from tax returns, Bay Staters gave 2.8 percent of their discretionary income to charity, for a median contribution of $1,652. Jamaica Plain is more open-handed than the rest of the …
This summer's "Best of Patch Readers' Choice" contests include "Best Nonprofit." So far, Spontaneous Celebrations has a slim lead over JP's other great nonprofits.
Cities around the country are reaping the benefits of tool banks, where residents or non-profits can borrow tools for low cost. But Boston isn't one of those cities.
A recent post on the Atlantic Cities blog touted the power of tool banks: places where costly tools can be loaned out at low cost. Picture a massive shed stocked with shovels, rakes, power tools, wheelbarrows, ladders, water hoses, work gloves—even a tiller and a generator. Since opening last year, Charlotte’s ToolBank has equipped more than 11,000 volunteers at 500 different projects, lending tools with a combined retail value of $243,000 for only $7,200. It now provides 134 nonprofit agencies with tools. That's in Charlotte, people of Boston. I'm a proud North Carolinian, but when you're talking urban innovations, I'd like to think Boston has a step up on the Queen City. The Boston area doesn't have any tool banks, according to Deb …
Non-profit organizations are not required to pay taxes on their property, but some do so thanks to Boston's Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.
Non-profit organizations are not required to pay taxes on their property, but some do so thanks to Boston's Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, or PILOT. The second fiscal year of the program ended on June 30, with Boston receiving $19.5 million in payments. But fiscal 2012 was the first year under new PILOT guidelines created by the City. The guidelines ask for voluntary payments based on organization’s tax-exempt property value. The City asked 45 institutions with property valued at $15 million or more. Organizations are eligible for a "community benefits deduction," calculating institutions' efforts to give back to the community through things such as scholarships, donations, events and programs. Before the list of the Top 10 PILOT …
3:05 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Shame on all of them! These "non-profits" (not to be confused with charity) were asked to pay 25% of what they would have paid if they were not a "non-profit" for municipal services. Out of that 25% the mayor is asking for, he is allowing non-profits to deduct "community benefit services" up to 50%, bringing their share down to 12.5% of what they would pay if they were not a non-profit. The "… more ›
The local organizations were highlighted for their work by the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network during a ceremony Monday at the State House.
The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network honored three Boston organizations Monday with Excellence Awards as part of the fourth annual Nonprofit Awareness Day. The State House ceremony recognizes nonprofits that stand out as playing a critical role in strengthening the Commonwealth, and the Boston organizations were among seven winners chosen. The local organizations are: “Nonprofits enrich our communities, our economy, and our lives in countless ways,” said Rick Jakious, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network. Jamaica Plain is an epicenter of the non-profit sector, with more than 200 non-profits based in the neighborhood. The winners were chosen from 14 finalists, and selected by a committee of leaders from across the state. Treasurer …
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JP is home to more than 200 nonprofits. Which one is your favorite?
Jamaica Plain has more than 200 nonprofits, all of which strive to do good work. But we can't include all 200-plus, so here are reader nominations, plus the better-known JP nonprofits. We took nominations through July 9; voting runs through Aug. 17.
8:27 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
Eliot: History, multipurpose, trades, art, and a yard that tball teams use for games!!! more ›
The state is revising its rules on billboards, paving the way for more electronic ones. The MBTA hopes to convert 18 of its billboards to the electronic format.
If you like the digital billboards in place in a few spots around Boston, you'll love new regulations being mulled that would pave the way for more of them. The state is revising the regulations that govern all types of billboards -- both the traditional kinds as well as the flashy electronic ones. Observers say digital billboards are the way the outdoor advertising industry is going. Of course, how you feel about billboards depends on who you are — and where the billboard happens to be. A wide range of opinions was on display Tuesday at a public hearing as ad execs, nonprofit marketers and a handful of concerned citizens held forth. The hearing was in front of the Department of Transportation officials responsible for regulating outdoor …
The JP-based nonprofit has a program in Uganda, the longtime base of Joseph Kony, a warlord wanted for war crimes. The agency says the military tactics promoted by the viral "KONY2012" video is not the best solution for Central Africa.
It's likely you've seen the viral video "KONY2012," which argues for a massive global effort to capture Central African warlord Joseph Kony. His rebel group is notorious for kidnapping children to turn the girls into sex slaves and the boys into child soldiers. But Jamaica Plain-based Bikes Not Bombs, which has a program in northern Uganda, a region scarred by Kony's depradations, is critical of the video. While Bikes Not Bombs applauds any effort made to educate the international community about the atrocities of the civil war in Uganda, we are concerned with the tactics prescribed in the viral video entitled KONY 2012, which was produced by the non-profit, Invisible Children. Instead, Bikes Not Bombs advocates peaceful solutions that do …
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The Ecumenical Social Action Committee held their 15th Annual Taste of Jamaica Plain last Thursday.
Attendees tasted samplings from 24 local restaurants and two local breweries in Jamaica Plain and the surround area. Along with the fabulous food and drink, there was a silent auction and wonderful sounds by the Kevin Harris Project. Proceeds from the event went to Ecumenical Social Action Committee. The committee provides foreclosure prevention counseling, senior home repairs, education and home visits to assist children and adults better manage their asthma through their Boston Asthma Initiative, GED Plus classes and support for youth ages 16-24, plus maintenance of the Egleston Square Peace Garden. The event was held at Cedars Hall.
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Dewey
1:38 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
We'd rented an insulation blower from Boston Building Resources when residing our house (DIY FTW). Those folks are a great resource. I'd certainly become a member if one started up in our neck of the woods (it would mean fewer trips to the HD at South Bay for sure). more ›