City Life/Vida Urbana’s most important work is funded by donations from people who share our commitment to community-based leadership and radical organizing. Your gift of whatever amount--$5, $50, $500, or $5,000--speaks of your belief that a better world is possible, and that organizing is the way to get there.
There are many ways to give, and all gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Please note that City Life/Vida Urbana is listed with the IRS as Urban Revival Inc.
Sign up for our Monthly Giving Program
[See PDF of Monthly Giving informational brochure]Automatic monthly gifts via credit card or bank transfer provide a strong foundation for City Life/Vida Urbana's grassroots organizing campaigns. In our humble opinion, this is the easiest and best way to sustain City Life's work!
For as little as $10 per month you will:
To enroll, or to find out more about this new way of making donations, send an e-mail to kmathew@clvu.org or click here to print out a form to send in. Because we do not have a secure server, we regret that we cannot enroll you through our website.
As a community-based organization, City Life/Vida Urbana relies on support from our members for our political and financial strength. Your membership is an important statement that you agree with City Life/Vida Urbana’s mission and vision. As a member, you also play a key decision-making role through electing the Board of Directors at our annual meeting.
Annual member dues are $30, paid at once or over time. You can pay dues by any of the methods described on this page. Just make sure we know your gift is for membership by including a note with your donation.
Make a credit card donation by phone
Raising funds through house parties not only provides funding for City Life, it builds active community support for our tenant, immigrant and parent organizing campaigns. If you would like to host (or co-host) a party in your house, we will work with you to prepare a guest list, provide speakers, and plan your fundraising pitch.
To host or help out at a house party, contact us at (617) 524-3541 x311 or kmathew@clvu.org.
The Affordable Housing Fund is a joint project of City Life/Vida Urbana with the Jamaica Plain NDC (www.jpndc.org).
The Fund seeks voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations, or businesses that profit from real estate activity in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. If you are:
For more information, click here or contact Kay Mathew.
For more information about these and other giving opportunities, contact Kay Mathew, Fundraising Coordinator, at (617) 524-3541 x311 or by e-mail at kmathew@clvu.org.
CITY LIFE/VIDA URBANA
Recibe apoyo financiero de las siguientes organizaciones ~
Receives major funding from the following sources
Anna B. Stearns Charitable Foundation
Anonymous
Boston Bar Foundation
The Boston Foundation
Boston Parent Organizing Network
Citizens Bank
City of Boston/Rental Housing Resource Center
Common Stream
Episcopal City Mission/Burgess Urban Fund
Haymarket People’s Fund
The Hyams Foundation, Inc.
The Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation
Unitarian Universalist Fund for a Just Society
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
...and the generous support of our friends and members ~
...y el apoyo generoso de nuestros amigos y miembros
City Life/Vida Urbana receives support from / recibe apoyo de: 
Since 1995, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury rents and home sale prices have doubled. This increase has imposed a tremendous financial burden on many lower income tenants and potential homebuyers. For some, the housing market escalation has resulted in large rent increases or abandonment of the homeownership goal. For others it has meant displacement from their community.
City Life/Vida Urbana and Jamaica Plain NDC have been working in partnership to fight displacement of low-income families and to increase support for affordable housing in the neighborhood. Our strategies include: organizing tenant associations to collectively bargain with landlords, protesting large rent increases and evictions, advocating for affordable housing to be top priority for publicly-owned vacant land, and pushing at a city and state level for affordable housing funding and protections. Recently, City Life/Vida Urbana has launched the Anti-Displacement Zone, covering parts of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury to bring tenants and homeowners together to organize against evictions and rent gouging.
While the dynamics of the housing market extend far beyond the boundaries of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, we have developed local strategies to address the recent exorbitant and disproportionate rise in the local market. One such strategy is the creation of the Jamaica Plain/Roxbury Affordable Housing Fund. The fund seeks to capture a portion of the local profits made on real estate for investment in activities that stabilize or increase affordable housing opportunities in our neighborhood.
Affordable Housing Fund Goal
The Affordable Housing Fund seeks voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations or businesses that profit from real estate activity in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. Potential sources include individuals selling a home, brokers earning commissions, and banks and mortgage lenders generating increased revenues from mortgage fees and interest. Contributions will be spent on activities that increase affordable opportunities and fight displacement of low-income tenants.
Specifically, the funds are designated for the following purposes:
The fund is administered by a steering committee made up of staff and board of City Life/Vida Urbana and Jamaica Plain NDC.
To date, we have raised more than $50,000 for the Fund, which has helped several hundred low-income families stay in their homes. The primary source of funding has come from families selling their homes who donated a percentage of the sale proceeds to the Fund as a way to support affordable housing and a stable community. The Fund has also received donations from individuals in the community who wish to be part of the effort to maintain a stable and diverse neighborhood.
Donations to the Fund are tax-deductible. Checks can be made payable to:
Affordable Housing Fund- JPNDC
31 Germania Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
For more information about the Affordable Housing Fund, please contact Sally Swenson at 617-522-2424 x242 (sswenson@jpndc.org) or Kay Mathew at 617-524-3541 x311 (kmathew@clvu.org). Or visit our websites at www.jpndc.org or www.clvu.org .
City Life/Vida Urbana and the JPNDC receive support from / reciben apoyo de:
I want to play an active, ongoing part in maintaining City Life’s organizing over the long haul and strengthening City Life’s ability to respond to emerging needs in the community.
___ Please charge $______ monthly to my credit card
Name on card ________________________________________ I will make arrangements with my bank for automatic monthly payments of $______.
___ Please contact me about other mechanisms for making a monthly gift.
I understand that I may cancel this arrangement at any time.
Signature ___________________________________________
| Name | ___________________________________________ |
| Street | ___________________________________________ |
| City & ZIP | ___________________________________________ |
| Phone | ___________________________________________ |
| ___________________________________________ |
Please return this form to Kay Mathew at City Life/Vida Urbana, PO Box 117, Jamaica Plain 02130
If you have additional questions, please contact Kay Mathew at (617) 524-3541 x311 (kmathew@clvu.org)