Two Local Nonprofits Awarded MacArthur Foundation Grants

Two local organizations are receiving a major boost from the MacArthur Foundation.

The Tobin Project, a Cambridge-based research group focusing on public policy, and Boston's Housing Partnership Network, have each been awarded a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

David Moss, founder and president of the Tobin Project, says the $750,000 grant will be a big help.

"We're going to try to build up our reserves to strengthen the financial stability of the group, but also we're developing an experimentation fund so we can continue to experiment with our model and try to expand our impact," Moss said.

President and CEO of the Housing Partnership Network, Tom Bledsoe, says his group will use the $1.5 million grant to help connect other affordable housing nonprofits nationwide.

"That will allow us to speed our pace of innovation and take creative ideas that emerge from our members and translate them into enterprises that we can then execute," Bledsoe said.

The MacArthur Foundation does not accept applications for the grants and says the awards go to organizations that have "demonstrated impact that is likely to continue into the future, and are ready to implement a plan for expansion or sustainability."