History
Established in 1987 by Charles Francis Adams, the C. F. Adams Charitable Trust is a
private grantmaking foundation headquartered in Boston, MA. Prior to his death in 1999,
Mr. Adams advised the other trustees that he had completed his commitments to the
institutions he cared deeply about and encouraged them to seek out new opportunities to
carry on his quiet and determined leadership in addressing community needs.
The four trustees-Beatrice D. Adams, Edward P. Lawrence, James H. Lowell, 2nd, and
Janet C. Taylor - were thus challenged to develop a framework for the Trust's charitable
giving that honored his interests. They selected the following three areas.
Downeast Maine
Based on Mr. Adams' love of sailing in the Gulf of Maine, the trustees initially
decided to focus on coastal Maine. They narrowed that focus even further to the region
east of Acadia from Schoodic Peninsula to Eastport because it has significant needs and
few private sector resources. In 2000, the Trust convened meetings of community leaders
from the region - selectmen, fishermen, nonprofit administrators, health care providers,
town managers and environmental representatives - and asked them two questions:
- What is important to understand about the region?
- What is on your wish list?
Their answers guide the work of the foundation in the region. In 2008, the
Trust convened local leaders to ask the same questions. The responses revealed a strong
sense of hope and confidence in the region and underscored the importance of respect for
the special qualities of the people and the natural assets there.
Children's Mental Health in Massachusetts
In 2002, the trustees felt it was important to add a funding component focused on
Massachusetts where Charles Francis Adams lived and the Trust is based. They identified
children's mental health as a growing area of need and discovered that few other local
foundations were engaged. Based on interviews with various leaders in the field, the trustees
recognized the complexities of assessing various treatment and research programs targeted to
specific diagnoses. They chose to focus instead on broad-based approaches to prevention,
family involvement and access to care. They subsequently added arts therapy for children as a
component of the mental health work because they wanted an opportunity to learn from a narrowly
defined field of service providers.
Adams Family Legacy
The trustees recognized that Charles Francis Adams, as a direct descendant of the two Adams Presidents,
felt a particular responsibility to the Adams family legacy. The Trust seeks to sustain his commitment
to the family heritage by focusing on projects in which he was directly involved in his lifetime.
In all three areas of activity, the Trust is taking an approach of learning about the needs
and issues and identifying funding opportunities where it can make a difference. This approach
is designed to reflect and to honor the intellectual curiosity and thoughtful deliberation that
characterized the donor, Charles Francis Adams.
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