Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

History

GBIO was founded by a group of 45 clergy and community leaders who began meeting in January of 1996. What motivated this founding group to begin building GBIO was a common desire to transcend the historic divisions in Boston that existed between neighborhoods, particularly around race and class issues. These founders were motivated to build a new organization which could help build relationships across these divides and provide a new vehicle for different constituencies to act together on common interests in ways which would be powerful and effective. This founding group raised seed money from ten different religious denominations and the first staff organizer was hired in August 1997. In November of 1998, GBIO held its founding assembly attended by some 4000 people from across Greater Boston. This watershed event in Boston's recent history was the largest and most diverse mass meeting held in Boston during the past 25 years.

Membership

GBIO's 2006 membership is made up of 70 institutions located in Boston and surrounding communities. These institutions include religious congregations, community development corporations, unions and other civic organizations. GBIO member institutions represent a diverse mix — economically, racially, geographically and otherwise. Our membership collectively represents approximately 50,000 people.

Key Achievements

- Led state-wide campaign that won passage of State of MA $100 million Housing Trust Fund

- Worked successfully for $30 million annual increase in state capital budget for housing

- Won $2 million increase in funding for Boston Public Schools for textbooks and instructional supplies

- Secured $23 million commitment in new funding for affordable housing from City of Boston

- Organized with Justice for Janitor's campaign to win significant pay and benefit increases for area janitors

- Organized successfully for inclusionary zoning ordinances in Quincy and Newton

- Moved Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly to send an unprecedented "Advisory" to the nursing home industry clarifying their obligations to protect the rights of immigrant workers.

- Instigated a training organized by the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation (the nursing home industry trade association) and the Attorney General's staff on the rights of immigrant nursing home workers.

- Negotiated with Citizens Bank of Massachusetts an affinity product for members of GBIO congregations which includes free checking, discounted auto and home-owner's insurance, above-market interests rates on CDs, reduced fees for international wire transfers, and below-market interest rates for GBIO congregations on loans for building acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation.

- Created with Citizens Bank of Massachusetts a broad-based debt reduction program that includes financial management workshops, grants, and low-interest debt consolidation loans for 360 members of GBIO congregations.

Overview of Ongoing Initiatives

Affordable Healthcare

GBIO has joined a state-wide coalition of advocates, health care providers, health insurers, business leaders, and organized labor to expand health care quality and access for Massachusetts residents who earn too little to afford private insurance but too much to qualify for MassHealth.

Financial Literacy

In conjunction with Citizens Bank, GBIO is organizing wide-spread financial literacy and debt-consolidation programs for low-income members of our congregations.

Nursing Home Workers

GBIO is continuing to organize Haitian nursing home workers, the larger Haitian community, and families and friends of nursing home residents in congregations throughout GBIO to improve working conditions and quality of care in Massachusetts Nursing homes.

Local Organizing Initiatives

GBIO is currently working on local organizing initiatives in neighborhoods and communities throughout Greater Boston. GBIO has prioritized expansion in suburbs to the north and west of Boston, where an active recruitment drive is underway in 2006.

Board

GBIO currently has a fourteen-member board that also acts as the Strategy Team for the organization. The board is composed of primary leaders from member organizations who meet specific leadership requirements. The strategy team is accountable to the Delegate Assembly — the democratic decision making body of GBIO which is comprised of three voting members from each member institution. The Delegate Assembly meets throughout the year to ratify major organizational decisions and actions.

Size and Scale of Operations

While GBIO has a relatively small budget and staff, the size and scale of the organization is large. The majority of our membership base is located throughout the neighborhoods of Boston, but we also have member institutions in Newton, Brookline, Somerville, Cambridge, Chelsea and Quincy. GBIO is a member-led organization. Most of the organization's actions are initiated and sustained by volunteer leaders, not by professional staff. Volunteer involvement is wide-spread, with hundreds of volunteer leaders serving on institutional core teams, area teams, issue teams, the Strategy Team and within the Delegates Assembly.

GBIO has demonstrated the capacity for large-scale involvement and turnout on numerous occasions. Since its founding in Nov. 1998, GBIO has held two large assemblies attended by approximately 3500 people. In addition, each year there have been at least 3-4 action meetings in both local communities and metro-wide attended by 500-1500 people.

See also

• Interreligious relations
• Interfaith