Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine

Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine support many organizations that empower individuals and communities with greater educational and social opportunities. The Lavines have supported LIFT since 2012, working with LIFT to further its mission of ending intergenerational poverty.

In 2017, the Lavines made a $4 million gift to LIFT to launch the Lavine Family Innovation Fund, dedicated to developing and scaling services to help families achieve social and economic mobility. The Lavine Family Innovation Fund will help LIFT improve direct services to clients and families, promote evaluation and research of these services and circulate this research within the human services industry to affect sector-level change.

“Jonathan and I have watched LIFT grow into an innovative organization that is a model for how social services can serve families in need. This gift is our way of showing our belief in LIFT’s work, and most importantly, our support of the parents that LIFT serves who are working to build strong foundations in order to create better lives for their families across the country and across generations.”  – Jeannie Lavine

The Lavine Family Innovation Fund will help improve the impact of LIFT’s services through three key focus areas: Breakthrough Innovation, Demonstration and Learning and Systems Change. The Fund will help LIFT grow the ground innovation through direct investments, development of workplace and educational institution partnerships, and investments in early intervention programs. By investing in Demonstration and Learning, the Fund will allow LIFT to integrate tools and technology that will help track the progress of members, and better evaluate the impact of LIFT’s programs and services. The Fund also aims to help impact Systems Change by utilizing this evaluation to develop and distribute best practices and products to other human service organizations. The Lavine Family Innovation Fund will help LIFT expand its reach, and develop solutions for the human services industry.

In addition to their support of LIFT, Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine are involved with many organizations that provide access to social and educational opportunities. The Lavines, both graduates of Harvard Business School, are heavily involved with creating more equitable opportunities through their alma mater. In 2011, they established the Lavine Family Scholarship Fund, which expanded Harvard’s undergraduate financial aid program. With a 2012 donation to the school, the Lavine’s helped establish the Lavine Family Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI). The Initiative provides training and education of humanitarian relief workers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine also serve as co-chairs of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health Capital Campaign. In 2017, Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine announced a record-breaking gift to Harvard Business School to establish the Lavine Family Fellowship and the Herbert J. Bachelor Fellowship for first-generation college students. The donation also helped establish the Lavine Family Fellowship Challenge Fund to challenge others to increase donations and create new scholarship opportunities for Harvard students.

The Lavines have been involved with City Year since 1991, supporting the organization’s work to improve education in high-need communities within the U.S. In 2012, they committed $10 million to City Year to help implement a 10-year plan to build out the nation’s urban graduation pipeline. In 2018, the Lavines pledged $18 million to City Year to launch The City Year Campaign: Investing in Student Success initiative. Jonathan Lavine is Chair Emeritus of the City Year Board of Trustees. The Lavines are also major supporters of uAspire, an organization that provides young people with the resources and financial knowledge to obtain an affordable postsecondary education. In 2014, the Lavines helped establish the Lavine Family Center for College Affordability at the uAspire Boston headquarters. Through a 5-year commitment to the organization, Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine helped uAspire address barriers to college affordability within Massachusetts and throughout the U.S.

In 2007, Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine established the Crimson Lion Lavine Family Foundation to focus their philanthropic efforts in their home state of Massachusetts and throughout the U.S. Through the Crimson Lion Foundation and direct giving, the Lavines also support civil and social causes. In 2016, Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine announced a $1 million donation to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) to support EJI’s work for the fair and just treatment of indigent defendants and prisoners in the U.S. The Lavines’ donation to EJI helps the organization to advance their mission to eliminate wrongful convictions, end excessive punishment and combat racial and economic injustice within the American legal system. The Lavines are also regular supporters of organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Opportunity Nation and Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Jonathan Lavine serves as Co-Chair of the Board at Opportunity Nation.