EmpowerGen Foundation, Inc

EmpowerGen Foundation is a North Reading nonprofit that strengthens small, youth-focused nonprofits. The organizations it supports, which it calls Champions, are often deeply connected to their communities and trusted by the young people they serve, yet short on stable funding, operational support and strategic guidance. EmpowerGen fills those gaps with grants, resources, strategic guidance and a network where leaders can learn and grow together, with the aim of helping every child get the resources needed to thrive.

The foundation’s model links three groups: the Champion nonprofits, a team of youth volunteers known as the EmpowerGen Kids Corps, and Benefactors whose generosity funds the work. Together they produce what the organization calls the Accelerator Effect, with shared learning, collaboration and resource exchange lifting every nonprofit in the network. Its guiding creed asks young people to be a positive force, give more than they receive, think for themselves and help those less fortunate.

What to Know

• Founder Linda Bonfanti and her volunteers have been active in local communities for more than 30 years.
• The EmpowerGen Lab, planned for 2026, will prototype and test new tools and programs for youth nonprofits.
• Its stated values include honoring the dignity and worth of each child and working collaboratively without personal agendas.
• The foundation is listed with both the Reading-North Reading and Woburn chambers of commerce.