Gloucester, MA, July 27, 2026 — Wellspring House, Inc. announced it has been selected as a Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® awardee, recognizing its significant outcomes across housing stability, education, digital literacy, job training, and career advising for families and adults across the North Shore. 

The Neighborhood Builders award is one of the nation’s most competitive nonprofit honors. Just 150 organizations nationwide, and only two in Massachusetts, were selected in this grant cycle. Wellspring House and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) were the sole Massachusetts recipients. 

As part of the award, Wellspring House is receiving a $200,000 flexible grant over two years, leadership development for its executive director and an emerging leader, and access to a national network of nonprofit peers. 

The recognition comes at a critical time, as the gap between wages and the cost of living continues to widen across Eastern Massachusetts and the need for supported pathways to financial security has never been greater. 

“Being named a Neighborhood Builder is an incredible honor,” said Melissa Dimond, President and Executive Director of Wellspring House. “This investment strengthens our ability to expand critical work that helps families and young adults move from instability to long-term economic mobility. We are deeply grateful to Bank of America for this partnership and its impact across the North Shore and beyond.” 

Wellspring has a proven record of delivering workforce and stabilization services through employer and higher education partnerships across the North Shore, serving residents in 20 cities and towns with an emphasis on Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Beverly, and Gloucester. Its integrated model combines workforce development with wraparound housing support, helping adults and young people complete training, secure employment, and advance toward wages that better align with the region’s cost of living. 

Wellspring’s programs are intentionally integrated because lasting change happens when housing stability, education, and career advancement move together—and when people have a dedicated advocate in their corner. That is when families can move beyond crisis and toward real independence. 

In FY2025, Wellspring served more than 2,000 individuals and families, with more than 580 receiving intensive, individualized support tailored to their goals. Wellspring’s healthcare job training program achieved its highest enrollment and graduation rate in a decade, with 89% of enrollees completing the program and 85% of graduates securing new employment with higher wages within nine months. Across its housing programs, 95% of families engaged for a year or more maintained stable housing at the 12-month mark. 

Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program is one of the nation’s largest philanthropic investments in nonprofit leadership development, pairing multi-year flexible funding with executive training and access to a national peer network. Since 2004, Neighborhood Builders has invested more than $346 million in communities across the U.S. and trained more than 4,000 leaders at nearly 2,000 nonprofits nationwide. 

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About Wellspring House: Established in 1981, Wellspring House helps more than 2,000 individuals and families each year across Massachusetts’ North Shore achieve employment and financial security through integrated services spanning housing stability, education, job training, and career readiness. With offices in Gloucester and Salem and community-based programming throughout the region, Wellspring combines crisis intervention with long-term support and career pathways to build sustainable futures and lasting economic mobility. (wellspringhouse.org) 

About Bank of America Neighborhood Builders®: Neighborhood Builders is Bank of America’s signature philanthropic leadership program, providing nonprofits with unrestricted, multi-year funding, leadership training, and access to a national peer network.