Family to fund awards honoring Lincoln woman

The giving spirit is certainly in evidence at this time of year. A new town committee backed by a Lincoln family who wants to remain anonymous will award grants to charities every month to recognize women — and in an unrelated development, another family has donated a piece of property to the town for conservation purposes.

In its first year, the Women Positively Impacting Lincoln Lives program, known as WILL, will honor “women who have lived or worked in Lincoln and whose contributions have benefited the town of Lincoln, the local area, or society at large,” said Select Board Chair Kim Bodnar. The group will seek nominations of “women of today” and will award 12 monthly grants of $2,500 to the organization of the winning nominee’s choice. Once a year, it will also select women from history who have had an impact on Lincoln and award $2,500 in her name. 

The family initially offered to appoint and run the committee to spare the town the administrative work that accompanies an official committee. But the Select Board ultimately decided that such a group should be operated by the town under its usual procedures, even though it’s administering private funds, much as the Lincoln Scholarship Committee does.

The identity of the philanthropic family is still a mystery, but that may change at some point. “The donor family would like to remain anonymous but recognize that it might be challenging should they participate in the committee’s meetings, which are subject to the requirements of Open Meeting Law,” Bodnar said. 

New town-owned parcel

The parcel of vacant land being donated to the town is on the south side of Trapelo Road abutting the Cambridge Water Department’s land abutting the reservoir (see map at right). It’s one of two adjoining parcels that were once owned by the parents of Kevin Maroni (the second lot abutting Huckleberry Hill includes a home and has been sold). The lot will be left in a natural state as a memorial to his parents and will eventually bear a sign marking it as “Le Champ du Maroni,” said Conservation Director Michele Grzenda.