Neighborhood Jobs Trust

The Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) was created in 1987 to ensure that Boston’s low- and moderate-income residents directly benefit from large-scale real estate development in their city. NJT collects fees from developers to fund jobs, job training, and related services throughout the city of Boston.

How NJT Works

Developers of commercial projects in Boston in excess of 100,000 square feet are required to pay “linkage fees,” based on the square footage of their project, into the trust. Currently, the linkage fee rate for the Neighborhood Jobs Trust is $2.39 per square foot. Developers have two options when they pay their linkage fees into the trust. They can designate the money toward 1) jobs creation or 2) job contribution. Jobs creation money funds job training for workers to be employed, on a permanent basis, at the developer’s project-site. Jobs contribution money is paid into the trust to be managed by the NJT trustees to residents’ benefit.

The three trustees of the Neighborhood Jobs Trust are responsible for setting the trust’s funding priorities according to residents’ needs and current labor market conditions. The trustees, who meet quarterly, are City Councillor Frank Baker, OWD Director Trinh Nguyen, and Collector-Treasurer Emme Handy. The dispersal of NJT funds, as well as program evaluation and support, is administered by the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.

NJT-Funded Programs

NJT-funded programs prepare workers for such diverse industries as hospitality, banking and finance, tech, and healthcare. The complete list of grantees can be found on our Who We Fund page, under Neighborhood Jobs Trust.

NJT also supports the following education and training programs run by OWD:

• City Academy, a program that trains eligible Boston residents in one of two tracks: 1) Emergency Medical Technician training, or 2) Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)/Hoisting training.
• The Tuition-Free Community College Plan, which pays for up to three years of tuition and mandatory fees at participating colleges for income-eligible Boston residents.

Further Reading