After 27 years of service, 16 of which she has served as president of Lend A Hand Society’s Board of
Directors, Nancy Inui announced that she has stepped down as president of the board in June 2021.
While Nancy plans to continue as a board member, this milestone is a good opportunity to reflect on Lend
A Hand’s accomplishments during Nancy’s tenure as president and thank her for her skilled leadership
and commitment to the organization.
During Nancy’s tenure as president, Nancy has kept a keen eye on the mission of LAH which is to help
people in the Greater Boston area with financial assistance in a simple, dignified manner and she has
effectively accomplished her mission of increasing funding for emergency assistance grants for Boston-
area residents more than eight-fold.
Bringing people together, Nancy focused on enlarging the LAH circle of friends and harnessing the
potential of every friend and board member to help towards its mission. LAH under Nancy’s guidance has
been able to expand its emergency assistance aid every year while continuing to draw on the history and
legacy of its founder EE Hale and his timeless founding principles for the organization.
Her wonderful ability to lift up historical gems from LAH’s past did not stop her from moving forward with
technology and efficiency. In the last 16 years, LAH modernized its grant management systems, and in
the last year moved its grant request form online, making it easier for case workers to make requests for
their clients, and for LAH to expeditiously answer calls for aid. All of these changes have contributed to
the organization’s ability to help more of our neighbors in need.
For an organization over 130 years old, LAH continues to play an important role in the community,
helping nonprofits help their clients; answering needs with financial assistance. One of Boston’s original
emergency assistance organizations, LAH today continues its mission to lend a hand by connecting
people who want to help with those who need help. LAH’s motto asks us to look forward and not back,
lend a hand, which Nancy’s leadership has promoted with many practical and meaningful changes,
helping bring LAH into the 21st century.