THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 30, 2023 Page 5 Greater Boston nonprofits sharing in $30M from Cummings Foundation – 150 charities awarded multiyear grants S ummer heralds major growth for 150 greater Boston nonprofi ts. These community organizations have been awarded substantial multiyear funding through the annual Cummings $30 Million Grant Program. In keeping with Cummings Foundation’s focus on local giving, nearly all the grantee organizations are based in and serve Essex, Middlesex and Suff olk Counties. They represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, workforce development, immigrant services, social justice, education and mental health services. “We’re so inspired by the passion of the nonprofits we’ve heard from since notifying the grant winners,” said Cummings Foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes. “Their enthusiasm is not so much about the money but rather what the money will allow them to do for others.” A total of 125 organizations were awarded threeyear grants of up to $225,000 each. The remaining 25 nonprofi ts received 10-year funding of $300,000 to $1 million each. The Chinese Culture Connection in Malden received $105,000 to expand the Youth Leadership and Mentoring Program (YLMP) to more schools, enabling an additional 200 students to fi nd their voices in the community. Malden Catholic High School received $225,000 to provide urban youth from Gateway communities with an innovative and challenging afterschool and summer STEM program. A night to remember More than 350 nonprofit professionals, community leaders and friends of the Cummings Foundation gathered last Thursday evening to honor the Foundation’s 2023 grant winners. Encouraged to “come as your authentic self,” attendees arrived at Woburn’s TradeCenter 128 campus to fi nd a light-hearted, festive atmosphere. Special guests included former Massachusetts Governor and First Lady Charlie and Lauren Baker as well as Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin and former Medford Mayor Mike McGlynn, who both served as Grant Selection Committee volunteers. A unique philanthropic model Vyriotes is quick to redirect the gratitude expressed by grant recipients. “It is us who are thankful for them, the nonprofi ts doing critical daily work that improves local communities and the lives of local residents,” said Vyriotes. “Also, these grants are the result of so many people behind the scenes: Cummings’ leasing clients, Cummings Properties employees, and the Foundation volunteers who actually select the majority of grant winners.” One of the largest private foundations in New England, Cummings Foundation has awarded $480 million to greater Boston nonprofi ts to date. A meaningful percentage of Cummings Foundation’s more than $3 billion in assets is in the form of commercial real estate. The now sizeable portfolio was donated over time by Bill and Joyce Cummings of Winchester. It serves as a stable, ongoing source of revenue for the Foundation’s philanthropic programs. The Foundation’s buildings are all debt free and operated on a pro bono basis by Cummings Properties, which Bill Cummings founded more than 50 years ago. One hundred percent of their rental profi ts go directly to the Foundation for philanthropic purposes. “These annual grants would not be possible without the 2,000 or so businesses that are located in Cummings buildings and the 300-plus talented, hard-working colleagues who design, build, maintain, and lease them,” said Cummings Properties Chairman/ CEO Dennis Clarke, who is a trustee of Cummings Foundation. The next funding opportunity While wrapping up the 2023 grant cycle, Cummings Foundation is already looking ahead to the next one. Local nonprofi ts are invited to visit CummingsFoundation.org in early July to view updated eligibility requirements and submit a letter of inquiry for the Cummings $30 Million Grant Program. One change, according to Vyriotes, will be an expansion of the program’s geographic parameters, which previously were limited to Middlesex, Essex and Suff olk Counties. In the upcoming cycle, the Foundation will broaden eligibility to include several other communities close to Boston: Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy and Wellesley.
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