Dozens of local nonprofit organizations received news this week that likely made not just their day, but their decade. Woburn-based Cummings Foundation awarded a total of $10 million to 30 Greater Boston charities through its new Sustaining Grants program, which provides funding for up to 10 years. Each organization will receive annual installments of between $20,000 and $50,000.
The Sustaining Grants program builds on Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program. First offered in 2012, $100K for 100 annually awards $10 million through multi-year grants of $100,000 each to 100 nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties. Grant recipients that received their final grant disbursements in 2017 were automatically considered for the new funding initiative in 2018. These Sustaining Grants will award an additional $10 million each year.
For the full list of winners, click here.
“Long-term financial support is rare for nonprofits, making fundraising a constant and time-consuming task,” said Joyce Vyriotes, deputy director of Cummings Foundation. “The Sustaining Grants are intended to provide some relief, allowing these organizations to focus more of their time and energy on delivering and enhancing their important services.”
Sustaining Grants winners were selected primarily by a 40-member volunteer committee, which included former state legislators, CEOs of companies and organizations in Greater Boston, a retired justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and a noted Boston Globe reporter, among many others. Committee members conducted two site visits with each nonprofit to learn how the $100K for 100 funds helped to advance its mission, and how it might put a 10-year grant to use.
These volunteers also personally broke the good news to the grant winners, hand-delivering award packages throughout the week.
“Delivering the news in person to the staff of these worthy organizations was simply wonderful,” said Carmen Arce-Bowen, Cummings Foundation volunteer and Vice-President of The Partnership, Inc. “It is an honor to be part of such a great and impactful initiative as Sustaining Grants.”
Cummings Foundation has already awarded more than $200 million to date in Greater Boston alone, and it will award an additional $200 million over the next 10 years through the $100K for 100 and the Sustaining Grants programs.
One of the three largest private foundations in New England, it aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed on a pro bono basis by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date has been to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.