Boys & Girls Clubs of MetroWest, Friends of Marlborough Seniors, Sisters of the Good Shepherd Maria Droste Services, and Special Olympics Massachusetts have been selected as four of the 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s new $100K for 100 program. The Marlborough-based organizations were chosen from more than 370 applicants during a competitive review process by the Foundation.
“We are honored to be among the many great organizations supported by Cummings Foundation,” noted Mary Beth McMahon, president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts.
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More than 250 people, including staff and board members from nearly all 100 recipient organizations, gathered at the Foundation’s first annual Grantee Reception on June 19 at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn. The elated attendees accepted their official award letters, posed for photos with Foundation representatives, networked with their peers, and celebrated the $10 million infusion of funding into greater Boston’s nonprofit sector.
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Fran Hurley, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of MetroWest, said, “The outstanding generosity of Cummings Foundation will enable us to complete a major upgrade in our technology center at our Marlborough Clubhouse, allowing us to ensure that all club members have the skills they need to be successful in today’s digital world.”
All of the selected charities serve local communities, with 50 percent of the grants being awarded in Middlesex County, 30 percent in Suffolk County (including Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury), and 20 percent in Essex County. Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director, noted that the narrow geographic priority area reflects a desire to give back in the areas where the grant funds were derived.
Swets explained, “As the primary beneficiary of commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties, the Foundation is very committed to the 10 communities in which the firm manages buildings, as well as the hometowns of its 350 staff members. We are delighted to support these Marlborough-based organizations in their admirable work in the community.”
Marlborough Council on Aging director Jennifer Claro stated, “This award is a wonderful complement to our new senior center. It is just a fantastic and needed gift.”
Sisters of the Good Shepherd will apply its Cummings Foundation grant to the counseling and holistic therapies provided through its affiliated Maria Droste Services in Quincy.
The diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including underserved populations, education, healthcare, homelessness, and social justice. Many of the grants will be paid over two to five years.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, Mass. With assets exceeding $1 billion, it is one of the very largest grant-making foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons senior communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single grant to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
