June kicked off on a high note for the 150 greater Boston nonprofits awarded multi-year funding through the annual Cummings $30 Million Grant Program. The awards range from $30,000 to $750,000 each.
In keeping with Cummings Foundation’s focus on local giving, the grantee organizations are based in and serve Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk counties. They represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, education and youth empowerment, workforce development, and mental health services.
“Cummings Foundation’s belief in our mission will give us the stability to sustain, grow, and continue empowering women with dignity and respect,” said Susan Kanoff, founder of Uncommon Threads, in Lawrence. “We’re thank to them for believing in our work.”
Founded in 2016, Uncommon Threads provides personal development coaching and individualized wardrobe styling to help women with low incomes build self-esteem and access new opportunities. Cummings awarded the organization a 10-year grant totaling $500,000.
A total of 125 organizations were awarded three-year grants of up to $225,000 each. The remaining 25 nonprofits were pledged 10-year funding of $300,000 to $750,000 each.
One of the largest private foundations in New England, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $600 million to greater Boston nonprofits to date. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus about 1,200 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
An Innovative Approach to Philanthropy
A substantial portion of Cummings Foundation’s more than $4 billion in assets consists of commercial real estate. This extensive portfolio was donated over time by Joyce and Bill Cummings and serves as a stable, ongoing source of revenue for the Foundation’s philanthropic initiatives.
All Foundation buildings are debt free and operated pro bono by Cummings Properties, the commercial real estate firm Bill Cummings founded more than 50 years ago. One hundred percent of all rental profits from all Cummings buildings supports community-based nonprofits.
“We are enormously appreciative of the 2,000-plus businesses that lease space with Cummings,” said Dennis Clarke, chairman and CEO at Cummings Properties. “Their tenancy fuels our ‘all profits to nonprofits’ model, enabling Cummings to invest in the impactful work of organizations serving the communities around us.”
The Next Funding Opportunity
As the 2025 grant cycle concludes, Cummings Foundation is already preparing for the next round of funding. Local nonprofits are encouraged to visit CummingsFoundation.org in mid-July to review the eligibility requirements and submit a letter of inquiry for the Cummings $30 Million Grant Program.
Nearly all of Cummings Foundation’s grants provide multi-year funding. According to Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes, this model allows nonprofits to better plan for the future. Vyriotes noted that, although rare circumstances call for an early termination, more than 99 percent of its grant awards are paid in full.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, MA and has grown to be one of the largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn, and Cummings Health Sciences, LLC. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Here are the recipients of its its $30 Million Grant Program
Acton
Discovery Museum—$100,000
Amesbury
TEK Collaborative—$75,000
Arlington
Lamplight Women’s Literacy Center—$30,000
Bedford
The Edinburg Center—$350,000
Belmont
Cole Resource Center—$45,000
New England Justice for Our Neighbors—$150,000
Beverly
Amirah—$450,000
Beverly Chamber of Commerce—$105,000
Beverly Children’s Learning Center—$100,000
Cabot Performing Arts Center—$90,000
Harborlight Homes—$750,000
Billerica
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica—$350,000
Boston
Accompany Doula Care—$150,000
Action for Boston Community Development—$225,000
Associated Industries of Massachusetts Foundation—$150,000
Boston Harbor Now—$750,000
Boston Higher Education Resource Center—$700,000
Boston Music Project—$75,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston—$225,000
BUILD Boston—$150,000
Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County—$750,000
Community Work Services—$225,000
English for New Bostonians—$750,000
Greater Boston Legal Services—$750,000
Hearth—$150,000
Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion—$225,000
International Institute of New England—$750,000
Jane Doe Inc.—$75,000
Justice at Work—$120,000
Leadership Brainery—$75,000
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute—$225,000
New England Center and Home for Veterans—$135,000
North Bennet Street School—$105,000
Transformational Prison Project—$135,000
The West End Museum—$150,000
Brighton
Brazilian Women’s Group—$150,000
PSF Community Center—$75,000
Cambridge
Bionic Project—$75,000
Boston Area Rape Crisis Center—$75,000
Community Charter School of Cambridge—$90,000
Feltin Community Care—$150,000
Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center—$750,000
Neighborhood Counseling and Community Services—$75,000
Prospect Hill Academy Charter School—$150,000
TiE-Boston Foundation—$105,000
Charlestown
Boston Cares—$225,000
Federation for Children with Special Needs—$450,000
Junior Achievement of Greater Boston—$150,000
Chelsea
Chelsea Restoration Corporation—$60,000
Comunidades Enraizadas Community Land Trust—$75,000
Concord
Concord Prison Outreach—$150,000
Dedham
Wondermore—$150,000
Dorchester
Beat The Odds—$135,000
Boston Collegiate Charter School—$225,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester—$225,000
Conservatory Lab Charter School—$90,000
Design Studio for Social Intervention—$135,000
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center—$90,000
Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants—$150,000
New England Community Project—$150,000
New England Community Services—$225,000
Prophetic Resistance Boston—$75,000
St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children—$750,000
East Boston
Central Community Church—$75,000
Everett
Arts for Everett—$30,000
Framingham
Brazilian American Center—$750,000
The Learning Center for the Deaf—$225,000
Literacy Unlimited of Framingham—$75,000
MetroWest Legal Services—$100,000
Programs For People—$105,000
Haverhill
Common Ground Ministries—$75,000
Hill View Montessori—$150,000
Jamaica Plain
Boston Impact Initiative—$225,000
City Life/Vida Urbana—$150,000
Digital Ready—$150,000
Justice 4 Housing—$225,000
Lawrence
Elevated Thought—$150,000
Fundación Cambiando el Mundo de Personas con Discapacidad—$45,000
Immigrant City Archives—$75,000
Lawrence General Hospital—$90,000
LEADS—$150,000
Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School—$225,000
Olive in July—$75,000
Uncommon Threads—$500,000
Lexington
Beantown Baby Diaper Bank—$30,000
Boston Bridges Initiative—$75,000
Youth Counseling Connection—$75,000
Lowell
The Bike Connector—$75,000
Bridge Club of Greater Lowell—$150,000
Central Food Ministry—$45,000
Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries—$150,000
Middlesex Community College—$200,000
St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen—$45,000
Lynn
The Gregg Neighborhood House—$210,000
Lynn Hispanic Scholarship Fund—$30,000
Lynn Museum & Art Center—$75,000
Malden
Emerge—$75,000
Malden Warming Center—$75,000
Mystic Valley Elder Services—$300,000
Mystic Valley YMCA—$450,000
Marlborough
Marlborough Hospital—$225,000
Maynard
Open Table—$700,000
Melrose
The Food Drive—$120,000
Metheun
On the Move—$30,000
Milton
The Heart of a Giant Foundation—$75,000
Natick
SPARK Kindness—$75,000
Needham
Circle of Hope—$75,000
Needham Community Farm—$75,000
Newburyport
Housing Support—$75,000
Nourishing the North Shore—$300,000
Newton
Athletes Unlimited Newton—$75,000
Newton at Home—$75,000
Partakers—$500,000
The Wily Network—$750,000
Peabody
Newhall Fields Community Farm—$45,000
Quincy
Bay State Community Services—$225,000
Reading
Reading Food Pantry—$45,000
Roxbury
Children’s Services of Roxbury—$150,000
Commonwealth Land Trust—$150,000
Educational Development Group—$75,000
Horizons for Homeless Children—$750,000
YouthBuild Boston—$180,000
Salem
Essex National Heritage Commission—$225,000
North Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth—$450,000
North Shore Community Health—$225,000
Somerville
3LPlace—$90,000
South Boston
Catholic Charities Boston—$750,000
South Boston Neighborhood House—$135,000
Spoke Art—$150,000
Stoneham
SMILE Mass—$120,000
Sudbury
Brandeis University—$150,000
Tyngsboro
Innovation Academy Charter School—$225,000
Waltham
The Arc of Massachusetts—$135,000
Association of Fundraising Professionals—$150,000
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts—$135,000
Jewish Family & Children’s Service—$225,000
The Right to Immigration Institute—$60,000
Watertown
Perkins School for the Blind—$225,000
Wellesley Hills
MassBay Community College—$75,000
West Roxbury
Vital CxNs—$75,000
Westford
The Decibels Foundation—$75,000
Winchester
Network for Social Justice—$120,000
Winchester Meals on Wheels—$30,000
Woburn
Building Mass Careers—$75,000
City of Woburn—$75,000
Mass Teacher Resources—$90,000
Saheli—$500,000
Science from Scientists—$100,000
Tanner Ta Ta Foundation—$30,000
Woburn Historical Commission—$60,000