Cummings announces 150 recipients of its 2025 $30 Million Grant Program

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