Cambridge Women’s Center wins prestigious “$100K for 100” grant from Cummings Foundation
Women's Center members celebrate our Cummings Foundation award.
The Women’s Center was one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program in 2017. The Center was chosen from a total of 549 applicants, during a competitive review process.
Representing the Women’s Center, Volunteer Coordinator Courtney Zehnder and Development Coordinator Linda Pinkow joined approximately 300 other guests at a reception on June 8 at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn to celebrate the $10 million infusion into Greater Boston’s nonprofit sector. With the conclusion of this grant cycle, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $170 million to local nonprofits alone.
Since 1971, the Cambridge Women's Center has been providing women with the resources they need to contend with domestic violence, sexual abuse, homelessness, poverty, racism, discrimination, and social isolation. Located in a welcoming, home-like environment, close to public transportation and wheelchair-accessible, the Center is open Mondays through Saturdays, 55 hours per week. The Center offers a Crisis Helpline, a Drop-In Program, and a varied schedule of support groups, educational workshops and other enriching activities. All programs and services are provided confidentially and free of charge.
The Women’s Center will use this generous grant to expand its free Drop-In Program, which provides crisis support, peer counseling, skill-building, computer access, and resource information for low-income, homeless and abused women.
The $100K for 100 program supports nonprofits that are not only based in but also primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. This year, the program is benefiting 35 different cities and towns within the Commonwealth.
Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages more than 10 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“Nonprofit organizations like the Cambridge Women’s Center are vital to the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to invest in their efforts.”
This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention and affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. Most of the grants will be paid over two to five years.
The complete list of 100 grant winners is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester. With assets exceeding $1.4 billion, it is one of the largest foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.