Massachussets School of Law Awarded $100,000 Grant

The Massachusetts School of Law in Andover is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. The school was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive half the grant immediately and the balance likely next year.

Massachusetts School of Law’s mission is to provide an academically rigorous affordable legal education emphasizing ethics, advocacy, leadership, and professional skills. MSLAW provides this accessible, affordable legal education to tomorrow’s leaders in law, business, and technology who seek to contribute to their communities as advocates, lawyers, and leaders.

“As the most diverse and affordable law school in New England, the Cummings Foundation support helps further our mission of helping to provide access to justice for all. The Cummings Foundation have our deep gratitude, respect, and appreciation for their efforts to help advance the cause of social justice,” said Michael L. Coyne, Massachusetts School of Law Dean & Professor of Law.

The Massachusetts School of Law will use this grant to offer workshops, seminars and courses that provide a better understanding of the significance law has on business decisions. The school will develop, prepare, and teach topics ranging from basic contract and business formation through financing and regulatory hurdles. We anticipate that grant funds will support the business community’s need for accessible affordable legal information and the eventual approval of MSLAW providing a Master’s in Law and Business.

The Cummings $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties.

Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial property. Its buildings are all managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

“We are so fortunate in greater Boston to have such effective nonprofits, plus a wealth of talented, dedicated professionals and volunteers to run them,” said Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are indebted to them for the work they do each day to provide for basic needs, break down barriers to education and health resources, and work toward a more equitable society.”

With the help of about 90 volunteers, the Foundation first identified 140 organizations to receive grants of at least $100,000 each. Among the winners were first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings Foundation grants. Forty of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

“Our volunteers bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which is so critical to our grant selection process,” said Vyriotes. “Through this democratized approach to philanthropy, they decide more than half the grants every year.”

This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 45 different cities and towns.

The complete list of 140 grant winners, plus more than 900 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $375 million to greater Boston nonprofits.