Cummings Employees Give $23,000 To 13 Beverly Nonprofits

From Cummings: Cummings Properties, the Woburn-based commercial real estate company, just donated $484,000 to hundreds of local nonprofit organizations via its Employee Directed Giving program. Through this annual philanthropic initiative, employees are invited to select a local nonprofit to receive a $1,000 donation in their honor.

In Beverly, 15 organizations received a collective $23,000 in funding: Beverly Bootstraps, Beverly High School’s DECA program, Beverly Little League, Beverly Public Schools’ string program, Beverly Recreation Department, Beverly Youth Hockey, Build Health International, Cape Ann Early Intervention, Ellis Square Friends, Express Yourself, Frankie's VOICE, Friends of Northshore Education, Greater Beverly YMCA, Harborlight Community Partners, and Northeast Senior Health Corporation.

In 2018, Employee Directed Giving benefitted 335 nonprofits in 99 local cities and towns. Now in its seventh year, the program is designed to give back in the areas where Cummings Properties employees live and work.

New this year, the 140 colleagues with at least 10 years of seniority were invited to select a second nonprofit to receive an additional $1,000. The program was also expanded to include part-time staff with at least five years of seniority, whereas it was previously open to full-time employees only.

“This significant program expansion created even more opportunities for colleagues to think and talk about philanthropy, and to have a significant positive impact on local causes that are meaningful to them,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ chairman and CEO.

Mary Carroll, an account manager at Cummings, directed her $1,000 donation to Greater Beverly YMCA, where she formerly served on the board of directors. In 2018, the nonprofit will give away more than $3.1 million in financial assistance for membership, program, childcare, and camp to 13,500 kids, adults, and families. That is one out of every five people at Greater Beverly YMCA.

“The Y is constantly creating new programs to respond to the countless needs in our community,” said Carroll. “In addition to the familiar services like child care, after-school programs, teen centers, swim, gymnastics, and summer camps, the Y operates low-income housing units, and offers unique programs such as LIVESTRONG for cancer survivors, and Parkinson’s SMART Program for Parkinson’s patients.”

Each eligible organization can receive up to $5,000 per program cycle, allowing multiple staff members to choose the same nonprofit.

Employee Directed Giving is open to employees of Cummings Properties, as well as its affiliated retirement communities, New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough. Selected nonprofits must meet a few eligibility requirements and be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town where the colleague lives.

More information, including the complete 2018 Employee Directed Giving recipient list, is available at www.cummings.com/edg.

Cummings Properties manages a portfolio of 11 million square feet of commercial space in 11 suburban communities north and west of Boston, including Beverly, where it manages Cummings Center as well as the burgeoning Dunham Ridge campus.

Most of these properties are owned by Cummings Foundation, with 100 percent of all rental profits supporting hundreds of local charities. The Cummings organization awards $25 million annually to Greater Boston nonprofits, and it has awarded more than $225 million to date. More information is available at www.cummings.com.

Image via Cummings