Framingham nonprofit awarded portion of $20 million in grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Seth Izen, MetroWest Mediation Services, 508-872-9495,
seth@metrowestmediationservices.org

June 11, 2018 – MetroWest Mediation Services (MWMS) is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program. The Framingham-based organization was chosen from a total of 597 applicants, during a competitive review process. Cummings Foundation has announced a total of $20 million in grants to Greater Boston charities in the past two months alone.

MWMS, founded in 1979, provides mediation as an early intervention method for resolving disputes, reducing violence and improving the safety and well-being of residents in Middlesex County. The staff and volunteer mediators of MWMS offer free mediation services in the Concord, Framingham, Marlboro, and Natick District Courts and the Framingham Juvenile Court. Outside of court, MWMS offers mediation for family, neighbor, and business disputes, as well as conflict resolution training for organizations.

Representing MetroWest Mediation Services, Executive Director Seth Izen and Board Member & Volunteer Mediator Andrea DeMayo Clancy joined approximately 300 other guests at a reception 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 $220 million to Greater Boston nonprofits alone.

“We are honored to be selected for a grant from the Cummings Foundation. This grant will help us expand our mediation services in the Framingham Juvenile Court, where we offer youth and families an alternative to litigation, and it will help us grow our divorce mediation program to ensure that couples seeking a divorce have access to a non-adversarial process,” said Executive Director Seth Izen.

The $100K for 100 program supports 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 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 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

“We are indebted to the nonprofit organizations like MetroWest Mediation Services that have a meaningful positive impact on 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 important programs and services.”

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.

Cummings Foundation announced an additional $10 million in early May through its new Sustaining Grants, which extend “$100K for 100” funding for previous winners for 10 more years. Beginning in 2019, the Foundation will increase its total annual giving through these two programs from $20 million to $25 million.

About MetroWest Mediation Services
MetroWest Mediation Services, founded in 1979, provides mediation as an early intervention method for resolving disputes, reducing violence and improving the safety and well-being of residents in Middlesex County. The staff and volunteer mediators of MWMS offer free mediation services in the Concord, Framingham, Marlboro, and Natick District Courts and the Framingham Juvenile Court. Outside of court, MWMS offers mediation for family, neighbor, and business disputes, as well as conflict resolution training for organizations.

www.metrowestmediationservices...

About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Bill Cummings released his self-written memoir, “Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist,” in March 2018. The book may be purchased at cummings.com/book.
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Photo Caption: Andrea DeMayo Clancy, Board Member and Volunteer Mediator (L), and
Seth Izen, Executive Director (R), with Joyce Cummings