Health & Fitness
Cummings Foundation Seeks Grant Proposals from Medford Charities
Cummings Foundation is currently seeking proposals from Medford charities for $10 million in grants to be awarded in 2013.
WOBURN, Mass., December 6, 2012 – Cummings Foundation, Inc. is soliciting Letters of Inquiry from Medford charities for $10 million in grants to be awarded in 2013, predominantly in the greater Boston area. Through its grant-making affiliate, OneWorld Boston, Inc., the foundation expects to make grants of $100,000 each to 100 not-for-profits.
Cummings Foundation is a principal beneficiary of the earnings from Woburn-based commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties. The company, established in 1969, manages more than 10 million square feet of prime office, lab, and medical space, including the buildings at 196 and 200 Boston Avenue in Medford.
According to the firm’s president and CEO, Dennis Clarke, one of the company’s most important goals is to give back to and help strengthen the communities where the firm operates and where most of its employees live.
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Joel Swets, the Foundation’s executive director, said, “Cummings Foundation has a strong focus on eastern Middlesex County, but also anticipates contributing to many charities in Essex and Suffolk counties.”
Swets suggested that interested organizations visit www.CummingsFoundation.org to view eligibility requirements and begin an online Letter of Inquiry. Qualifying organizations will then be invited to complete full applications. Grant recipients will be announced in June 2013.
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During its inaugural grant cycle in 2012, Cummings Foundation awarded 60 grants totaling $6 million. Medford-based organizations Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Tufts University and Solutions for Living each received $100,000. A complete list of grantees and projects funded is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Established by Joyce and Bill Cummings in 1986, Cummings Foundation has grown to one of the largest charitable foundations in New England, with current assets exceeding $1 billion. Bill was raised in Medford, graduating from Medford High School in 1954 and Tufts University in 1958.
In May 2011, the Cummings became the first family in Massachusetts to join the Giving Pledge, founded by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. The Cummings have reportedly donated more than 90 percent of their wealth to philanthropic causes, including Cummings Foundation.
