Cummings Properties employees to select local charities for $1,000 donations

Cummings Properties is once again inviting all regular full-time staff members to each select a local charity to receive a $1,000 donation funded entirely by the local real estate firm through its unique Employee Directed Giving program.

Last year, the charitable initiative passed the $1 million mark and was highlighted in FORTUNE magazine’s “Be a Leader” section. Eighteen Woburn nonprofits received a total of $26,000 in 2015.

The four-year-old program is open to more than 370 employees at the Woburn-based firm and its affiliated retirement communities, New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough.

“Employee Directed Giving has become an annual tradition that colleagues and their families look forward to as November approaches,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ president and CEO. “We think it’s important for employees to directly influence how the Company supports the community.”

Cummings Properties operates buildings in 10 Greater Boston communities, including Woburn, which is home to its headquarters and several of its properties, including Cummings Park on Washington Street and the landmark TradeCenter 128 business campus.

Employees have until November 7 to select nonprofits. Donation checks will be distributed the week of Thanksgiving. Knowing that the contribution comes at no cost to the employee, some local charities with connections to Cummings staff members have begun reaching out to those colleagues and asking to be considered, according to Clarke.

The Company’s focus on local giving means nonprofits must be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town in which the employee lives. Selected nonprofits must have 501(c)(3) status, perform a direct service, and be local—regional chapters of national organizations are ineligible. Additionally, funds may not be donated for religious, lobbying, or political purposes.

Organizations can receive as much as $5,000 per program cycle, if multiple staff members choose the same nonprofit. Last year, dozens of charities received multiple donations, including Woburn’s Council of Social Concern, Joyce Middle School, NuPath, St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Charles Church, Tanner Ta Ta Foundation, and Woburn Little League.

Many staff members opt to deliver their donation checks in person and bring their families, according to Clarke.

“Employee Directed Giving is one way in which we honor staff members for their hard work while also teaching younger generations to be active members of their communities,” said Clarke.

More information about Employee Directed Giving is here.

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PHOTO: Tanner Ta Ta Foundation co-founder and cancer survivor Erin Ficociello receives an Employee Directed Giving check from Cummings Properties accounting associate Kelly Dineen—a fellow Ta Ta, survivor, and Woburn resident.