Rebuilding Together Boston Awarded $75,000 Cummings Grant
Rebuilding Together Boston Awarded $75,000 Cummings Grant
Boston nonprofit receives 3 years of funding from Cummings Foundation
Boston, May 28, 2024 – Rebuilding Together Boston is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share in $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. The Boston-based organization was selected from a total of 715 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $75,000 over three years.
Rebuilding Together Boston works with Veterans, older adults, and families, by providing a variety of essential, health and safety home repairs, including flooring repairs and replacement, weatherization repairs, roof and handrail replacements, accessibility modifications, painting, landscaping, and other major home rehabilitations. The repairs are provided free of charge to neighbors in need, who are often faced with diminishing resources and difficult decisions like choosing food and medicine over critical home repairs.
“Rebuilding Together Boston is thrilled to be a $75,000 recipient of the Cummings Foundation’s grant program,” said Jeff Bonner, Chair of the Board. “On behalf of our neighbor homeowners, community partners, staff and volunteers, we thank the Cummings Foundation for helping to keep our neighbors safe and healthy in their Boston area homes and communities.”
This funding will be used over three years to expand the nonprofit’s capacity, accelerate its impact, and increase the number of people it can assist with essential home repairs so they can remain and live safely in their homes and communities in Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, plus six communities in Norfolk County: Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.
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.
“Greater Boston is fortunate to have a robust, dedicated, and highly capable nonprofit sector that supports and enhances the community in myriad ways,” said Cummings Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes. “The entire Cummings organization is thankful for their daily work to help all our neighbors thrive.”
The majority of the grant decisions were made by nearly 100 community volunteers. They worked across a variety of committees to review and discuss the proposals and then, together, determine which requests would be funded. Among these community volunteers were business and nonprofit leaders, mayors, college presidents, and experts in areas such as finance and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
“We believe strongly that grant decisions will be more equitable when made by a diverse group of community members,” said Vyriotes. “We’re incredibly grateful to the dozens of individuals who participated in our democratized philanthropic process.”
The Foundation and volunteers first identified 150 organizations to receive three-year grants of up to $300,000 each. The winners included first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings grants. Twenty-five of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected by a panel of community volunteers to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $300,000 to $1 million each.
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, workforce development, immigrant services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 49 different cities and towns.
Cummings Foundation has now awarded $500 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus nearly 2,000 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Rebuilding Together Boston organizes and collaborates with skilled workers, tradespeople, volunteers, and other community members and nonprofit organizations to meet the urgent needs of our communities by preserving affordable housing, stabilizing neighborhoods, and reducing housing instability and the risk of homelessness. 95% of the people we serve are Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC). Prospective clients must complete an application and provide supporting documentation, including proof of homeownership and income. There is never a cost to the people we help. Over the past 33 years, Rebuilding Together Boston has completed over 600 renovation projects (for an estimated total value of over $8 million). If you think you can benefit from Rebuilding Together Boston’s services, contact RTB through this link: https://rt-boston.my.salesforce-sites.com/homeownerapplication
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, MA and has grown to be one of the largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn, and Cummings Health Sciences, LLC. Additional information is available at www.Cummings.com.