CCA Awarded $250K Grant From Cummings Foundation

Press release from Cambridge Camping:

June 12, 2021

Cambridge Camping is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through the Cummings Foundation's $25 Million Grant Program. Cambridge-based CCA was chosen from a total of 590 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $250,000 over 10 years.

For 127 years, Cambridge Camping has provided meaningful experiences to under-resourced, urban children in supportive and inclusive camp, and out-of-school time communities, through enriching and inspiring programs. CCA provides quality, subsidized day and overnight summer camp, school-year programming, and workshops for those in under resourced communities whose youth are impacted by trauma or disability. Summer programming provides hundreds of youths the opportunity to experience a camp community, where children laugh, play, join in, and make memories to last a lifetime.

CCA executive director, Sharon Zimmerman, said, "We are ecstatic that Cummings continues to be such an integral partner in supporting the vital work of providing summer and out-of-school time programming for youngsters from under-resourced circumstances who demonstrate social, emotional and behavioral challenges associated with trauma and disability.”

Funding over the next ten years will help Cambridge Camping sustain Daybreak Day Camp, CCA’s summer camp for children with special needs. CCA will use the Cummings grant to support its need to meet the escalating costs of transportation, food, staffing, and supplies; enhance staff training; further refine collection of outcome measures to assess and implement improved programming; to increase summer camp by a week; and to expand programming during the school year to offer critical supports to more children.

The Cummings $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts 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. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

"We aim to help meet the needs of people in all segments of our local community," said Cummings Foundation executive director Joel Swets. "It is the incredible organizations we fund, however, that do the actual daily work to empower our neighbors, educate our children, fight for equity, and so much more."

With the help of about 80 volunteers, the Foundation first identified 140 organizations to receive grants of at least $100,000 each. Among the winners were first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings Foundation grants. Forty of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards, ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

"We have adopted a democratic approach to philanthropy, which empowers an impressive roster of dedicated volunteers to decide more than half of all our grant winners each year," said Swets. "We benefit from their diverse backgrounds and perspectives; they benefit from a meaningful and fulfilling experience; and the nonprofits often benefit from increased exposure and new advocates."

This year's grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including social justice, homelessness prevention, affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. The nonprofits are spread across 43 different cities and towns.

The complete list of 140 grant winners, plus more than 800 previous recipients, is available at
www.CummingsFoundation.org. To date, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $300 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings and has grown to be one of the three largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn, and Veterinary School at Tufts, LLC in North Grafton. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

This press release was produced by Cambridge Camping. The views expressed here are the author’s own.