Cummings Foundation Selects North Shore CAP as Grant Recipient

North Shore Community Action Programs (NSCAP) provides social services that enable low-income families and individuals to obtain the skills and knowledge they need to become economically self-sufficient, civically engaged, and to live in dignity and decency.

“We are humbled and honored to be chosen for a 10-Year Grant, said NSCAP Executive Director Laura Meisenhelter. “We are proud of our education and workforce development programs, and are thrilled that Cummings Foundation supports our work.”

James Henderson, the Director of Adult Education and Workforce Development had this to say –

“The Cummings Foundation has given NSCAP the most wonderful gift, an opportunity to help some of the most deserving people get an opportunity to pursue meaningful work and careers through an intentional and thoughtful advising and counseling program.”

NSCAP will be embarking on what we feel will be a fairly dynamic workforce development initiative. Traditional programming would identify a single industry, and direct any and all participants to participate in that program, whether it was of interest to them or not. While our original application was specific to offer counseling and advising support specifically to Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training programs, we feel that with the wealth of different programs throughout the North Shore region, we can offer a more robust, more holistic career readiness program, and none of this would be possible without the generous support of the Cummings Foundation.

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 this 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.

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $300 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

About North Shore Community Action Programs

North Shore Community Action Programs (NSCAP) serves the low-income residents of Peabody, Beverly, Danvers, and Salem. Since 1965, NSCAP has been a grass-roots organization, meeting the critical needs of the community by providing fuel assistance, rent and utility assistance, providing shelter and finding housing for homeless families and individuals. NSCAP also provides home health care for frail elders so they may live with dignity in their own home. NSCAP also has a robust education and training program that include English classes for non-native English speakers, citizenship classes, and job skills development. See www.nscap.org for more information.

About Cummings Foundation

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.CummungFoundation.org.