Nonprofits received welcome news in their email inboxes this month: invitations to apply for one of 100 grants of $100,000 each to be awarded by Cummings Foundation. They are among 223 invitees selected after a thorough review of a record-breaking 597 Letters of Inquiry submitted earlier this year for the Foundation’s $100K for 100 program.
Each grant proposal was carefully reviewed by two members of a six-person committee made up of outside volunteer professionals, according to Joyce Vyriotes, deputy director of Cummings Foundation. The scores were then combined and averaged. The nonprofits with the highest average scores are now advancing to the next and final stage of the application process.
“We are most grateful for the significant time and thought that the committee members dedicated to the evaluation process,” said Vyriotes. “They, along with more than 50 other volunteers who will make determinations about the full applications, bring diverse, valuable experiences and insights to the decision-making process.”
Full applications for these sought-after grants are due by February 15, the recipients will be announced in mid-May, and the Grant Winner Celebration will be held in early June.
First offered in 2012, $100K for 100 annually awards multi-year grants of $100,000 each to 100 nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. The Foundation’s website offers a complete list of the 560 grant winners since the program began.
Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in Greater Boston alone. It aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial buildings, which are all operated for the sole benefit of the Foundation and managed on a pro bono basis by Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of space in 11 suburban Boston communities.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. It is 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. It has distributed more than $70 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University – its largest commitment to date. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.