Beverly Bootstraps awarded $500,000 Cummings grant

L-R Chris Nazareth: Beverly Bootstraps Director of Development and External Affairs, Stephen Drohosky: Cummings Properties Senior Vice President and Cummings Center General Manager, Sue Gabriel: Beverly Bootstraps Executive Director.

Beverly Bootstraps is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. The Beverly-based organization was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $500,000 over 10 years.

A leading social service agency on the North Shore, Beverly Bootstraps provides critical resources to individuals and families living in Beverly, Manchester, Hamilton, Wenham and Essex so that they may achieve self-sufficiency. These resources include access to food, adult and youth programs, education, counseling and advocacy.

“Receiving this 10-year grant from Cummings Foundation allows our organization to further invest in our case management program. Working with people through the pandemic has shown that having a knowledgeable person to navigate benefits programs, the unemployment process and the housing and shelter systems is critical to a person’s ability to be supported when their lives are in turmoil. We are so grateful for this consistent funding. It will impact many people in a very positive way,” said Sue Gabriel, Executive Director of Beverly Bootstraps.

As the needs of the community continue to grow and change, Beverly Bootstraps is committed to adapting and expanding its Case Management program to meet those needs. With the support of a Cummings Foundation grant, Beverly Bootstraps will soon begin offering case management services on-site at local community partners that are not already providing case management services to their clients, patrons or tenants, within its service area.

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 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.

“We are so fortunate in greater Boston to have such effective nonprofits, plus a wealth of talented, dedicated professionals and volunteers to run them,” said Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are indebted to them for the work they do each day to provide for basic needs, break down barriers to education and health resources, and work toward a more equitable society.”

With the help of about 90 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.

“Our volunteers bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which is so critical to our grant selection process,” said Vyriotes. “Through this democratized approach to philanthropy, they decide more than half the grants every year.”

This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 45 different cities and towns.

The complete list of 140 grant winners, plus more than 900 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $375 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

 

About Beverly Bootstraps

Beverly Bootstraps provides critical resources to families and individuals so they may achieve self-sufficiency. They offer emergency housing and long-term assistance including access to food, housing stability, adult and youth programs, education, counseling, and advocacy. They are community-funded and supported.

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 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.CummingsFoundation.org.