Boston nonprofit receives multiple years of funding from Cummings Foundation
WOCE Team grateful to receive a Cummings Grant, standing with Toni Morrison mural
Women of Color Entrepreneurs 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 Boston-based organization was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $100,000 over multiple years.
WOCE’s mission is to widen the circle of entrepreneurship by supporting women of color entrepreneurs who are building great businesses and want help to grow. WOCE provides long-term mentorship, combined with tailored programming, peer support, 1:1 sessions with subject matter experts, and curated access to potential customers, lenders and investors. WOCE onboards a new cohort of 7-12 entrepreneurs annually.
Receiving the Cummings Grant means that WOCE can help Black and brown women grow their businesses by providing them with the resources they need to succeed. “WOCE plans to use the Cummings grant to scale our program to impact a larger group of women of color entrepreneurs with four new cohorts that will be onboarded during the grant period. We are so grateful to receive this grant to support our work to address the larger issues of gender and racial equity. Multi-year support is critical as we support more women of color business owners in the Boston metro area on their journey to create a successful business,” said Anuradha Yadav, Executive Director of WOCE.
Executive Director, Anuradha Yadav, and WOCE entrepreneurs
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 to 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 Women of Color Entrepreneurs
Founded in 2019, WOCE is a Massachusetts nonprofit providing long-term support for women of color entrepreneurs. We provide tailored programming, peer support, individual mentorship, 1:1 sessions with subject matter experts, and curated access to potential customers, lenders, and investors. Additional information is available at http:://woce.us.
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.
