Massachusetts-based Non-Profit Receives Funding from Cummings Foundation to Provide Educational Resources for Members
(L-R): Kozel Jules, ACE Alumnus Class of 2016; Elyse Ayoung, ACE Board and Gensler; Meredith Whalen, ACE Board and Gilbane; Yordanos Tesfaye, ACE Alumna Class of 2017 and Shawmut; Jen Fries of ACE Mentor Program; Dan Nguyen, ACE Alumna Class of 2020; Mike Harris, ACE Board and National Development; Brian Postlewaite, ACE Board and City of Somerville; Kayla Nassar, ACE Board and AmConCorp; Casey Williams, ACE Board and SGH
Today, the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston, announced it’s one of 140 local non-profits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. ACE Mentor Program, the free after-school program run by award-winning design and construction professionals with the goal of encouraging high school students to pursue careers in the architecture, construction, and engineering industries, was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process – and will receive $100,000 over 2 years.
The mission of ACE provides high school students with an introduction to careers in architecture, construction management, and engineering, by completing a months-long design project with mentors who work in the field. This year, ACE also partnered with the National Organization of Minority Architects’ Boston Chapter, bosNOMA, where they provided a series of workshops on careers in design. This year, ACE awarded $142,000 in scholarships to 16 dedicated, high school seniors this year. Varying from $2,000 to $15,000, the scholarships awarded to participating seniors in the Greater Boston area aim to help fund their next educational venture.
“Receiving a grant from the Cummings Foundation is a huge honor,” expresses Thomas Aldrich, president of ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston. “With the additional, financial support, the ACE Mentor Program has the ability to execute our strategic plan for growth. We’ll be able to offer the program in more locations, recruit and train more mentors, and ultimately serve more students.”
The Cummings $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts non-profits 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 non-profits, 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 non-profits 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 non-profits 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 non-profits.
For more information on the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston, please visit the website.
About ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston
ACE of Greater Boston was launched in 2007 and is one of 70-plus affiliates under the ACE national umbrella. Through practical, project-based, hands-on explorations, students work collaboratively and creatively to design innovative solutions to real world problems. With professional guidance by esteemed industry mentors who are full-time employees of construction, design and engineering firms, students embark on a five-month design project, through weekly sessions after school, to develop the professionalism, teamwork, and collaboration that the industry requires. During this time, the students construct a hypothetical project in order to learn about each discipline and take part in activities such as site visits, scavenger hunt, Revit training and trade day.
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.
