MCKEOWN BOYS & GIRLS CLUB AWARDED $1,000,000 CUMMINGS GRANT
Woburn nonprofit receives 10 years of funding from Cummings Foundation
Woburn, May 20, 2024 – James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share in $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. The Woburn-based youth development organization was selected from a total of 715 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $1,000,000 over ten years.
The McKeown Boys & Girls Club offers out-of-school time programs and activities to more than 1,000 youth and teens from Woburn and the surrounding communities. Its mission is to inspire youth to find their greatness through activities that foster healthy lifestyles, academic success, and good character & citizenship. “All of us at the McKeown Boys & Girls Club could not be more thrilled to be a recipient of this impactful funding. This ten-year investment in our young people from Cummings Foundation will change the trajectory of our organization and play a major role in supporting teens and young adults in our community,” said Julie Gage, Executive Director.
The meaningful ten-year, $1,000,000 grant will support the Club’s goal of engaging teenagers and young adults in workforce and life readiness programming by offering academic support, career exposure, certification and training, and job placement assistance.
Cummings Foundation and the McKeown Boys & Girls Club have a long history of meaningful partnership in the community. In 1986, Cummings made its first $100,000 donation to the (then) Boys Club of Woburn. Since then, Cummings has continued to support the Club’s mission, leading to the renaming of the organization in 2014 to James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn in memory of Jamie McKeown, a lifelong Club kid and volunteer and former president of Cummings Properties. This grant is a testament to the shared values and commitment to youth development and community building.
The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, plus six communities in Norfolk County: Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.
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.
“Greater Boston is fortunate to have a robust, dedicated, and highly capable nonprofit sector that supports and enhances the community in myriad ways,” said Cummings Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes. “The entire Cummings organization is thankful for their daily work to help all our neighbors thrive.”
The majority of the grant decisions were made by nearly 100 community volunteers. They worked across a variety of committees to review and discuss the proposals and then, together, determine which requests would be funded. Among these community volunteers were business and nonprofit leaders, mayors, college presidents, and experts in areas such as finance and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
“We believe strongly that grant decisions will be more equitable when made by a diverse group of community members,” said Vyriotes. “We’re incredibly grateful to the dozens of individuals who participated in our democratized philanthropic process.”
The Foundation and volunteers first identified 150 organizations to receive three-year grants of up to $300,000 each. The winners included first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings grants. Twenty-five of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected by a panel of community volunteers to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $300,000 to $1 million each.
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, workforce development, immigrant services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 49 different cities and towns.
Cummings Foundation has now awarded $500 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus nearly 2,000 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
About James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn
James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn opened in 1964 and has provided out-of-school time activities to youth and teens for 60 years. Each day at six locations in Woburn, MA young people find a safe place to participate in before and afterschool programs with the Club. Professional staff engage members in programs and activities that foster their interests and encourage them to learn. To learn more about the McKeown Boys & Girls Club, visit www.bgcwoburn.org.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, MA 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.
