BOSTON, JUNE 01, 2018 – JFYNetWorks is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program. The Boston-based organization was chosen from a total of 597 applicants through a competitive review process. Cummings Foundation has announced a total of $20 million in grants to Greater Boston charities in the past two months.
Executive Director Gary Kaplan and Deputy Director Paula Paris (pictured above) will join approximately 300 other guests at a reception at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn on June 7 to celebrate the $10 million infusion into Greater Boston’s nonprofit sector. With the conclusion of this grant cycle, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $220 million to Greater Boston nonprofits alone.
“We are delighted and honored to have been chosen for this award along with our colleagues,” said Executive Director Kaplan. “At a critical moment in JFY’s strategic growth, this investment from the Cummings Foundation will help us meet the challenge of preparing young people for an economy that demands ever-higher levels of cognitive, technical and interpersonal skills.”
JFYNetWorks will use its Cummings Foundation grant to expand its college and career readiness blended learning program in high schools and further develop its early college courses that enable students to earn high school and college credits simultaneously while still in high school. These courses accelerate college completion and reduce the cost of a degree.
The $100K for 100 program supports 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 area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“We are indebted to nonprofit organizations like JFYNetWorks that have a meaningful positive impact on the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to invest in their important programs and services.”
This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention and affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. Most of the grants will be paid over two to five years. The complete list of 100 grant winners will be available June 7 at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Cummings Foundation announced an additional $10 million in early May through its new Sustaining Grants, which extend “$100K for 100” funding for previous winners for 10 more years. Beginning in 2019, the Foundation will increase its total annual giving through these two programs from $20 million to $25 million.
Founded in 1976 under the name Jobs For Youth, JFYNetWorks has a 42-year history of enhancing economic opportunity and social mobility for low-income urban youth through education and training programs that meet the demands of the labor market. Today, JFY focuses on college and career readiness by using blended learning to build academic skills in high school so that graduates can qualify for degree-credit college courses without remediation. Since the vast majority of jobs now require post-secondary skills and certification, entering college or technical training at the credit-earning level increases the probability of successfully entering the workforce and earning a self- and family-sustaining living.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Bill Cummings released his self-written memoir, “Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist,” in March 2018. The book may be purchased at cummings.com/book.
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On June 7, JFYNetWorks will be joining the other local nonprofits in celebrating our $100kfor100 award. We would like to extend the celebration invitation to you by way of Facebook Live.
The Cummings Foundation will be live streaming the event starting at approximately 7p, Thursday June 7th. To learn more, visit the Cummings Foundation Facebook page.
