Cummings Foundation

Companies

Cummings Foundation has substantively advanced diversity and inclusion in business by awarding grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each to nonprofit organizations that provide entrepreneurial opportunities and job training to people who are often underrepresented in the workforce.

Many individuals affected by intellectual or developmental disabilities have the ability and desire to work, but are unemployed or underemployed. Cummings Foundation has allocated more than $500,000 in recent years to jobs programs at nonprofits like Opportunity Works, Northeast Arc, and Career Resources Corporation that work with people with such challenges.

Women and minorities are significantly underrepresented in STEM professions, a reality that was recently underscored by the National Science Foundation. To increase diversity in science, technology, and engineering sectors, Cummings Foundation has awarded $400,000 since 2015 to programs like Girls Incorporated, Latino STEM Alliance, and Science Club for Girls, which deepen students’ exposure to and enthusiasm for the STEM curriculum.

Currently, minority-owned businesses make up 15 percent of all U.S. firms. Recognizing that many low-income people of color lack the financing to launch their own enterprises, Cummings Foundation has granted $700,000 to CommonWealth Kitchen and Entrepreneurship for All, which provide resources and guidance needed to establish new and successful businesses.

One of the largest foundations in New England, Woburn-based Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in grants to Greater Boston nonprofits alone. Its giving is concentrated in Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties and benefits a broad range of causes, including social justice, human services, education, entrepreneurship, and healthcare.