Cummings Foundation awards $500,000 to Beverly Bootstraps

Paul Leighton, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·2 min read

May 28—BEVERLY — Beverly Bootstraps has been awarded a $500,000 grant over 10 years from the Cummings Foundation.

The Cummings Foundation announced the grant this month as part of its $25 million grant program. Beverly Bootstraps was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process, the foundation said.

Beverly Bootstraps is a social services agency that provides critical resources, including access to food, education, counseling and advocacy, to residents in Beverly, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Hamilton, Wenham and Essex. Executive Director Sue Gabriel said in a press release that the grant will allow the organization to further invest in its case management program.

"Working with people through the pandemic has shown that having a knowledgeable person to navigate benefits programs, the unemployment process and the housing and shelter systems is critical to a person's ability to be supported when their lives are in turmoil," Gabriel said. "We are so grateful for this consistent funding. It will impact many people in a very positive way."

The Cummings $25 million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based primarily in areas where it owns commercial property. Its buildings are all managed, at no cost to the foundation, by its affiliate, Cummings Properties, according to the foundation. The Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the foundation, according to the press release.

With the help of about 90 volunteers, the foundation identified 140 organizations to receive grants of at least $100,000 each, including first-time and repeat recipients. Forty of the repeat recipients were then selected to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

Recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The foundation has now awarded more than $375 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

"We are so fortunate in greater Boston to have such effective nonprofits, plus a wealth of talented, dedicated professionals and volunteers to run them," Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes said. "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."