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Monthly Archives: September 2017

September 2017

Unite For Puerto Rico

2017-11-30T00:54:39+00:00September 29th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

September 29, 2017   Dear friends, I write to ask for your help with the relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.  Massachusetts has the 5th largest population of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States, and many call Cambridge home.   The effects of the devastating hurricane will be felt in Puerto Rico, and in the Commonwealth as people migrate to Massachusetts.  The Cambridge Community Foundation will be directing gifts to UNICEF USA's Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico, both of which will provide critical support to our neighbors in Puerto Rico. Gifts to UNICEF will provide immediate relief in Puerto Rico. Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico will work to quickly aggregate philanthropic capital from corporations, foundations and individual donors and deploy those resources to well vetted and effective relief, recovery and resettlement organizations on a grassroots level. Gifts may be made online here.  If you wish to direct a gift from a donor advised fund, please contact Usha Pasi at 617.576.9966.   We thank you for your compassion at this time of great need. Geeta Pradhan President

DACA: Our history, our values, our future

2017-11-30T00:54:39+00:00September 25th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

Across the world, the image of America is one of abundant diversity, expansive opportunity, and remarkable inclusion. Indeed, that is what has made this country the nation we know today.   Waves of immigrants seeking a better life fled their homelands to make America their home.… those waves of immigrants were our ancestors. Some came here seeking freedom from tyranny, from religious and other persecution, and from poverty. Some were brought here forcibly on slave ships, while others came here to pursue education or work in the most advanced sectors of the global economy. With grit, resilience, and hard work they made a better life for themselves and their children. Somewhat obscured in the current conversation, is the reality that the migration we know from the founding of the nation mirrors what we see today. The Indian Tribes or Native Americans were here earlier. And as waves of immigrants came in, we built a country with our rules, our customs, our laws. We legitimized ourselves! Today, every community from Charlottesville to Cambridge, and Long Beach to New York offers a richness of cultural diversity and vitality. According to wallethub.com, Cambridge ranks 31st among mid-sized cities in its diversity ranking [...]

What Does Cambridge Mean To You?

2017-11-30T00:54:39+00:00September 19th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

What Does Cambridge Mean to You? September 15 was a chance to reinvent a precious commodity—the Cambridge parking space—as a way to get to know members of our community in a fresh and creative way. Over 120 spaces around the city were reimagined as extensions of organizations, some quite familiar, some newly visible. Cambridge Community Foundation set up shop on Mass Ave close to CCTV (which hauled a sofa and sound equipment out of its office and went to work interviewing folks right there in public). The Foundation used a question we have explored before: What Does Cambridge Mean to You? And invited passersby to tell us their thoughts. We met tourists in town from South Carolina, new students at local universities, friends we know from Cambridge city government and residents savoring what turned out to be a beautiful early fall day. It seemed such a Cantabrigian concept although it is, in fact, an international event.  Here are a few images gathered through the day. Meanwhile we at the Foundation are already mulling how to celebrate Parking Day next year.

Introducing Our New Board Members

2017-11-30T00:54:40+00:00September 15th, 2017|Press Release|

New board members bring a wide range of expertise, institutional connections  to Cambridge Community Foundation  For more information contact David Truebood at [email protected] or 617-576-9966 The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced a significant change in its board of directors with the naming of six new members, including Andus Baker, Sarah Gallop, Lisa Ijiri, Elizabeth Keating, Mike Shires, and Jonathan L. Walton. These appointments brings board membership to 23. The board serves as the ultimate authority for the 100-plus year-old charitable organization, the only foundation with all of Cambridge in its purview. That includes setting the community impact and civic leadership agenda for the Foundation,  signing off on two annual rounds of grants to local nonprofits organizations,promoting philanthropy, and building the Cambridge Endowment. New members include: Andus Baker Financial Services Executive Andus recently retired from a 20+ year career at Fidelity Investments where he held marketing, product development, and strategy roles in the firm's retail and asset management businesses.  Andus managed many high performing teams, and helped grow Fidelity's DAF business, Fidelity Charitable.  Andus serves as the president of the Cambridge Skating Club, was formerly on the Christ Church Vestry, and for many years served as a volunteer with various Cambridge youth sports [...]

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