The 2025 Imagined in Cambridge! Awardees, photographed by Mark Ostow.
The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) announced the five winners of its sixth annual Imagined in Cambridge! Social Innovation Award during a celebration honoring the city’s nonprofit sector on June 18th. The awards recognize grassroots innovators who are building meaningful connections across Cambridge communities at a moment when social cohesion is more vital than ever.
This year’s celebration came as the Foundation responds to record levels of need in Cambridge. In 2025, CCF awarded a historic $1.5 million in Community Fund grants, reflecting a 65 percent increase over the previous year and surging demand for nonprofit services across the city.
“There are a few essential ideas behind this year’s gathering: We’re stronger together. We can reimagine together. We can do anything, together,” said CCF President Geeta Pradhan. “These grassroots innovators have seen the fraying of our social fabric and are proposing solutions that bring people together. Like our nonprofit partners, they are meeting the moment with passion and purpose.”
The 2025 Imagined in Cambridge! Award winners are:
S-cube diplomacy
Founded by Tamene Tedla, this multilingual education program brings interactive STEAM learning directly into Cambridge neighborhoods through adaptive play and storytelling. The program creates joyful spaces where children with special needs, immigrant families, and adult learners can learn and connect across languages and cultures. In less than a year, S-Cube Diplomacy has engaged over 80 participants, building bridges between East African communities and the broader Cambridge population.
PARTNERS IN RHYME
An intergenerational poetry program that brings teens and older adults together to read, discuss, and write poetry. The program fosters meaningful connections, encourages creative expression, and helps reduce loneliness and ageism.
stories for community change (HUMANS OF PAUS)
Founded by French teacher Olf Mouyaka at Putnam Avenue Upper School, this storytelling project helps students build empathy by interviewing school community members whose stories are often unheard — custodians, cafeteria staff, nurses, and peers. By sharing these stories, students foster a culture where everyone feels seen and valued. With a goal of sharing 100 stories by year's end, the project is transforming how the school community connects.
MAPPING QUEER CAMBRIDGE
A youth-driven project where LGBTQIA2S+ high school students research queer history and lead walking tours, building belonging while creating a permanent queer history trail in Cambridge.
SHADE
This teen-led initiative, co-directed by CRLS graduates Samadhi Simmons and Matthew Keane, creates safe, teen-focused pop-up hangout spaces in Cambridge parks where teenagers can gather without judgment or surveillance. Born from the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program, SHADE offers inclusive public spaces for youth, particularly those from marginalized communities, to simply exist and connect.
Videos of 2025 awardees by Mark Ostow.
More about the awards
Each winner receives a $5,000 award to expand their programs and deepen their impact across Cambridge. The judges who selected this year’s winners were: Pardis Saffari, director of economic opportunity and development for the City of Cambridge; Omolara Fatiregun, founder & CEO of Thrive!; Keith Mascoll, founder of The Triggered Project and a previous Imagined in Cambridge! Award winner; Wyona Lynch-Mcwhite, executive director of Social Innovation Forum; and Sulagna Ghosh, founder of Joint Family and a previous Imagined in Cambridge! Award winner.
The June 18th celebration at Althea in Central Square brought together nonprofit leaders, community members, and local officials at a pivotal moment for Cambridge’s nonprofit sector and its most vulnerable residents.
“We’re navigating a period of tremendous instability and uncertainty,” said Pradhan. “The scale of change is significant, and we are only beginning to understand how these shifts will affect our community. But we know we can work together. We know we can reimagine. And we know our shared commitment to Cambridge will carry us through.”
Read Pradhan’s full remarks here.
Now in its sixth year, the Imagined in Cambridge! Social Innovation Award elevates bold, creative grassroots projects that address unmet community needs through innovation, courage, and connection.
The award was created in 2019 to uncover upcoming innovators trying to solve some of our most intractable social problems and help their ideas grow and thrive. It also reflects CCF’s strategic focus on strengthening social cohesion in Cambridge — one of two pillars, alongside economic mobility, guiding the Foundation’s work through 2028. Since its inception, the award has supported 30 initiatives transforming Cambridge from the ground up.
