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November 2017

Driving Change

2017-11-30T00:54:34+00:00November 29th, 2017|Civic Leadership, Press Release|

The Fall 2017 issue of our Newsletter probes a major city report on urgent needs in Cambridge, presents a program helping immigrant children stranded in the legal system, and celebrates the gift of Maurice Anderson responding to urgent community needs. We are delighted to introduce seven new board members, and the members of the Professional Advisors Council. Read more here: 

Giving Tuesday

2017-11-30T00:54:34+00:00November 27th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

November 27, 2017 Dear Cambridge Friends, What do you want for your community? For many, the answer is the same as what we all want for our children and loved ones: good health, an education that will support them in their work and lives, and the means to fulfill their dreams. For too many, those goals are just beyond their grasp.  15% of our community now lives in poverty, and they are making hard choices every day. That’s why the Cambridge Community Foundation was established over one hundred years ago, and why we continue granting over $1.3 million annually creating opportunity, hope, and shared prosperity.  Through the power and impact of collective giving , your gift directly supports a civic agenda benefitting everyone in Cambridge and nonprofits that build lasting relationships with communities one person at a time. This year, an anonymous donor is offering $25,000 to support the Foundation’s civic leadership agenda.  Join your neighbors with a gift  for Cambridge.  Your gift will promote a caring and compassionate city, and support our community’s foundation – Cambridge Community Foundation. Sincerely,   Geeta Pradhan President

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 [...]

August 2017

A PATH FORWARD

2017-11-30T00:54:40+00:00August 21st, 2017|Press Release|

A path forward. On Saturday, August 19, 2017 over forty thousand people marched in Boston to send a clear message—“hatred, bigotry, racism have no place in our community!”  This event was a rally for equity, justice, tolerance, humanity… for love, inclusion, liberty …for a life free of discrimination, persecution, and fear.  It stressed the essential constitutional and humanistic idea that “Otherness” was normal, but inciting hatred and violence against the “Other” was not. The voices in this spectacular event echo the values held by the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) since it was founded in 1916.  CCF has worked relentlessly with the quintessential “Other”, the underprivileged, vulnerable, immigrant communities in Cambridge, to secure a starting foothold in their lives. We are now confronted with the broader issues beyond those first steps: How do we sustain the spirit of generosity in a community whose long-term success depends on social and economic interdependence?  How do we deepen the discourse of Cambridge as an engine of innovation to embrace the breadth of this community? The Foundation serves the community as a neutral convener, connecting people, knowledge and resources, and strives to be a catalyst and a partner to promote the desired changes [...]

February 2017

CENTRAL SQUARE – A CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY

2017-11-30T00:54:42+00:00February 8th, 2017|Press Release|

At the end of the 19th Century Central Square consolidated its position as Cambridge’s emerging downtown. The business district expanded, erasing the physical distinction between the old villages into a civic center. Cambridge had long since become a heterogeneous city of immigrant working people, college faculty, and commuting professionals, but it was still wrestling with the contradiction between its image as a middle-class city of single-family homes and the presence of a large working class that needed decent affordable housing. Even after the opening of the subway in 1912, Central Square residents continued to shop locally for personal and household goods and services. The number of small businesses continued to grow. Regional and local department store chains sold a variety of clothing and household goods at affordable prices. This was a period where local hardware, furniture, shoe, and drugstores proliferated, and service-orientated businesses flourished. One unique aspect of the place is that many salespeople lived in nearby neighborhoods, contributing to the family atmosphere in the Square.  

December 2016

CAMBRIDGE, OUR CITY, OUR FUTURE

2017-11-30T00:54:42+00:00December 31st, 2016|Civic Leadership, Press Release|

As we approach 2017 we want to thank you on behalf of our grantees for your energy, for giving and for your commitment to the future of Cambridge. What's coming in 2017? Save the date for the Cambridge Community Foundation Centennial Gala: March 28, 2017 - Our centennial gala will take place on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, 6-9pm, 75 Amherst Street, Building E-14, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA, located at the MIT Media Lab. It will be a great night for Cambridge and the Foundation. Please mark your calendars! Our shared prosperity project will debut in February with our report on Cambridge - a close look at key indicators that underlie fundamental aspects of community, opportunity, and innovation. We look forward to distributing the report, and hearing your thoughts on shaping the agenda for change. A new website is on its way! 2016 Update - $1,000,000 in grants for Cambridge Reflecting our grantmaking strategy, we continue to respond to the community for urgent need, innovation, and to provide essential support for the nonprofits that bring hope, opportunity, and high demand services to city residents. We have streamlined our grantmaking process, and now offer grants for our community fund and strategic initiatives. [...]

March 2015

CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TOGETHER WITH THE BIOGEN IDEC FOUNDATION AWARDS $84,000 IN GRANTS FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

2017-11-30T00:54:54+00:00March 11th, 2015|Civic Leadership, Press Release|

Grants will expand and enhance science education for Massachusetts schools CAMBRIDGE, MA—Programming robots to record weather data. Fabricating mechanical parts with a 3D mill. Speaking with astronauts on the International Space Station. These are among the projects that will come to life in Massachusetts public and charter schools in 2015, thanks to Cambridge Community Foundation and Biogen Idec Foundation’s second annual Ignite the Power of STEM competitive grant program. Cambridge Community Foundation, which administers the program, selected 18 grants out of 54 applicants from across the state. Biogen Idec Foundation funded the program, totaling $84,520. The program represents a special partnership between business and the local community. The Ignite the Power of STEM grants support innovative programs that increase science literacy, encourage youth to pursue scientific careers, create classroom excitement and provide hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, engineering and math. Applicant schools had to be represented at the 2014 Massachusetts STEM Summit to be eligible. “I am impressed with the diversity of school programs and creative spirit in their grant applications. Most important are the collaborative efforts they represented. Congratulations to students, teachers, and schools, and thanks to Biogen Idec Foundation for breathing financial life into such STEM [...]

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