With heavy hearts, we share the news that Betty Bardige, our former board chair at the Cambridge Community Foundation, passed away on November 24. We remember Betty as a wonderful leader, community member, and friend. She dedicated her life to making the world, and especially Cambridge, better for all children. About Betty: A life of impact Betty Bardige served as a Cambridge Community Foundation board director for 18 years, with six of those years as board president. She also chaired many committees for the Foundation and served on the City’s Kids’ Council. A mother of three, Betty did not leave her parenting skills at home. Much of Betty’s work contributed to the creation of the Agenda for Children and the Foundation’s role in building public-private partnerships aimed at sharing best practices and enhancing educational opportunities. Her expertise was invaluable in building initiatives for after-school programs, school readiness, and infant and toddler care. She was instrumental in starting the Center for Families in North Cambridge and was an active Tobin School parent. Betty also chaired the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, a national foundation focused on early childhood. She spent most of her professional life as

Photos from Dance for Dignity, held at the Somerville Armory on October 25. Immigrants' need for legal defense is at an all-time high in our communities. With immigration policies changing almost daily, many of our neighbors live in fear of losing their immigrant status. High-quality, low-bono and pro-bono legal service, however, can change the course of a person’s or a family’s life. Because of community support – of all shapes and sizes – the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants continues to help local legal defense organizations make a difference for many of our neighbors who otherwise face detention or deportation. Last October, the Fund awarded $255,000 to four local, legal immigration organizations, including a two-year commitment to supporting three organizations, for which second-year funding will be distributed this November. Since expanding the Fund to Somerville as well as Cambridge seven months ago, we have raised more than $50,000 for the Fund, with contributions coming from 200-plus donors. We look forward to giving out more grants from the Fund this fall. We couldn’t do this important work without donor support, and it's taken donors of all kinds and gifts of all sizes. Fundraising has

In 2015, a group of residents came to the Cambridge Community Foundation with a plan for a scholarship fund to help Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) graduates with multi-year support for a post-secondary education. The Cambridge Community Foundation became a partner. Now in its third year, the Falcon Pride Scholarship Fund has already helped 12 CRLS grads on their college journey. Each year, CRLS selects four scholars to receive $1,000 in their first year of college, and $1,500 in their second. Thanks to the strong support of 58 committed donors, the Fund announced it was expanding the scholarship, providing an additional $1,500 scholarship in the third year. “As a community that values education, we should be thinking about all our children, the children of Cambridge, and helping them go to college because if they get their degree, it can have a huge impact on their life trajectory,” said Andus Baker, Cambridge Community Foundation board member who co-founded the Falcon Pride Scholarship, along with his wife Rowan Murphy and fellow board member, Liz Keating. “There are lots of groups helping kids succeed in high school and beyond. We wanted to help with money that can pay for books,

We often look to schooling as the key to transformation and progress. When all children are educated equitably, our community fosters shared prosperity. In Cambridge, that aspiration of equity in education is becoming a reality, in part, through the important work of nonprofits and community leaders who support and implement innovative programs that help all children learn. As a grantmaker, the Cambridge Community Foundation has a long history of investing in making education equitable for all residents, thereby paving a path for shared prosperity. In 2019, we funded more than 30 nonprofit partners and collaborative initiatives that are dedicated to expanding and deepening educational opportunities for our city’s youth, from connecting them to higher education institutions and local bio-tech industry leaders to making sure in-school curriculum helps them build the skills they’ll need to succeed in the knowledge economy later on. The Foundation also manages several large funds that help grow educational equity, including the Parmenter Scholarship Fund, which supports scholarships for low-income students going to Harvard; the Falcon Pride Scholarship, which provides multi-year college scholarships for CRLS graduates who need financial support; and the Community Fund, which provides grants to nonprofits offering a range of academic and enrichment