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Shared Prosperity

June 2020

Relief…and recovery: A letter from our president

2020-07-29T16:23:27+00:00June 26th, 2020|Civic Leadership, Cultural Richness, Grantmaking, Philanthropy, Press Release, Shared Prosperity, Social Equity|

June 26, 2020 | Cambridge, MA Relief...and recovery Three months ago, we couldn’t have predicted how widespread the pandemic’s impact would be, but we, like so many of you, knew we needed to respond quickly. For an organization that does its work squarely within the nonprofit sector, that meant stepping outside the box. We began awarding cash grants directly to individuals, families, and artists in crisis, while continuing to partner with nonprofits to give small grants to people in their circles. We also provided grants to arts organizations who took an enormous hit with the loss of audiences and early closures. The results are eye-opening. A new point of view The process has given us a fresh, first-hand view of our community and its needs. One of the biggest privileges of our COVID-19 relief work has been connecting with people from all corners of the city and hearing from them directly. We've also witnessed the incredible creativity and tenacity of our nonprofits, who met community needs despite their own financial pressures. By the numbers As of June 25, we allocated 1,162 cash grants to individuals, families, artists, and small businesses. We’ve also helped hundreds more through our support

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May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

The Cambridge Community Foundation fuels local nonprofit sector with $456,181 this spring

2021-02-19T19:47:09+00:00March 31st, 2020|Civic Leadership, Cultural Richness, Grantmaking, Press Release, Shared Prosperity, Social Equity|

This April, the Cambridge Community Foundation will infuse $456,181 into the nonprofit sector in Cambridge through its annual spring grantmaking cycle, which is allocating funds on schedule despite the COVID-19 crisis. The Foundation is allowing Community Fund grant recipients to use their programmatic funding flexibly so that, at a time of great uncertainty, nonprofits can allocate the money where it’s needed the most.

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February 2020

Don’t call us a bubble: We are Cambridge

2020-02-21T20:10:28+00:00February 21st, 2020|Civic Leadership, Philanthropy, Press Release, Shared Prosperity, Social Equity|

Photo of HONK! parade passing through Porter Square in October 2019 The LA Times recently ran an article called “Wealth and struggle in a liberal bubble that Elizabeth Warren calls home.” The article captured the strengths and weaknesses of our city, which is experiencing stresses similar to San Francisco and other innovation cities. These complex issues of income inequality, housing and homelessness, and traffic gridlock are taxing urban innovation centers to the breaking point. We need national, regional, and local solutions. And Cambridge isn’t sitting on its laurels waiting for the bubble to burst, nor is it losing its soul. Cambridge is a responsive, compassionate city, fiercely protective of its shared values of kindness, diversity, inclusion, and creativity. Yes, our economy is booming, and with that comes unintended consequences. Our rapidly rising real estate values and a shortage of low- and middle-income housing mean more than half of our residents struggle to find affordable homes. One in seven residents lives in poverty. One-third of our public school students of color are unprepared to pursue the jobs our city offers. One out of 10 Black and Latinx households has no internet yet every major tech company has a presence in

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January 2020

Three nonprofits empowering Cambridge youth through the arts

2020-01-27T21:57:51+00:00January 27th, 2020|Cultural Richness, Grantmaking, Nonprofit Spotlight, Press Release, Shared Prosperity|

At the Cambridge Community Foundation, we strive to uphold Cambridge as a beacon of cultural richness. We envision a city where diverse communities spark spiritual, social, and artistic exploration; where innovation thrives; and where connections between residents are deepened across neighborhoods, cultures, and backgrounds. We believe that supporting the arts and culture in Cambridge will ensure that the unique character of our city continues to flourish and evolve. Paramount to this goal is galvanizing younger generations to contribute to the vibrant theater and film scenes, street art, and music that make the city a wonderful place to live and work. Three of our nonprofit partners — Cambridge Community Television, the Loop Lab, and the Community Art Center — are doing just that. Cambridge Community Television's Youth Media Program Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) nurtures a strong, equitable, and diverse community. CCTV provides tools and training to foster free speech, civic engagement, and creative expression while connecting people to collaboratively produce media that is responsive, relevant, and effective in a fast-changing technological environment. With a Summer Media Institute and a School Year Production Program, CCTV’s Youth Media Program allows young people in Cambridge to work as paid media artists, building vital

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CHA Work Force invests in Cambridge youth

2020-01-24T15:20:38+00:00January 24th, 2020|Grantmaking, Nonprofit Spotlight, Press Release, Shared Prosperity|

Two high school juniors participate in Work Force's annual mock interview event. How do you break the cycle of intergenerational poverty? In Cambridge, there’s one program with proven results that takes the approach of investing in and partnering with individual, low-income students to help them graduate on time, establish fulfilling careers, and lift themselves out of public housing. The Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) Work Force is a holistic, comprehensive, program that builds networks of learning and support for low-income students living in public housing. Work Force partners with 320 students through nine years of their education, from eighth grade through matriculating students’ post-secondary education. In Fall 2019, the Cambridge Community Foundation made a major investment in the shared prosperity of our city by committing funding of $150,000 over three years to support Work Force. The Work Force has been a nonprofit partner of the Foundation for over three decades, but this is the Foundation’s most significant investment in the program to date. Seeing students through high school and college success The program has four core components: weekly afterschool workshops (social, educational, and vocational); a system of personalized adult support and case management; paid work experiences with public and

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Five ways to give back to your Cambridge community in 2020

2020-11-24T15:50:59+00:00January 15th, 2020|Civic Leadership, Cultural Richness, Philanthropy, Press Release, Shared Prosperity, Social Equity|

Photo courtesy of Cambridge School Volunteers. Could one of your New Year’s resolutions be to more actively participate in the community? In a big world with many challenges, taking local action is a way each of us can make a difference — by impacting one family, one nonprofit, one cause, or one community. If you live, work, or spend time in Cambridge, consider giving back to the community in 2020. Here are some ideas to get you started: 1. Gift a little of your time. Consider using some of your free time to do something positive getting better connected with our community (and have fun). Do you have MLK Day off from work? Invite family or friends to join you at the MLK Day of Service (Monday, Jan. 20 in Central Square) to make valentines for seniors, create fleece blankets and scarves for community members experiencing homelessness, and more. There are also numerous year-round volunteering opportunities. Those who care about addressing the climate crisis, can join the Charles River Conservancy for clean-ups of public parks and recreational areas. People interested in supporting the next generation can make meaningful connections with youth through Cambridge School Volunteers. You can find

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October 2019

How a frugal cattleman has sent students to Harvard for over a century

2019-10-16T21:03:56+00:00October 15th, 2019|Philanthropy, Press Release, Shared Prosperity|

Jonathan Maynard Parmenter. Photo courtesy of The Parmenter Foundation. Jonathan Maynard Parmenter lived a simple life. He and his brother Henry drove cattle between Massachusetts and New Hampshire and shared the family’s modest farmhouse in Wayland, Mass. However, heeding advice from a local friend, he quietly invested his income from cattle with the Harvard Trust company in a range of nascent industries – such as rail, steel, mills, telephone, electricity, and manufacturing. Meanwhile, Parmenter appeared to have never spent a penny on himself, preferring to maintain the New England farm-lifestyle he’d long grown accustomed to. When he died in 1916, Parmenter left an estate worth more than $1 million dollars – to the pure shock of all those who knew him. In his will, he donated to his neighbors, family and local church, but Parmenter also designated a trust fund of $200,000 to go to scholarships that would enable “needy and deserving undergraduates” to attend Harvard College. The terms of the fund stipulate that the entire income be paid annually to Harvard University for Parmenter Scholarships at Harvard College. Since 1916, the Cambridge Community Foundation has been the trustee of the Fund, gifting annually over the course of a century

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July 2018

Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants

2018-10-15T16:48:07+00:00July 27th, 2018|Civic Leadership, Press Release, Shared Prosperity|

Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants DONATE The Need The Fund The Dollars The People To Give What You Can Do How Cambridge and Massachusetts Can Help Local Nonprofits The Need Many immigrant families, children and workers in our community are caught up in a humanitarian crisis that could tear families apart, deport DREAMers from the only home they have ever known, and expose asylum seekers to the persecution and abuse they faced in their home countries. Help us help our most vulnerable neighbors with a tax-deductible contribution to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants. One in four immigrants in America are undocumented. Pew Research Center data states 210,000 undocumented residents in Massachusetts, of which over 180,000 are in Cambridge, Boston and surrounding communities.  In Massachusetts, there are approximately 19,000 students eligible for DACA status, over 12,000 are workers with Temporary Protective Status, thousands more are Asylum Seekers. While there is no city-specific data on the numbers of undocumented immigrants in our community, proxy data for Cambridge shows 27% of the population is foreign born; 40% of children have at least one foreign born parent; and approximately 25% of high

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Cambridge Community Foundation

99 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139

617-431-3150
[email protected]

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