Photo courtesy of Food For Free.

Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund

The Cambridge Community Foundation is proud to partner with the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund to support Middlesex County nonprofits on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis serving our most vulnerable communities. Learn about each of our grantmaking cycles: June 30th; July 14th; and July 28th.

The Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund supports those across the state most impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis, focusing on essential frontline workers and vulnerable populations including the homeless, immigrant populations, people with disabilities, and those facing food insecurity. The Fund works in concert with regional community foundations and nonprofit leaders who partner with local leaders to understand the response and relief landscape, strategically filling in where gaps are pronounced.  

Our 23 local grant recipients of the MA COVID-19 Relief Fund include:

14 nonprofits serving Cambridge

  • Agassiz Baldwin Community: $20,000 to provide immediate and tailored support for low-income families and seniors in Cambridge. 
  • Cambridge Community Center: $25,000 to support around 1,000 food-insecure families and community members through their Food & Supply Pantry. 
  • Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC): $50,000 to provide food for individuals waiting for state and federal relief, and to help more residents apply for SNAP, unemployment and disaster relief.
  • CASPAR, Inc.: $20,000 to promote the health and wellbeing of Cambridge’s homeless neighbors by providing essential food, clothing, and basic toiletries for unhoused people. 
  • East End House, Inc.: $25,000 to support basic needs identified through emergency case management and emergency supports to fifty under-resourced children, families, and individual cases. 
  • Enroot, Inc.: $25,000 to meet the immediate needs for 45 local immigrant students and their families in Enroot’s College Success program. 
  • Food For Free: $50,000 to provide free summer produce markets and food deliveries to hundreds of food-insecure households in Cambridge and Somerville.
  • Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc.: $25,000 to provide emergency rental assistance to residents in Cambridge who are in danger of eviction due to rental arrearage and to pay utility bills for households in need.
  • HomeStart, Inc.: $50,000 to provide emergency assistance to households who would remain homeless or otherwise would become homeless. 
  • Just-A-Start Corporation: $25,000 to support basic needs of low- to moderate-income individuals in Cambridge, Medford, and Somerville through Just-A-Start’s (JAS’s) education, training, housing and economic security programs. 
  • Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House: $25,000 to maintain the food pantry and pay rent arrearages for families in The Port neighborhood of Cambridge who live below the poverty line.
  • Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS): $25,000 to help low-income Portuguese-speaking immigrant households/families pay urgently needed rent or utilities for one month each. 
  • Metro Housing | Boston: $50,000 to prevent evictions by supplementing state emergency assistance funds with grant funds for 25 families in Cambridge.
  • Transition House: $20,000 to support housing and the immediate basic needs of families who are escaping domestic violence. 

Four nonprofits serving Medford

  • Action for Boston Community Development: $25,000 to support food security needs of 220 Medford residents experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Malden YMCA: $40,000 to serve the Medford community with free groceries, grab-and-go youth meals, and home/doorstep grocery delivery to vulnerable households.
  • Friends of the Medford Family Network Corp.: $10,000 to support the basic needs of Medford families affected by COVID-19, including food, clothing, diapers, toiletries, and more. 
  • West Medford Community Center: $15,000 to support the emotional and mental health needs of 150 vulnerable individuals in Medford and Somerville as they deal with the immediate and long-term impact of social isolation exacerbated by the pandemic. 

Five nonprofits serving Somerville

Volunteers and staff at the Cambridge Community Center’s Food & Supply Pantry. Photo courtesy of the Center.