The 2020 We are Cambridge celebration will be rescheduled
Due to public health concerns, we have postponed our We are Cambridge Celebration to a later date in 2020.
CCF’s 2020 “Imagined in Cambridge” Social Innovation Award
APPLY FOR THE 2020 SOCIAL INNOVATION AWARD Help us find people working on innovative ideas in Cambridge The application deadline for this year's award (August 26) has passed and the application is now closed. Thank you to all who participated in this year's competition. Join us for a live, virtual award ceremony announcing and celebrating this year's winner on Thursday, October 8 at 5pm! Register here. Cambridge Community Foundation is excited to announce our second Social Innovation Award competition, Imagined in Cambridge. As a funder of Cambridge nonprofits for more than a century, we are deeply rooted in the community—yet we are confident there are local ideas we don’t know about. Last year, we uncovered five award-winning ideas presenting innovative solutions to pressing social problems and we know there are more. We want to discover and foster the next generation of emerging leaders and ideas that will help shape our mission to support Cambridge’s shared prosperity, social equity, and cultural richness. Now more than ever, faced with two pandemics in our community—COVID-19 and racism—voices for change are needed. Somewhere in Cambridge we know there is a student, an emerging nonprofit, a group of neighbors, or an entrepreneur
Cambridge celebrates 20 Cultural Visionaries
We honor and remember Elsa Dorfman and Tunney Lee, two of our Cambridge Cultural Visionaries who passed away last year. **The We are Cambridge Celebration is now a virtual gathering on March 11, 2021. Join us.** The Cambridge Community Foundation focuses on the city’s cultural richness CAMBRIDGE, MA | Published: February 27, 2020 | Updated: January 28, 2021 The Cambridge Community Foundation has named 20 exceptional artists and creators as Cambridge Cultural Visionaries, recognizing, for the first time, a diverse and talented group of individuals who have had a major impact on the cultural richness celebrated in Cambridge and beyond for over half a century. In their honor and in recognition of the community’s commitment to safeguard the arts in our city and spark creativity of future generations, the Foundation will launch a new Cultural Capital Fund and honor the arts at its We are Cambridge celebration (rescheduled for March 11, 2021; register here to join). Cambridge has been shaped by dreamers and visionaries throughout its history. A city of ideas and solutions, Cambridge boasts a long list of imaginative thinkers, writers, artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs who continue to call Cambridge home. The Cambridge Cultural
Nonprofit partners promote artistic healing, wellness, and expression
At the Cambridge Community Foundation, we are committed to fostering the arts in our community, both as an investment in our fascinating cultural landscape and as an outlet for enrichment, wellness, and healing for our neighbors. A city that champions equitable access to its thriving artistic and cultural infrastructure builds a community in which everyone can nurture their creative voice and gain healing and agency through artistic expression. This month, we’re featuring four of our nonprofit partners who are performing vital artistic ministries in our community, enabling those at risk to find wellness and healing through the power of the creative process: Tunefoolery, The Dance Complex, Shelter Music Boston, and Urbanity Dance. Since their founding in 1994, Tunefoolery has empowered musicians recovering from mental health issues to showcase their work at over 150 events each year. Under their organizational umbrella, Tunefoolery runs a youth Education Outreach Program about mental health issues, sponsors holistic retreats for working musicians, and provides jobs and professional recording space for artists. Powered by the Cambridge Community Foundation: Tunefoolery has been a partner of the Foundation since 2005. Most recently, a $2,000 grant in Fall 2019 helped fund Tunefoolery's Music Education
NAACP honors Geeta Pradhan, Michael Monestime among five community leaders
Our president Geeta Pradhan and board member Michael Monestime were among five community leaders honored by the Cambridge NAACP for their social justice work at the annual MLK Brunch on February 15.
Don’t call us a bubble: We are Cambridge
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
How to support your favorite nonprofits with a donor advised fund
"Nonprofit Row," home to the Foundation and nearly a dozen other Cambridge nonprofits. Giving is an impactful way to benefit your community, but it’s important to consider how you give. There are numerous ways to support local nonprofits. From an unrestricted gift of cash, to buying tickets for an annual gala, to opening a donor advised fund (DAF). A donor advised fund is one charitable giving vehicle that can stretch your dollars further and maximize the impact of your donation. DAFs have been gaining popularity in recent years and are a wonderful way to support nonprofits you care about. What is a donor advised fund? A DAF is similar to an investment account with the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations that are important to you. Assets contributed to a DAF do not have to solely be cash. Individuals may contribute publicly traded securities, bitcoin, real estate, mutual fund shares, and certain complex assets (such as privately held C-corp and S-corp shares). Your donation will then grow in your account tax-free based on your investment preferences. The assets accumulated in a donor advised fund can be used to support virtually any charity that is qualified by
Community voices: Why we care about Cambridge
From our 2019 annual report: Some of the people who bring the Foundation's mission to life share what inspires them about our city.
Cambridge Community Foundation names Michal Rubin vice president of development
The Cambridge Community Foundation has named Michal Rubin, a development executive with 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, as vice president of development. Rubin will play a key role in helping the Foundation address the social challenges Cambridge faces by strengthening partnerships with donors and nonprofit partners and advancing the organization’s strategic direction in the new decade.
Three nonprofits empowering Cambridge youth through the arts
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
