CEOC: A Passionate Advocate With a Very Wide Reach Volunteer Fernende Desir offers a box of cereal to a client at the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee food bank. People carrying shopping bags line up early at the basement door of 11 Inman St. four days a week. What brings them here is the hope of taking home a box of free groceries to help feed their families for another few days.     For some, the food pantry at the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC) is the difference between having a meal that day or going to bed hungry. Volunteer Fernende Desir is very aware of the difference the small agency is making in the community every day as she prepares each food parcel with bread, fruits and vegetables, canned goods and maybe a carton of eggs or a pack of hot dogs.   Volunteer Fernende Desir helps clients at the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee food bank.  “Oh, my God they are a blessing. I am blessed, blessed, blessed,” said Desir, wearing a white apron, slipping a baguette into a plastic bag. “There are good people here with good hearts. They understand people’s problems and they help.”   The CEOC is a one-stop shop for Cambridge residents in need of immediate help, and assistance navigating the complicated web of federal and local social service programs available to them. For more than 50 years, the agency has provided a wide

Cambridge Community Foundation to Distribute a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Grants to Legal Defense Organizations Supporting Immigrants October 30, 2018--Cambridge, MA The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) will award a total of $255,000 in grants to four nonprofits to provide more legal services for immigrant families from Cambridge and the surrounding communities who are facing detention or possible deportation.  Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC), Greater Boston Legal Services, and Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) will each receive two-year grants totaling $80,000 to help hire a new attorney or expand their capacity with existing legal staff.  In addition, the Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project, Inc. (PAIR) will receive a grant of $15,000 to reach more Cambridge-connected immigrants. “Local families grappling with shifting immigration policies are facing urgent needs for quality legal defense,” said Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation.  “The real problem isn’t getting immigrant families to legal resources, it’s for legal defense organizations to have the capacity to serve people when they arrive.” “We are so thankful to our donors for playing such a critical role in expanding the capacity of these four exceptional organizations to defend immigrant families in need,” Pradhan said. The

Lives in Limbo: Trauma, Healing and the Immigrant Experience REGISTER HERE Monday, October 29 Wong Auditorium, MIT Tang Center, Building E51 2 Amherst St, Cambridge 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Immigration policies, along with anti-immigrant rhetoric at the local and national levels, have generated trauma with lasting impacts on children, families and residents who consider the United States their home.  In this CCF forum, researchers, primary care physicians, and mental health practitioners will discuss the impact of current immigration policies on the health and wellbeing of immigrant populations, offering practical strategies for individuals coping with trauma and the clinical teams supporting them. Admission is free; voluntary donations to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants are welcome. The lecture hall is at the corner of Amherst and Wadsworth Streets, a two-block walk from the Kendall Square/MIT MBTA Station. Parking is limited. For detailed directions, visit the MIT Building E51 webpage. Forum Speakers Renee D. Boynton-Jarrett, MD, ScD Primary Care Pediatrician, Boston Medical Center Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine Founding Director, Vital Village Community Engagement Network Diya Kallivayalil, PhD Staff Psychologist, Outpatient Psychiatry Department, Cambridge Health Alliance Co-author, The Trauma Recovery Group: A Guide for Practitioners Smith Guillaume

What’s happening in Central Square? To us, Central Square is home.  It’s the heart of our city—our historic downtown, the city’s cultural district and a space shared by businesses, dozens of nonprofits, many of whom we support, and residents of all income levels.  It’s an urban expression of the values of Cambridge—diversity, creativity, spontaneity, and compassion and care for others. So, when something new happens at home—whether it’s a new picture on the wall, a big party, or a major spring clean—you notice, right?  Well, Central Square is getting all three this fall thanks to efforts coordinated by the Central Square Business Association. Central Square Mural Project: Last week “Queendom,” a new abstract, interpretative mural by Cambridge-based artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez brought a regal girl, a zebra and vibrant colors and graphic elements to the brick wall above H-Mart on Mass Ave.  It’s the second in a series of 10 murals by 10 artists to be completed in Central Square this month. The Mural Project celebrates the neighborhood’s long historic past, its life in the present moment, and its hope for the future. It is also a colorful recognition of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s designation of the area as

Rowing for the Community The Head Of The Charles® Regatta (HOCR) is the world’s largest two-day rowing event, drawing athletes from across the country and nearly 45 countries.  Did you know these rowers are also committing to Cambridge?  The Cambridge Community Foundation has been an official charity of The Head Of The Charles® Regatta since 1998. Through the generosity of rowers who participate in the HOCR Charity Program and direct contributions from the Regatta, the Head Of The Charles Fund at CCF makes grants through our Community Fund supporting issues ranging from hunger and homelessness, to education, and an array of programs that create a pathway for Cambridge residents to achieve their dreams.  And the grantmaking has also supported rowing.  When the fund was started, the HOCR Board helped Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Crew program purchase a boat. Fred Schoch, Executive Director of the Head Of The Charles® Regatta said, “We are committed to supporting our local community, and the Cambridge Community Foundation is an ideally suited partner. The Foundation knows the community well, understands the needs, and has stewarded our funds in the best interest of our neighbors in Cambridge.  Our goal is to build pathways to the future

New Tax Law and Charitable Giving By Brad Bedingfield, Esq. Hemenway & Barnes LLP Brad Bedingfield Last December’s federal tax law changes (many of which expire at the end of 2025) may affect incentives for individuals and businesses to make charitable contributions.   While many popular strategies for saving taxes by making charitable gifts – for example, making gifts of appreciated property, or direct charitable IRA rollovers – remain effectively unchanged, other gifting strategies may no longer work as intended from a tax perspective. It is likely only a particular subset of donors will be significantly affected by these changed tax incentives.  Donors who were non-itemizers before these changes are likely to remain so and will see no meaningful change in tax incentives for charitable giving.  Conversely, many donors who were itemizers before will likely remain so, and still have plenty of incentives to find tax-efficient ways to reduce the burden of income or estate taxes by making charitable gifts.  Those on the borderline between itemizing and non-itemizing may need to review the timing and sources of gifts in light of the new law – however, the charitable impulse is the overriding consideration in giving, and nothing in

The Cambridge Community Foundation adds financial experts, philanthropic leaders to Board of Directors September 26, 2018 Cambridge, MA The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) has appointed four financial experts and philanthropic leaders to its Board of Directors and announced new co-chairs for its Professional Advisors Council, effective this fall. New Board members include Daniel S. Kern, Chief Investment Officer & shareholder with TFC Financial Management, Inc.; Marla Felcher, Co-Founder of The Philanthropy Connection, marketing professor, and investigative journalist; Winifred Lenihan, Vice President for Development at WGBH; and Katie Walker, Senior Vice President and Sales Executive at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, who is an Appointed Trustee with CCF.  New Co-Chairs of the Professional Advisors Council are Judith Cranna, Vice President at Eaton Vance Investment Counsel and Beth Milkovits, Relationship Manager in the Private Banking group at Brown Brothers Harriman in Boston. The CCF Board of Directors oversees community impact for the Foundation, signing off on two rounds of grants to local nonprofit organizations each year from the Community Fund. CCF and its donors awarded $1.43 Million in grants last year. The Board and Professional Advisors Council also help the CCF build the Cambridge Endowment through donor engagement

Marla Felcher joins CCF Board of Directors This summer Marla Felcher joined our Board of Directors, and shortly after she traveled to McAllen, Texas with Grannies Respond/Abuelas Respond to learn first-hand what’s happening at the border with hundreds of detained immigrants, many of whom are asylum-seeking families and children.  That’s just who Marla is. Marla comes to us with an impressive resume.  She co-founded The Philanthropy Connection, a women’s grantmaking organization, and has worked as a marketing professor, investigative journalist, marketing consultant, and consumer advocate. She’s taught at Northwestern University, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and UMass-Boston’s McCormack School of Policy Studies. In November, she’ll be teaching a course at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education on philanthropy. Throughout her busy career, she’s served on boards of organizations working to make a difference in people’s lives.  She recently confessed that she loved teaching, but what she loved even more was working with non-profit leaders. Now, being on our board is part of her new full-time job, and we’re delighted to have her. We wanted to introduce you. Why did you join the Cambridge Community Foundation board? When I stepped down from The Philanthropy Connection, I realized I had spare

Brownies for Immigrant Legal Defense Meet Amanda Formica, a new CCF donor The people of Cambridge answer the call for donations when it comes to supporting people who are being oppressed or are in need, Mayor Marc McGovern recently said, adding: “That’s part of who we are as a caring community.” We agree. To date, more than 250 people have donated to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants. Amanda Formica, a graduate student at Tufts is one of our new donors. Amanda attended our CCF Forum, Lives in Limbo, on June 27th and after hearing more from local scholars and lawyers, she wanted to help.  She organized a bake sale in Harvard Square in August and with the help of Caroline Hedberg, fellow graduate student in international affairs at Fletcher, and Katharina Quecke, a local artist, she raised $350 for the fund. How did you get involved with CCF? I met CCF staff at the Central Square Flea this summer. I was interested in the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants because of my background in immigration (I spent four years in El Paso, Texas, volunteering in a migrant shelter, and later in Mexico).  CCF staff invited me