Jennifer Pline joins Board of Directors

2017-11-30T00:54:34-05:00November 16th, 2017|Press Release|

Jennifer Pline named trustee of Cambridge Community Foundation November 16, 2017 CAMBRIDGE, MA. Jennifer A. Pline, executive vice president and head of Wealth Management at Cambridge Trust Company, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Foundation. She serves as a trustee, with a specific responsibility for oversight of the Foundation’s endowment. This appointment reflects the long history Cambridge Trust Company has as one of the founding banks of the Foundation. Cambridge Trust Company shares this role with Bank of America, which is a successor to Harvard Trust Bank, which played a role in the creation of the Foundation in 1916. In addition to four bank-appointed trustees, the board includes community members who collectively share responsibility for managing the organization. “I am delighted to welcome Jennifer to the board,” said Richard Harriman, board chairman. “She brings deep expertise and a strong record of financial management to her role as a trustee. We have a highly engaged group in place, including a number of new members who bring their special knowledge of Cambridge to the table, and I expect Jennifer will bring welcome insights and professional expertise to the mix.” In her role at Cambridge

Unite For Puerto Rico

2017-11-30T00:54:39-05:00September 29th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

September 29, 2017   Dear friends, I write to ask for your help with the relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.  Massachusetts has the 5th largest population of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States, and many call Cambridge home.   The effects of the devastating hurricane will be felt in Puerto Rico, and in the Commonwealth as people migrate to Massachusetts.  The Cambridge Community Foundation will be directing gifts to UNICEF USA's Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico, both of which will provide critical support to our neighbors in Puerto Rico. Gifts to UNICEF will provide immediate relief in Puerto Rico. Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico will work to quickly aggregate philanthropic capital from corporations, foundations and individual donors and deploy those resources to well vetted and effective relief, recovery and resettlement organizations on a grassroots level. Gifts may be made online here.  If you wish to direct a gift from a donor advised fund, please contact Usha Pasi at 617.576.9966.   We thank you for your compassion at this time of great need. Geeta Pradhan President

DACA: Our history, our values, our future

2017-11-30T00:54:39-05:00September 25th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

Across the world, the image of America is one of abundant diversity, expansive opportunity, and remarkable inclusion. Indeed, that is what has made this country the nation we know today.   Waves of immigrants seeking a better life fled their homelands to make America their home.… those waves of immigrants were our ancestors. Some came here seeking freedom from tyranny, from religious and other persecution, and from poverty. Some were brought here forcibly on slave ships, while others came here to pursue education or work in the most advanced sectors of the global economy. With grit, resilience, and hard work they made a better life for themselves and their children. Somewhat obscured in the current conversation, is the reality that the migration we know from the founding of the nation mirrors what we see today. The Indian Tribes or Native Americans were here earlier. And as waves of immigrants came in, we built a country with our rules, our customs, our laws. We legitimized ourselves! Today, every community from Charlottesville to Cambridge, and Long Beach to New York offers a richness of cultural diversity and vitality. According to wallethub.com, Cambridge ranks 31st among mid-sized cities in its diversity ranking

What Does Cambridge Mean To You?

2017-11-30T00:54:39-05:00September 19th, 2017|Civic Leadership|

What Does Cambridge Mean to You? September 15 was a chance to reinvent a precious commodity—the Cambridge parking space—as a way to get to know members of our community in a fresh and creative way. Over 120 spaces around the city were reimagined as extensions of organizations, some quite familiar, some newly visible. Cambridge Community Foundation set up shop on Mass Ave close to CCTV (which hauled a sofa and sound equipment out of its office and went to work interviewing folks right there in public). The Foundation used a question we have explored before: What Does Cambridge Mean to You? And invited passersby to tell us their thoughts. We met tourists in town from South Carolina, new students at local universities, friends we know from Cambridge city government and residents savoring what turned out to be a beautiful early fall day. It seemed such a Cantabrigian concept although it is, in fact, an international event.  Here are a few images gathered through the day. Meanwhile we at the Foundation are already mulling how to celebrate Parking Day next year.

Introducing Our New Board Members

2017-11-30T00:54:40-05:00September 15th, 2017|Press Release|

New board members bring a wide range of expertise, institutional connections  to Cambridge Community Foundation  For more information contact David Truebood at [email protected] or 617-576-9966 The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced a significant change in its board of directors with the naming of six new members, including Andus Baker, Sarah Gallop, Lisa Ijiri, Elizabeth Keating, Mike Shires, and Jonathan L. Walton. These appointments brings board membership to 23. The board serves as the ultimate authority for the 100-plus year-old charitable organization, the only foundation with all of Cambridge in its purview. That includes setting the community impact and civic leadership agenda for the Foundation,  signing off on two annual rounds of grants to local nonprofits organizations,promoting philanthropy, and building the Cambridge Endowment. New members include: Andus Baker Financial Services Executive Andus recently retired from a 20+ year career at Fidelity Investments where he held marketing, product development, and strategy roles in the firm's retail and asset management businesses.  Andus managed many high performing teams, and helped grow Fidelity's DAF business, Fidelity Charitable.  Andus serves as the president of the Cambridge Skating Club, was formerly on the Christ Church Vestry, and for many years served as a volunteer with various Cambridge youth sports

A PATH FORWARD

2017-11-30T00:54:40-05:00August 21st, 2017|Press Release|

A path forward. On Saturday, August 19, 2017 over forty thousand people marched in Boston to send a clear message—“hatred, bigotry, racism have no place in our community!”  This event was a rally for equity, justice, tolerance, humanity… for love, inclusion, liberty …for a life free of discrimination, persecution, and fear.  It stressed the essential constitutional and humanistic idea that “Otherness” was normal, but inciting hatred and violence against the “Other” was not. The voices in this spectacular event echo the values held by the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) since it was founded in 1916.  CCF has worked relentlessly with the quintessential “Other”, the underprivileged, vulnerable, immigrant communities in Cambridge, to secure a starting foothold in their lives. We are now confronted with the broader issues beyond those first steps: How do we sustain the spirit of generosity in a community whose long-term success depends on social and economic interdependence?  How do we deepen the discourse of Cambridge as an engine of innovation to embrace the breadth of this community? The Foundation serves the community as a neutral convener, connecting people, knowledge and resources, and strives to be a catalyst and a partner to promote the desired changes

Press Release: Moacir Barbosa elected to the governing board of Cambridge Community Foundation

2017-11-30T00:54:40-05:00May 24th, 2017|Press Release|

Moacir Barbosa, a long-time community leader in Cambridge has been elected to the board of directors of the Cambridge Community Foundation. He currently serves as Director of Community Engagement at Health Resources in Action, a Boston-based public health institute that seeks to improve health through social change. His work there is focused on collective impact, community engagement, youth development and violence prevention. A native of Cape Verde who grew up in Cambridge, Barbosa is a member of the board of trustees of the Phillips Brooks House Association, a student-run organization working for social justice through collaboration based on the Harvard University campus. He also serves as chair of the Men of Color Health Task Force and is a member of the board of trustees of the Cambridge Health Alliance hospital system. “Mo brings exceptional knowledge and insight about Cambridge – especially about young people in the city,” said Richard Harriman, chairman of the board of the Foundation. “I expect him to make a significant contribution to this organization as we go forward.” “I am delighted to join the Foundation,” said Barbosa. “Its commitment to expanding opportunity for local residents is critically important. I look forward to joining with the

Press Release: Cheryl Vozzella named to the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Community Foundation

2017-11-30T00:54:41-05:00May 24th, 2017|Press Release|

Bank of America names Cheryl Vozzella a trustee of Cambridge Community Foundation Cheryl Vozzella, a managing director and market sales executive for U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, has been named to the board of directors of the Cambridge Community Foundation. She serves on the board as a trustee, which reflects the historic relationship of the Bank of America to the Foundation. As a successor bank to Harvard Trust Company, U.S. Trust shares oversight of the Foundation’s endowment with Cambridge Trust Company. In addition to four bank-appointed trustees, the board includes community board members who collectively share responsibility for managing the organization.  Cambridge Community Foundation, the only foundation serving the entire city, established in 1916, is currently marking its centennial year. It funds nonprofit organizations through two annual sets of grants, serves as a civic leader, promotes collaboration focused on urgent local issues, and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the city, known as the Cambridge Endowment. “I am delighted that Cheryl will be filling this important role with the Foundation,” said Richard Harriman, chairman of the board. “She brings both important professional skills and personal qualities that will make her

Cambridge Needs Assessment

2017-11-30T00:54:41-05:00April 7th, 2017|Press Release|

[download id="4518"]   Between 2010 and 2013, mitigation funds were pledged to the City of Cambridge through zoning amendments and agreements with developers. To put these Community Benefits funds to effective use, the City Council suggested the idea that the City partner with the nonprofit community to expand services that benefit Cambridge residents and help address residents’ unmet needs. Since the idea’s conception, the City worked with the Cambridge Community Foundation, a charitable organization focused on serving Cambridge residents, and representatives of the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition to discuss collaboration on the development of a transparent and inclusive framework for understanding the community’s needs. The first step in developing a plan to distribute Community Benefits funds was to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. To undertake the needs assessment, the City released a Request for Proposals and subsequently hired TDC. In September 2015, the City Manager created the Needs Assessment Advisory Committee to support and guide TDC. The Advisory Committee was composed of City staff from multiple departments and representatives of both the Cambridge Community Foundation and the local nonprofit community. The Advisory Committee helped TDC to refine the research plan strategy and an inclusive community engagement process. The Cambridge Community

Boomtown/Hometown Report

2024-10-09T16:41:46-04:00March 1st, 2017|Civic Leadership, Press Release, Shared Prosperity|

Read the Report Can Cambridge retain its culture of diversity and opportunity in a dynamic innovation economy? Foundation calls for an agenda for ‘Shared Prosperity’ March 1 2017 A new report by Cambridge Community Foundation charts the impact of trends in housing, education and income disparity that threaten the city’s prized culture of diversity and inclusion, even as its enviable role in a regional innovation economy drives soaring levels of prosperity. A review of relevant data raises questions about whether this growth actually benefits city residents–or whether a growing financial disconnect means many residents can no longer afford the city they live in. Fully 78 percent of current low-income households in Cambridge are “cost burdened,” spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Over half spend over 50 percent of total income on housing. They qualify as “severely cost burdened.” In 2015, Just 4 percent of the city’s rental housing stock was affordable for a family with two workers earning $75,000 a year in total – in a community with a median annual household income of just over $79,000. The cost of buying a home is inevitably further out of reach: just 2 percent of single-family

Go to Top