The fight against hunger in Cambridge

Cambridge is home to hundreds of families with million-dollar annual incomes AND hundreds of families facing hunger year-round.

The statistics on food insecurity in the area are startling; according to the 2017 Cambridge Needs Assessment, a study funded by CCF and the City:

• 12% of Cambridge households are enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal program;
• 45% of students enrolled in Cambridge Public Schools (CPSD) are enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program. For many, this is the one solid meal kids have in the day.

Meanwhile as residents struggle to provide food for their families, there is a tremendous amount of wasted food from homes, restaurants, caterers, cafeterias, and grocery stores.

Cambridge is fortunate to have a web of nonprofits and programs addressing hunger and food insecurity in our community and CCF is proud to support most of them. These programs include major efforts like Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC), a one-stop shop for social services that also acts as a clearinghouse for food. And Food For Free, a local nonprofit that helps distribute more than 2 million pounds of food to 120 agencies, serving a dozen local pantries in our area. (Food For Free gets support from more than 100 volunteers a week.) And other efforts, such as food pantries at Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House and other settlement houses; meal service programs at CASPAR and other shelters; and community-based programs like Project Manna to name a few.

“Ten thousand people in Cambridge use the emergency food system, and we know 45 to 50% of kids at CPSD are on free and reduced lunch. Before the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program existed, many of these kids would go home on weekends and not eat,” said Sasha Purpura, executive director of Food For Free.

“We want to use schools as an entry point to address hunger for students and their families. It’s critical to help people get food, because without it, they can’t learn, graduate, and get a job that will help them break out of the cycle of poverty,” Purpura said.

Civic leaders in the community, including now City Councilor Alanna Mallon, have also coordinated efforts. Six years ago, Mallon launched the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program in one school and since then the effort has expanded district wide. More recently, with Food for Free, she’s coordinated monthly food markets in the schools.

“Hunger is never in a vacuum,” said Mallon at a recent gathering on the topic at CCF board member Lori Lander’s house. “What does make a difference is helping families through the schools, which addresses the need and makes them feel more connected to the community.” Mallon added that she worries people in need are not coming to pantries because they are afraid of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

If you’d like to help address hunger in Cambridge, you can reach out to CCF or the nonprofits actively addressing these issues and see how you can help: through donations, preparing meals, or volunteering. You can find food assistance programs in the Cambridge Directory of Resources; Food Pantries.org; Boston/Cambridge Resource Guide for Homeless and Low-Income Individuals; Somerville Food Security Coalition; Massachusetts Food System Collaborative.

Hunger is an issue that’s top of mind in winter when people are considering to ‘eat or heat’ their homes. But we should remember one important fact: Hunger is not a winter only problem. It affects families year-round and nonprofits are always looking for volunteers.

Read Alanna Mallon’s Cambridge Chronicle op ed on hunger and volunteering for more information.

MLK Day brings neighbors together to help neighbors
in the spirit of Dr. King

On Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 21, the values of Dr. King and Cambridge will be on display in our city.

Every year since 2010, Many Helping Hands 365 has organized the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cambridge Day of Service, drawing thousands of volunteers together for an afternoon of service projects at Central Square locations. It has become one of the largest community service events in New England.

Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds work on projects aimed to help people in need in our community. Neighbors work side by side to deliver donated food to local food pantries, make valentines for seniors, sort winter clothing for shelters, design and sew fleece blankets and scarves for the homeless children, teens and adults, and deliver them to shelters.

Last year the impact was incredible, reaching more than 10,000 people in need in our community:

• 400 bags of groceries were donated by neighbors in Huron Village, an effort that involves dozens of high school students from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School as collectors and deliverers to thirteen food pantries;
• 660 fleece blankets and scarfs were designed and sewn for homeless children and adults and then delivered;
• 1,700 toiletry kits were delivered to the homeless and those in shelters, thanks to donations from local hotels;
• 3,500 Valentine Cards were made and delivered to local seniors, bringing cheer, and easing loneliness;
• 2,500 activity kits for children—including paper, crayons, puzzles—were built and delivered to schools and programs;
• 1,350 pounds of winter clothes were collected and delivered;
• 80 bags of children’s books were donated for reuse.

This volunteer event—led by CCF board member Lori Lander and a group of civic leaders in Cambridge—educates people on the needs in our community, brings people together to help address those needs, creates an opportunity for residents of all ages and backgrounds to meet new friends and build community, and accomplishes something incredibly valuable to our city on a very special day.  It’s a perfect expression of our values as a city and as the Cambridge Community Foundation.

“We hope many who volunteer at the Many Helping Hands MLK Day of Service will make an ongoing commitment to serve in the Cambridge community throughout the year,” said Lori Lander. “There is no better way to honor the work and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than by serving your community. Many Helping Hands MLK Day of Service brings together residents from all neighborhoods of our city to work together and to improve their community. It is truly inspiring to see thousands of Cambridge residents from all backgrounds join together to volunteer and to serve in honor of Dr. King’s life and teachings,” Lander said.

Many Helping Hands 365 is supported by the Cambridge Community Foundation through grants from the Community Fund. We are the fiscal sponsor as well.

Philanthropy Spotlight
Charlotte Wagner on justice and philanthropy

Since 2005, Charlotte Wagner has honed the mission of the Wagner Foundation to focus on justice through economic mobility, health equity, cultural transformation and institutional fairness, including criminal justice reform. Its motto: Just and Robust. The Wagner Foundation is also a long-time supporter of CCF and a major donor to the Family Independence Initiative (FII), a core program of the Foundation’s Strong Families Initiative. Charlotte spoke with the Foundation about the theme of justice.

Why invest in this city?

Cambridge represents excellence in so many different facets, from Harvard and MIT, and their world-class research and thought leadership, to its amazing cultural and business epicenters. Still, 14 percent of our community residents live in poverty. That disparity concerns me.

We support Family Independence Initiative, which has expanded into Cambridge thanks to CCF and other donors. Through FII, families develop a network and get themselves out of poverty through the supportive relationships they form. FII provides resources and empowers families to meet the challenges they face in a way that is best for them.

Why do you support CCF?

CCF serves as a critical convener and thought leader, bringing together great minds and unique perspectives to solve complex issues.

As a philanthropist and leader of a foundation, as a Cambridge resident and someone who really wants to be an active member in the community, I felt it was important to support the Cambridge Community Foundation. Through CCF, I’m hoping we can address the poverty disparity and lack of economic mobility for residents in our community.

What are your thoughts about CCF’s evolution?

True leadership is seeing all the facets of a complex issue and pulling many levers at the same time. CCF does exactly that.

Geeta‘s leadership has been transformational. Given her background and training, she can see all the parts of the puzzle and she knows how to bring divergent parts together to help create systematic change.

Civic Leadership Spotlight

Cambridge family brings civil rights and math to kids

Bob Moses is a “big picture” person whose life work has been continental in scope.  A civil rights leader described as an inspiration by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Bob launched the Algebra Project in Cambridge with the proceeds of a MacArthur Fellowship (known as the “Genius” grant) he was awarded in 1982.

Civil Rights are important to Bob and Janet, his wife and partner at the Algebra Project, but equally important are the very specific and very local needs of children—their own and those in our community.

The Algebra Project began when Bob realized that structural gaps in local education blocked access to key upper level math courses for certain children – specifically low-income children and children of color. He began teaching math to kids at the MLK School on Saturdays and after school, beginning with his daughter, Maisha, and her classmates.

Bob has always been an important presence in the community, says Khari Milner, who grew up with the Moses children in the neighborhood known now as “The Port.” Today, Milner carries the same Moses family-like focus on effective education as co-director for Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time Initiatives.

Bob and Janet’s children — Maisha and Omo have also spent their lives ensuring all children have equal access to opportunity.

They helped create the Young Peoples Project, which trains and deploys math literacy workers to prepare young people so they have a place in our 21^st century tech-driven knowledge economy. Seeded in Jackson, Mississippi, YPP has built a national network training 500-plus children a year and includes an office in Central Square. Omo’s Math Talk transforms public places into creative early learning math environments, be they public parks, bus stops, barbershops, or bodegas.  The project is now supported by grants from CCF and the Social Justice Works Fund; the National Science Foundation; and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Meanwhile, Janet, a physician who worked at MIT, continues to play an active role at the Algebra Project and in the community, convening groups to tackle social issues, including housing discrimination, racial inequity in education, and restorative justice.

The family’s inspired legacy of civic action and quest for equity and justice lives on.

Civic Leadership Spotlight

Elaine DeRosa: Sharing luck and giving back through CEOC

By Deborah Blackwell
Cambridge Community Foundation Correspondent

If it weren’t for the Yellow Pages, a ride from a friend, and some good luck, Elaine DeRosa may not have spent nearly four decades changing lives.

The former executive director of the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC), who retired March 2018, has always been pretty lucky, and her mission has always been to share it.

DeRosa was the second generation in her Sicilian family to be born in America, and the first to go to college. In her junior year she hitched that ride to Cambridge hoping she might find work for her Springfield College required field placement and landed at CCF who sent her right to CEOC – an organization offering assistance such as housing, health, and food services to less fortunate members residing in the economically diverse community of Cambridge.

“My family were the lucky ones, we had the luck of the draw, the benefits, and we were able to figure it out,” said DeRosa. “But I’ve known my whole life it shouldn’t be the luck of the draw, these are real issues to me. Thank you CCF, it was a remarkable connection.”

When DeRosa arrived at CEOC on that afternoon in 1971, they were in the process of organizing city funding for neighborhood health centers and needed someone to distribute pamphlets. She volunteered, and when she graduated in 1973, by another twist of fate, there was a permanent position open.

“I couldn’t imagine getting paid to do the incredible work of CEOC,” DeRosa said. “We had so many presidents who wanted to get rid of community action, but this was a job I just loved to do.”

The longtime leader of the organization knows that CEOC has made a tremendous difference in the community it serves by finding a way around barriers. Their role is to figure out what to do with the limitations people face, strategize, and find another angle. Programs lead to policy and CEOC’s policy initiatives have made a difference, she said, because advocacy around public policy is about the people, not about the issues.

“We can go through the list of initiatives we championed or co-led with others, but it’s the voice of the people we represent, normally disenfranchised, their voice being heard, that is what makes the difference, the action,” DeRosa said. “You come to us, it’s the whole package. I say proudly and with real pride, we make a difference.”

That difference is always felt, even with decreased funding and centralization. When DeRosa started, there were six neighborhood offices each with planning teams targeting six low-income neighborhoods. The group eventually consolidated to one central office and now maintains 11 employees, servicing the needs of community members in a “one stop” setting.

“We have always figured out a way to get laptops, do food stamps, development, FAFSA assistance,” DeRosa said. “Every day you just roll up your sleeves, because we have come up against a pretty sanctioning government. If you’re at the bottom it’s a real slap in the face.”

Although she said she doesn’t have the golden answer, what she has helped CEOC achieve over 40 years has positively impacted the Cambridge community and beyond.

One of their biggest challenges she said, involved a 25-year legislative campaign at the Massachusetts statehouse leading to the preservation of affordable housing units in Cambridge that were originally built with private funds. When laws changed giving developers the opportunity to sell their properties, CEOC worked with the city for public money to keep residents from being displaced.

DeRosa also worked with her staff to create programs around healthcare for women and teens, a family planning program, assistance with abuse, and a 10-week comprehensive sexuality program called “Know Your Body”, initiated in Cambridge Public Schools.

Tina Alu began at CEOC as the sexuality education coordinator and worked alongside DeRosa for 31 years before becoming executive director following DeRosa’s retirement.

“Elaine is a fierce advocate, she saw issues that impacted people and said, ‘what are we going to do to change this to improve people’s lives,’” said Alu. “She was tireless and very skilled. It was never about her or the agency, it was about doing the right thing.”

Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation, said DeRosa has been an amazing advocate for families experiencing inequality for most of the life of the agency.

“This is a group of people who are phenomenally supportive, respectful of their clients, and they are such passionate advocates for people in poverty, in a city with growing income inequality and consistent poverty,” said Pradhan. “This is a really critical role.”

DeRosa may have left her official CEOC role, but she is staying involved in city council and housing issues, and still refers to her work with the agency as “we.”

“I’m not that far away from the organization and now my citizen work will be in collaboration with the agency priorities,” she said. “We have big issues in Cambridge around zoning and around affordable housing, and we need to make sure other voices are heard.”

DeRosa is also enjoying her grandson Ethan Davis’ sports endeavors. She attends every game the Arlington Gibbs School sixth grader plays and likens his team’s enthusiasm to her former organization.

“We were a great team at CEOC, a great staff, we all pulled together, and that’s a great advantage,” said DeRosa. “I’ll continue to be involved in affordable housing work, but in the meantime, my grandson started basketball, and all of this fits into the puzzle of what helps makes success.”

Civic Leadership Spotlight

The comprehensive way to address domestic violence

Domestic Violence is hard to talk about and deeply personal. It’s also pervasive and universal, affecting people of all backgrounds, including Cambridge residents.

While the executive director of Transition House, domestic violence was Risa Mednick’s adversary.  She knows first-hand a problem this big can’t be solved by a single domestic violence organization quietly working alone.

“Historically, shelter was seen as the antidote to domestic violence, but it’s a tiny drop in the bucket of possible responses,” said Mednick. “It’s not the solution to an issue that’s driven by a culture of misogyny, violence and inequity.” Transition House provides transitional housing for about 100 people every year and serves over 1,000 community members of all ages and backgrounds with a wide range of support services, education, training, and prevention tools.  Cambridge Community Foundation has funded Transition House since it started more than 40 years ago as the first domestic violence shelter on the East Coast and only the second in the country.

Under Mednick’s leadership, Transition House analyzed what was and wasn’t working in domestic violence prevention and re-committed to finding solutions.  As a result, the organization looked for reliable partners to create new strategies to both deliver services to victims of violence and prevent abuse before it starts.

There have been many steps in this process – an important one was working with former City Councilor Marjorie Decker and a committee of community stakeholders to explore new solutions. In turn, this led to the city’s renewed commitment to violence prevention, the formalization of the Cambridge Domestic and Gender Based Violence Prevention Initiative, and a new position within municipal government to help leverage and coordinate the city’s resources across sectors.  All this builds on years of collaborative work and opens new doors.

Mednick calls Transition House’s work a cross-sector partnership.

“What’s exciting about this work and about doing it in this community is the opportunity to build connections and strategies for change,” said Mednick. “There’s a lot of heart in every community, but what’s different about Cambridge is we have a constellation of resources and great intentions here. There should be nothing that holds us back from creating true social equity in this community.”

One of Transition House’s long-standing relationships is with the Cambridge Police Department. Transition House offers comprehensive trainings to the entire department as well as the Emergency Communication Center staff (the 911call dispatchers) on how to deal with domestic violence calls, giving front line staff better tools to help people in trauma. As a result, community policing practices are changing.  Mednick said it’s rare to have police departments working with nonprofits on these issues.  Another partnership, with the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA), now includes Transition House advocates helping domestic violence survivors avoid eviction or apply for subsidized housing with special status in accordance with the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). With dedicated walk-in hours at the Housing Authority each week, these advocates also help CHA staff look at things with a different lens so they can be a source of help to a family in need.

“It’s about inculcating a culture of openness, awareness, and sensitivity to change.  We need to get beyond professional ‘intervention.’  It’s really about community help and support,” she said.

After 10 years Mednick stepped down from Transition House this year to pursue new challenges.  She will continue to work locally and beyond to build connections to bring about systemic change. Meanwhile, she’s knit together a community to bring meaningful change to families in distress.

“Everyone has a role to play in making sure our whole community is a safe, fair, and equitable place for all who live here,” said Mednick.  “We need to invest in each other, in community organizations that make Cambridge a welcoming place, and in community. And everyone needs to have their eyes wide open.”

The Cambridge Community Foundation awards $467,000 in new grants; brings CCF nonprofit investments to $722,000 this fall

Jump to a list of fall 2018 grants

December 4, 2018—Cambridge, MA

The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) has announced the recipients of its fall 2018 grantmaking cycle, awarding a total of $367,000 in grants to 56 local nonprofits meeting a wide range of social and educational needs, and committing an additional $100,000 to support four initiatives: strengthening the nonprofit sector in Cambridge, preserving and promoting Central Square as the heart of the City, connecting local youth to innovation through trainings, and supporting the growth of businesses owned by local women of color.

This support, in addition to $255,000 in grants to four legal defense organizations in October, brings a total of $722,000 to local nonprofits this fall. CCF’s grantmaking is an important part of its century-long mandate to support the wellbeing of Cambridge and all its residents.

“Listening to the community and responding to its needs is essential for a local philanthropic platform that supports shared prosperity, social equity, and cultural richness in our community,” said CCF President Geeta Pradhan.

“This year we can clearly see that the need in the nonprofit community far outweighs our resources, but we’re doing what we can and we’re so thankful to all the donors who are stepping up to help bridge the gap as well,” she added.

The CCF received a record number of requests for fall grants in this cycle, 72 proposals totaling $828,111, a 30% increase compared with last year. To bring more community voices and different perspectives into the process, the CCF and Lori Lander and Rev. Lorraine Thornhill, the co-chairs of the CCF Program and Special Initiatives Committee, invited a diverse group of community members to help select this fall’s grantees. The committee included a former mayor of Cambridge, a long-time executive director of a local nonprofit, a representative from the Cambridge Police Department, a lawyer, a local poet, as well as other community leaders and members of the CCF board and its advisors.

CCF distributes two cycles of grants from its Community Fund each year, supporting nonprofit organizations involved in human services, workforce training, housing, hunger, homelessness, elder services, youth and early childhood services, and the arts. It also invests in new and multi-year initiatives that align with CCF’s priority areas: Strong Families, Education & Opportunity, Arts & Innovation and Urgent Needs. CCF grants bridge gaps in nonprofit operating costs, sustain long-standing nonprofits serving vulnerable populations, and help great new ideas grow in Cambridge. CCF donors also contribute to nonprofits through Donor Advised Funds.

In late October 2018, CCF administered $255,000 in grants to four legal defense organizations through the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants to expand legal defense for immigrants facing deportation. This special fund was launched in March 2018 in partnership with Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern’s office and seeded by CCF and its Board of Directors with a $50,000 grant, which included $25,000 from a bequest from Cambridge resident Maurice Anderson to address urgent needs in our community and $25,000 from an anonymous donor. More than 260 residents and several foundations donated to the fund, with gifts ranging from $5 to $50,000. Major contributors included the Louis Fund, the Johnson Family and Why Wait funds of the Foundation, and the Fish Family Fund.  Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC), Greater Boston Legal Services, and Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) received two-year grants totaling $80,000 each to help hire a new attorney or expand their capacity with existing legal staff. In addition, the Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project, Inc. (PAIR) received a grant of $15,000 to reach more Cambridge-connected immigrants.

FY19 CCF INITIATIVES

Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition: $35,000

http://www.cambridgenc.org/

As a founding partner of the CNC, CCF’s investment over the last three years has enabled CNC to advance equity and justice in Cambridge by strengthening the sector, building collective voice and promoting collaboration for social change.

Central Square Partnership – Central Square Business Association (CSBA) & CCF: $30,000

https://centralsquarecambridge.com/

CSBA and CCF share a passion and commitment to the future of Central Square. Both are committed to raising the profile of Central Square as the heart of the city to ensure that it thrives as a business and cultural district; to preserve the surrounding neighborhoods; and to address the social challenges that accompany the vibrant urban environment.

Design Museum Foundation: $15,000

In April of 2018, the NEA awarded a grant of $75,000 for the Neighborhood Innovation Corp (NIC) which will deepen and transform the City’s Neighborhood Service Project (NSP)– a program that involves city youth in community problem solving. Youth work in teams to identify a neighborhood problem and design and implement a solution. The aim is to amplify the program’s impact on Cambridge’s livability and ensure pathways into the innovation economy for the city’s youth.

Start Up Mentors: $20,000

Startup Mentors will focus on women entrepreneurs of color – and help grow their businesses. Entrepreneurs will be recruited from Boston-area feeder programs, through the Central Square Flea Market, and Cambridge Arts Council’s Creative Marketplace. Startup Mentors, will recruit up to 20 women of color to participate in the program from “feeder” organizations.

 

URGENT / BASIC NEEDS

CASPAR: $15,000

https://www.baycovehumanservices.org/caspar-first-step

Emergency Services Center and Shelter and FirstStep Street staff work on the front lines of the opioid crisis and support lifesaving work and the hope of recovery to residents of Cambridge struggling with homelessness and addiction. CASPAR has a powerful model of addressing both the causes and the effects of addiction and its intersection with trauma and mental health.

East End House (EEH): $30,000

http://eastendhouse.org/

East End House community center uses a holistic approach to promote the well-being, academic achievement, and successful transition to adulthood of children and youth from under-resourced families in Cambridge and surrounding communities. As part of the approach, EEH provides support services to a diverse population, from infants to seniors, to strengthen family and community.

Fenway Community Health Center: $7,500

https://aac.org/youth-on-fire/

The Fenway Community Health Center’s Youth on Fire (YOF) program operates as a drop-in center in Harvard Square for homeless, LGBTQ, and other at-risk youth ages 14-24. YOF provides an array of low-threshold services in a safe, non-judgmental environment. This program includes on-site medical and behavioral health care, HIV/STD testing, case management, life skill training, educational workshops, and supported referrals.

First Church Cambridge Congregational Shelter (1^st time grantee): $2,500

https://www.firstchurchcambridge.org/first-church-in-the-world/first-church-shelter

This shelter serves 14 men, providing safe, clean beds, showers, laundry, meals, emotional support, and resources. A state contract covers about 80% of the shelter’s direct costs.

Food for Free: $15,000

http://www.foodforfree.org/

Food for Free’s Food Rescue and Distribution program rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it through programs that reach low-income and food-insecure people. This program provides food for Cambridge’s pantries, shelters, youth programs, and meal programs, reaching about 10,000 Cambridge residents and 30,000 people throughout Greater Boston. This local organization serves a significant local population in collaboration with other nonprofits.

Homeowner’s Rehab: $10,000

https://homeownersrehab.org/

Homeowner’s Rehab’s Home Improvement Project (HIP) assists low to moderate income eligible Cambridge homeowners to access affordable financing, complimentary construction and program management, as well as educational services. The services HIP offers contribute to the overall revitalization and stabilization of Cambridge residential homes.

HomeStart: $10,000

https://www.homestart.org/

HomeStart’s Cambridge Housing Services Program promotes the mission of ending and preventing homelessness by helping low-income at-risk families and individuals residing in Cambridge gain access to and maintain safe, permanent, affordable housing.

The Outdoor Church: $1,500

https://www.firstchurchcambridge.org/outdoor-church-0

The Outdoor Church provides services outside Porter Square & the “wet” shelter at 240 Albany St. On weekends, they offer over 300 sandwiches & 100 pairs of socks to chronically homeless people with service from over 120 volunteers.

Project Manna: $4,000

http://www.massavebaptistchurch.com/

Project Manna’s Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry is an outreach program for the homeless and hungry around Cambridge and the surrounding neighborhoods. In operation since 1989, it has seen a noticeable jump in the number of clients at the Soup Kitchen and at the Food Pantry. The Soup Kitchen is open Monday and Friday and the Food Pantry is offered every other month.

Solutions At Work (SAW): $5,000

http://solutionsatwork.org/

Solutions At Work is spreading the word about their important services to help break the cycle of poverty and homelessness by providing individuals and families with resources, such as children’s clothing, books, and toys, professional attire for job seekers. They are increasing their outreach to agencies serving homeless and low-income people as well.

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network (1^st time grantee): $2,500

http://waysideyouth.org/OurServices/WaysideYoungAdultServices/ShortstopTransitionalHousing

The Shortstop Young Adult Program works to enable homeless young adults to become economically self-sufficient. Residents stay about 12 months – increasing employment, furthering their education, moving on to permanent housing. Services include: case management, educational resources, employment & life skills, budgeting, referrals for health and other supportive services, volunteer opportunities. Wayside’s ShortStop program is one of the region’s few residential programs for homeless youth.

Y2Y Network: $5,000

https://www.y2yharvardsquare.org/

Y2Y Network employs a youth-to-youth model to provide a safe and affirming environment for young adults experiencing homelessness. Guests have opportunities to collaborate with service providers, others with lived experience, and student volunteers to create sustainable pathways out of homelessness. Y2Y believes in youth-driven solutions to homelessness.

HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH

Cambridge Community Center (CCC): $7,500

http://www.cambridgewinterfarmersmarket.com/

CCC is hosting Cambridge Winter Farmers Market (CWFM) for the 6^th year. This indoor market is held inside CCC’s gym every Saturday from January to April.

Community Conversations Sister to Sister: $7,500

http://www.ccsister2sister.org/

Community Conversations (CC) Sister to Sister supports women in leadership roles.

CC promotes black women’s health by cultivating community leadership, connecting and empowering intergenerational lay, emerging/novice, and professional stakeholders in diverse conversation and partnerships.

Community Dispute Settlement Center: $10,000

https://communitydispute.org/

CDSC has started Cambridge Juvenile Court Harassment Prevention Mediation, a new initiative in response to the needs of youth in the Cambridge Juvenile Court. CDSC also offers community mediation for individuals and families with a focus on divorce, housing and consumer-related disputes and conflict skills training.

Coordinated Care Program for Political Violence Survivors (1^st time grantee) $10,000

Over the past 2 years, vulnerable immigrants in Cambridge and other cities served by CHA have become increasingly fearful of accessing healthcare services and resources. This program coordinates services to address this problem.

SENIOR SERVICES

Cambridge Neighbors (Cambridge At Home): $2,000

http://cambridgeneighbors.org/

On the Move (OTM) is a subsidized transportation program that supports Cambridge Neighbors members 75 and older who wish to age in their own homes and communities. Transportation is one of the biggest challenges among older adults. OTM provides reliable, accessible, and affordable transportation for medical appointments, errands, and visits.

Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers: $8,000

http://www.maps-inc.org/

Immigrant Integration Services (IIS) assists Portuguese-speaking clients with basic needs (housing, employment, utilities, public benefits, legal services, citizenship). The Senior Center provides linguistically/culturally competent services and activities, reducing isolation and promoting health and independence for low-income community elders.

Paine Senior Services: $5,000

https://www.harvardsquare.com/paine-senior-services

Paine Senior Services (PSS) is the only agency in Cambridge–public or private–that serves all Cambridge seniors regardless of their ability to pay a fee. Outcomes include: eviction prevented, housing established, accessed appropriate medical care, health insurance established, compliance with medical care, etc.

VNA of Eastern Massachusetts: $8,000

http://vnaem.org/

VNA’s Senior Supportive Housing and Services allows the VNA to bring homecare to all who need it regardless of insurance or ability to pay, and provide a safe, dignified home for those who could never afford market-rate assisted living.

ECONOMIC SECURITY / JOBS

Cambridge Art Association (CAA): $2,000

https://www.cambridgeart.org/

Through exhibits of artwork by regional and national artists, Cambridge Art Association (CAA) supports the practice of contemporary artists at all stages in their careers. The CAA also provides free of charge access to galleries, exhibits work in public spaces, and works to eliminate barriers to entry for both artists and art lovers.

Center for Women & Enterprise (1^st time grantee): $2,500

https://www.cweonline.org/

CWE offers a free 10-week Community Classrooms Business Planning program for ten low- to moderate-income women, offering 30 hours each of intensive entrepreneurial training, business management skills, and financial education. Typically, Business Planning participants launch their new businesses within six months of course graduation.

The Goree Freedom House (1^st time grantee): $2,500

The Goree Freedom House is increasing its group organizational capacity so it can support members in the community work that they do, support the exploration and development of goals of individuals in the community, coordinate events, and build partnerships with others.

Just-A-Start Corporation (JAS): $15,000

https://www.justastart.org/

Year-round, tuition-free education and workforce training programs help individuals enter sustaining careers and attain economic mobility. Programs include: Biomedical & Information Technology Careers Programs for adults, JAS YouthBuild & TeenWork for youth, and the Financial Opportunity Program for all JAS clients.

Self Esteem Boston Educational Institute: $2,500

http://www.selfesteemboston.com

You’re Worth It is a 12-week program at CASPAR’s Womanplace in Cambridge serving 50 clients. This program builds confidence in the job search process and helps women position themselves for economic mobility toward the goals of empowerment, sobriety and family reunification with 85% of participants increasing their skills.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Community Music Center of Boston: $2,000

Cambridge Public School’s preschool special education initiative: Music Therapy at Special Start is an innovative and high-impact program.

Neighborhood Children’s Foundation: $3,500

http://beautifulstuffproject.com/

The Beautiful Stuff Project invites children to think and build creatively using materials from “Treasure boxes” brought into the classroom. This curriculum enables children to  engage with materials in a way that standardized curriculum does not. Their approach promotes play and encourages STEAM as an integral part of the school day.

Riverside Community Care, Inc. (The Guidance Center): $7,500

https://www.riversidecc.org/

Riverside Community Care ensures behavioral health and human service needs are met in communities. Staff development and off-site training increases staffs’ ability to work effectively with all families.

 

EDUCATION / OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME

Agassiz Baldwin Community (ABC): $2,500

http://agassiz.org/

ABC’s Equity & Access Fund provides scholarships for children living in poverty to attend

high quality programs at ABC. Scholarships cover tuition for Sacramento Street Preschool, Agassiz Baldwin Afterschool (including full day vacation week programs and early release days), Outback Summer Program, and art classes at Maud Morgan Arts.

Boston Symphony Orchestra: $2,500

https://www.bso.org/brands/tanglewood/community/days-in-the-arts-darts.aspx

The Days in the Arts at Tanglewood (DARTS) will take 50 students per week (8 weeks total) to engage in artistic activities and attend cultural performances at a residential camp in the Berkshires. Uniting students from urban, suburban, & rural communities, DARTS fosters an artistic & respectful community.

Breakthrough Greater Boston (BGB): $12,500

http://breakthroughgreaterboston.org/

Support for BGB’s comprehensive programming that supports low-income students of color in Cambridge to and through college. Breakthrough will make key improvements to their Middle School After-School Program while piloting new programs designed to support students’ transition to and success in college.

Cambridge Camping Association: $20,000

http://www.cambridgecamping.org/

Cambridge Adventure Day Camp & Daybreak Day Camp serve 155 under-resourced Cambridge children. Daybreak serves children with social, emotional and behavioral health needs and CADC will be growing to include 15 additional 12- to 14-year old campers in 2019.

Center for Artistry and Scholarship (CAS): $2,500

https://www.artistryandscholarship.org/

CAS and The Design Lab support innovative educators from Cambridge Public Schools to participate in CAS’s Perrone-Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership (PSi). This support of Design Lab coaching for PSi participants working on Capstone projects has the potential to yield big results for Cambridge’s youth, from increasing mathematical proficiency to expanding music opportunities in CPSD.

Community Art Center: $12,500

http://www.communityartcenter.org/

CAC’s comprehensive approach to arts learning encourages artistic growth, personal development and helps youth create art that addresses community issues and promotes social justice. In addition, meaningful youth leadership roles exist in all program areas – CAC youth are prepared to lead both internally and externally.

Navigation Games (1^st time grantee): $2,000

https://www.navigationgames.org/

These game-based physical and mental fitness programs help kids get exercise, develop critical thinking, work in teams, and learn about the outdoor environment. Their JK-12 programs include after-school classes, in-school programs, and school teams.

Playworks New England: $7,500

https://www.playworks.org/new-england/

Playworks Cambridge TeamUp Programming operates in 3 Cambridge Public Schools during the 2018-19 school year. Students at the Fletcher Maynard, Kennedy-Longfellow, and Baldwin will benefit from TeamUp programming led by a Playworks site coordinator

who will consult with recess teams at 4 schools throughout the year to teach and model healthy play.

The Possible Project: $10,000

https://possibleproject.org/

The Possible Project (TPP) is a 3-year after-school program that combines entrepreneurship, STEAM, Design Thinking, Social & Emotional skills to create a fun and powerful curriculum for high school students to prepare them to succeed in the 21st Century. TPP offers a safe, supportive, creative space for students to learn and grow & receive one-on-one career counseling.

Tunefoolery: $1,000

http://www.tunefoolery.org/

Tunefoolery’s musicians in mental health recovery gain healthy identities as professional musicians, rather than mental patients. Individual and ensemble music and goals coaching, and workshops are offered. Audiences at mental health and social service venues, as well as the general public, also benefit from the enhanced skills. Music can be a powerful therapeutic tool and can empower those served to contribute to society.

Tutoring Plus of Cambridge: $15,000

http://tutoringplus.org/

TP’s Elementary and Middle School Programs will create a robust program evaluation tool that examines the impact of social-emotional learning curriculum. TP will also strengthen their math and literacy supports for students and enhance their family engagement practices.

 

STEAM / EDUCATION-INNOVATION GAP

Cambridge School Volunteers: $7,500

http://www.csvinc.org/

The grant will allow CSV’s Director of High School Programs and new Director of NetPals to collaborate and develop new STEM internship opportunities for CRLS students among CSV’s 15 corporate partners. The budget includes funding for professional development for 3 CSV staff members on Facilitative Leadership for Social Change.

CitySprouts: $3,500

https://citysprouts.org/programs/summer-youth-intern-program/

CitySprouts’ STEM-based Middle School Program introduces students to ecosystems and food systems through garden and classroom-based STEM learning. The tuition-free after-school and summer programs guide students through projects that engage them in science & give them practice being leaders.

InnovatorsforPurpose (iFp): $7,500

http://innovatorsforpurpose.org/

The Learning by Doing: Creative Services and Experiential STEM program uses a hands-on multidisciplinary approach that integrates art, design, history and humanities with STEM fields. iFp is rewriting the playbook on how to engage non-traditional STEM learners in STEM subject matter. Learning by doing inspires students to aspire to become a part of the innovation economy, while building access to opportunity, networks and resources.

Prospect Hill Academy: $2,000

https://www.phacs.org/

Prospect Hill Academy is improving its middle & high school robotics program with additional and more varied robotics equipment. This will allow the program to serve more students and promote the development of key computer science and robotics skills, such as programming, problem solving, engineering design, building skills, and collaboration.

 

IMMIGRANT / LEGAL ISSUES

Community Legal Services and Counseling Center: $10,000

http://www.clsacc.org/

CLSACC provides free legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to people with low incomes and critical needs.

Enroot: $12,500

http://www.enrooteducation.org/

Enroot’s holistic program for immigrant students in Cambridge will be able to expand to serve 100 high school students, 18 recent high school graduates, and 150+ volunteers.

Project Citizenship (1^st time grantee): $2,500

http://projectcitizenship.org/

In Cambridge, there are approximately 10,000 qualified applicants who would benefit from the protection/opportunities provided by citizenship. Project Citizenship seeks to reach out to Cantabrigians who are reluctant to apply for citizenship and schedule workshops, provide legal expertise in their application process, and serve as the legal representative at citizenship interviews.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Charles River Conservancy: $2,500

http://www.thecharles.org/

CRC’s Conservancy Volunteers Program provides opportunities to work along the Charles River parklands supporting resource-strained Department of Conservation and Recreation. Funding supports 5 free “open-to-all” community volunteer opportunities in Cambridge for volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to perform vital maintenance work and build ownership of their urban green spaces.

Many Helping Hands: $5,000

https://www.manyhelpinghands365.org/

Many Helping Hand’s 9^th annual Cambridge MLK Day of Service is Jan 21, 2019.  This event will engage 3,000+ volunteers in hands-on service projects helping 10,000+ people in need. MLK Day of Service will take place in 5 locations in Central Square.

 

THE ARTS

Cambridge Arts Council: $7,500

https://www.cambridgema.gov/arts/

The Cambridge Arts Creative Marketplace (CACM) identifies and promotes an intentional marketplace where residents, artists, arts organizations, and corporate communities connect to support increased cultural identity and economic vitality for the arts in the city.

Cambridge Performance Project (CPP): $2,000

CPP was created in 1985 to bring dance, music and theater to Cambridge Public Schools. They continue to work with elementary level students in after- school programs. CPP currently offers ballet, hip-hop, creative movement, drumming, theater games, puppetry, clowning and yoga in 8 Community Schools, taught by 12 professional artist/teachers. After-school performance programs are well-known for positive impact on student success.

Cambridge Symphony Orchestra: $1,500

http://cambridgesymphony.org/

Through this grant CCF supports the free Pops on the Lawn Concert to be presented in Danehy Park on Sunday, 6/23/19. For the past 10 years, CSO has presented a free concert-in-the-park for families in Cambridge with the past seven being in the economically, ethnically, and racially diverse North Cambridge neighborhood. These concerts are central to CSO’s mission of community outreach.

Family Opera: $2,500

http://www.familyopera.org

The CPS Science Songwriting Workshops feature English composer, conductor, educator and science enthusiast David Haines, who will lead 48 science songwriting

workshops, 4 at each of the K-5 Cambridge schools. Working with teachers, Mr. Haines inspires students to integrate music, language arts and the science curriculum through their own compositions, some of which are performed by the NCFO Science Chorus.

Jean Appolon Expressions: $2,500

https://jeanappolonexpressions.org/

The Jean Appolon Teen Apprentice and Intensive Program aims to educate local teens in the art of dance, specifically Folkloric Haitian and Modern, and to foster resiliency through social connections, movement, and music. Students gain an appreciation for Haitian and Afro-Caribbean culture and are given the opportunity to grow their dance skills with an understanding of the role of art in social justice.

Multicultural Arts Center: $4,000

http://www.multiculturalartscenter.org/

The Multicultural Arts Center presents multicultural visual and performing arts programs to educate the community about diversity. The center is looking forward to providing increased access to arts events through affordable ticket prices.

New School of Music: $1,000

http://newschoolofmusic.org/

NSM’s Performance Outreach Program and Scholarship Fund provides quality musical instruction and access to musical experiences throughout our community. This program includes free workshops, free public concerts, performance opportunities for all students, free community events, and need-based scholarships for all programs.

Steps in Time (1^st time grantee): $1,500

http://www.dancecomplex.org/event/sunday-soiree-with-steps-in-time/

Steps in Time brings ballroom dance to senior centers, subsidized senior housing, assisted living and memory care communities. The Sunday Soiree is a monthly social dance, free and open to the public, hosted by Steps in Time at The Dance Complex. Soirees give program participants & the general public an opportunity to gather and dance socially in a positive, welcoming environment.

About the Cambridge Community Foundation: As the local giving platform for Cambridge, the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) supports the city’s shared prosperity, social equity and enduring cultural richness, with roots that go a century deep.  The Foundation strives to deeply connect sectors across the community, to highlight emerging and critical needs, and catalyze efforts– through advancing philanthropy, grant making, and civic engagement– to ensure resources are focused where they can make the greatest difference.

###

For more information contact:
Lauren Marshall
Director of Marketing and Civic Engagement
(617) 576-9966 (office)
[email protected]
www.cambridgecf.org

CEOC: A Passionate Advocate With a Very Wide Reach

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.  

 “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 range of services to the community’s most vulnerable residents, including the food pantry, tax preparation, educational programs and

assistance accessing health insurance, food stamp, and other programs. 

“We are a comprehensive program helping people look at all their needs,” said Tina Alu, CEOC executive director. “We help support them in the many aspects of their life.”  

The agency services about 5,200 families a year. The needs of those clients change every day, and members of the staff have learned to be flexible and creative in addressing service challenges. For example, a client who is moving needed a deposit to secure an apartment. During that meeting, she asked if the agency helped with tax preparations: her refund could cover the cost of the deposit. 

“I said ‘we can sit with you and help you do that,’” Alu said. “Then we had other people asking about that, and 15 years ago we became a free-tax preparation site with the IRS. Then credit card debt. People were worried about their credit report and those services really were limited, we looked at this and asked what training we [would] need to help clients with their questions.” 

The Cambridge Community Foundation has helped support the CEOC for more than a decade with grants totaling $61,000 since 2006. This year the Foundation gave a CEOC a special grant of $4,000 to honor four Foundation board members who had recently stepped down. The money will be used to help families apply for Earned Income Tax Credits, navigate the college application and finance process, and receive financial coaching to help better manage debt and build wealth. 

“Cambridge has grown significantly in economic disparity, and we continue to have issues of poverty,” said Geeta Pradhan, president and

chief executive officer of the Cambridge Community Foundation. “CEOC is a passionate advocate for people in poverty; [the organization] plays a very critical role in this community.” 

Yemisrach Kibret —known as Yemi—is a community educator and advocate at the CEOC.

She speaks three languages and came to the

United States 13 years ago from Ethiopia. Kibret is one of several advocates who help clients apply for food stamps, find housing, heath services. She is also a certified tax preparer. 

“I’m a navigator for health insurance, I’m a tax preparer during tax season and when it comes to housing I’m an advocate,” said Kibret. “I love working at CEOC because I understand where these people come from. Sometimes it’s just someone coming in and asking me to read their mail for them. For me it’s a simple task, but for them it is life changing.” 

Fernende Desir is one of the thousands of lives touched by the kindness of the CEOC. The food pantry volunteer has also been a client at the agency, which helped her navigate her health insurance, social security and provide day care for one of her grandchildren.  

“The agency does very good work,” said Desir. “Good things for people. People who need a job can come here. If they need food they can come here. If they need housing, they can come here, food stamps and any other help they need.” 

— Jeffery Blackwell 

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 grantees were selected through a competitive process conducted by a panel of experts, including immigration attorneys and representatives of Mayor Marc McGovern’s Office and CCF.  Award-winning grantees include legal defense organizations with a goal of increasing their capacity to provide immediate deportation defense for low-income immigrants who are on a fast-track for removal on an Order of Supervision/GPS with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and those detained by ICE that need to file motions to reopen or petition for a stay of removal with ICE. Low-income immigrants recently arrested by ICE or issued Noticed to Appear (NTA) will also be served.

According to local legal service organizations, changes in immigration policies, including DACA and Temporary Protected Status, and increased enforcement by federal agencies have resulted in a dramatic increase in the numbers of families seeking legal assistance.  “It’s a very urgent and stressful time for immigrant families; they need access to quality legal services and the brilliant thing about this grant is, because it is for two years, we will be able to protect more families involved in legal proceedings that can extend beyond a twelve-month period.  We can help bring stability to families in need,” said Ronnie Millar, executive director of Irish International Immigrant Center. “We’re extremely grateful to the Cambridge Community Foundation and its donors for their partnership in expanding our work in the City of Cambridge,” Millar added. IIIC estimates the grant, which will help cover the cost of an immigration attorney, will support legal services for more than 100 people over the course of two years.

The two-year grant will help CLSACC fund a new attorney with the Post-Detention Asylum Project to help mothers and their children coming out of detention to apply for asylum in the United States.  Most of these clients have fled their countries because of gang violence, including murder of family members or severe domestic violence.  “It’s a matter of life or death for the clients we serve and that is why we truly appreciate the assistance from the Cambridge Community Foundation, its donors, and our other funders because it is enabling us to do this very important work at this time,” said Mojdeh Rohani, executive director of CLSACC.  The organization expects to serve up to 500 immigrants and refugees each year for the next two years.

According to Jacquelynne Bowman, executive director of the Greater Boston Legal Services, the rapidly changing immigration laws, policies and procedures affecting immigrants and their families and rumors about those changes have caused some people to take action that can impact their opportunities to stay in the U.S.  “GBLS staff have had to triage Immigration matters, giving advice to people who really need a legal advocate,” said Bowman. “This two-year grant will allow us to increase our staff to provide more comprehensive representation to more people and give them a real chance to obtain justice.”  The funds will enable the Greater Boston Legal Services to increase their legal capacity for immigrants facing immediate deportation.

“The Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants is a powerful expression of our City’s core values and a wonderful grass-roots effort that emphasizes that we can do important work when we join together as a community,” said Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern.  “Through this fund and these grants, our community’s support of our immigrant neighbors will have a lasting impact on families that need help.”

The Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants was launched in March 2018 in partnership with Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern’s office.  Since that time, more than 260 residents and several foundations have donated nearly $200,000 to the fund, with gifts ranging from $5 to $50,000.  The Cambridge Community Foundation offered two-year grants to three grantees to ensure the organizations could hire attorneys to meet the need.  The CCF will continue to raise money for the fund.

Data from Pew Research indicates that in 2014, there were 210,000 undocumented residents in Massachusetts, of which over 180,000 are in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  While it’s difficult to ascertain city specific data, proxy data for Cambridge shows 27% of the population is foreign born and 40% of children have at least one foreign born parent.  Cambridge is a sanctuary city and includes many undocumented students, workers and residents.

The Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants was seeded by the Cambridge Community Foundation and its Board of Directors with a $50,000 grant, which included $25,000 from a bequest from Cambridge resident Maurice Anderson to address urgent needs in our community and $25,000 from an anonymous donor.  In addition to individual gifts from more than 260 people, the fund has received a $50,000 gift from the Louis Foundation, a $25,000 gift from the Fish Family Foundation and major support from the Johnson Family and the Why Wait Funds of the Cambridge Community Foundation.

As the local giving platform for Cambridge, the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) supports the city’s shared prosperity, social equity and enduring cultural richness, with roots that go a century deep.  The Foundation strives to deeply connect sectors across the community, to highlight emerging and critical needs, and catalyze efforts– through advancing philanthropy, grant making, and civic engagement– to ensure resources are focused where they can make the greatest difference.

###

For more information contact:

Lauren Marshall
Director of Marketing and Civic Engagement
(617) 576-9966
[email protected]

Lives in Limbo: Trauma, Healing and the Immigrant Experience

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 H. Lamothe
Clinical Navigator, Boston Medical Center

Michele Rudy
Ed.L.D. Doctorate of Education Leadership Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Founding Board member, Aliento

Robert P. Marlin, MD, PhD, MPH
Primary Care Internist and medical anthropologist, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA)
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director, Coordinated Care Program for Political Violence Survivors and the Refugee Health Assessment Program at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA)
Director, Community Health Engagement in the CHA Department of Medicine

Jonathan L. Walton, MDiv, PhD (moderator)
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister, Memorial Church of Harvard University
Professor of Religion and Society, Harvard Divinity School

Sponsors include the Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship, the Louis Foundation, and the Fish Family Foundation.

The CCF believes that the immigration crisis is a humanitarian crisis and the one thing that we can all stand behind is the right for people—all people—to have legal representation. Learn more about how to support immigrants in our surrounding communities here.

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 a state Cultural District. Look for new murals coming to building walls on Lafayette Square, the Green Street Garage, on Norfolk Street, and more.

Central Square Flea:

Throughout the summer, the Central Square Flea has been common ground for artisans, small businesses, food trucks, musicians and locals who love a good open-air flea market.  Central Square does it with a twist.  Sometimes the Flea was simply the flea—a funky, eclectic, sensory extravaganza.  Other times, it was more. The Flea has hosted family-friendly movies and soccer games on the big screen in University Park. And, on Sunday, Sept. 24 dumplings took over the Central Square Flea, with thousands of “Peking Raviolis” from a range of vendors lining the streets.  The Dumpling Festival attracted more than 20,000 people, a reminder of how much Cantabrigians love ethnic cultures and cuisines.  The Central Square Flea takes over University Park at 91 Sidney Street every Sunday throughout the summer and concludes October 28. Next up, the Food Truck Festival on October 14. Check out the Flea!

The Taste of the BID:

Central Square is campaigning to become a Business Improvement District in 2019, and as part of the process, the CSBA will kick off ‘The Taste of the BID’ this month.  This effort will bring capital improvements along Mass Ave., cleaner streetscapes, and neighborhood ambassadors, who can orient visitors to Central Square and all its wonderful places.  The Taste of the BID runs throughout the month of November, beginning November 1.  Keep an eye out for the changes!

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 with our support, and the Head Of The Charles Fund does exactly that.”

In addition to CCF’s work, the Regatta supports West End House Boys & Girls Club and Community Rowing Inc.

We are deeply grateful for the support the Fund provides, which is a long-term statement of the rowing community’s commitment to Cambridge, and we thank the HOCR rowers, board, and staff who transform Cambridge for two days every fall – and for their generosity, which changes lives over decades.

Don’t miss the 54th Head Of The Charles, on Saturday, October 20, and Sunday, October 21.  More than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries around the world will compete in 55 different races.  Rowing enthusiasts, athletes, river lovers, and neighbors–come one come all and celebrate rowing and the spirit of generosity in Cambridge!

New Tax Law and Charitable Giving

By Brad Bedingfield, Esq.

Hemenway & Barnes LLP

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 new law should prevent people from continuing to support the organizations they care about, and to receive tax benefits from doing so.

Changes in Incentives

Standard Deduction.  The standard deduction has increased from $6,300 to $12,000 for single filers and $12,600 to $24,000 for married and joint filers.  Since the income tax charitable deduction is an itemized deduction, it provides no tax benefit to those who claim the standard deduction.  Studies have estimated that more than 20 million taxpayers may convert from itemized to non-itemized filers this year as a result of the increased standard deduction.

On the other hand, residency may also play a role in taxpayers’ decisions.  Many Massachusetts residents already have significant itemized deductions, including state and local tax and mortgage interest deductions, meaning that a Massachusetts taxpayer is more likely to be an itemizer regardless of the increased standard deduction.

Taxpayers who are nevertheless affected may adopt a “bunching” strategy, such as giving $50,000 once every five years, rather than $10,000 each year.  This allows a donor to itemize in the year of the gift, and claim the standard deduction in the other years, limiting the tax impact of the increased standard deduction on their charitable giving.

Estate Taxes.  Federal estate taxes have been virtually eliminated for all but a very small number of taxpayers.  The federal estate tax exemption amount has increased to over $11 million per person or over $22 million per married couple.  It is unclear the extent to which changes in the estate tax affect testamentary giving, as many people leave property to charity out of a desire to benefit charity, and not because of tax incentives.  Regardless, many states (like Massachusetts), still have estate taxes with very low exemption amounts, and donors in those states may have estate plans geared at optimizing charitable gifts regardless of these federal changes.

Increased AGI Limit for Cash Gifts.  The 2017 tax act increased the AGI limit for gifts of cash to public charities from 50 percent to 60 percent.  However, the increased 60 percent AGI limit is available only when a donor is relying solely on gifts of cash to public charities, and not gifts of stock or other assets (or gifts to private foundations).  Gifts in excess of these AGI limits are not deductible in the year of the gift but may be deducted in future years.

In all, while these tax law changes may have some effect on timing and manner of giving, many people make charitable gifts regardless of whether they will receive a tax deduction, and it is likely that any effects of these changes will be felt less strongly in higher tax states (like Massachusetts) than in many other parts of the country.

We encourage our readers to contact their tax and legal counsel for more information about how these changes may affect them, and what they may do to limit any negative impact on their tax returns.

This text was excerpted from a longer article; please contact [email protected] for a copy.

Brad Bedingfield is a member of the Cambridge Community Foundation Professional Advisors Council.

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 and advancing philanthropy, so that the city’s pressing urban needs can be addressed today and far into the future.  They also advise CCF on its civic leadership agenda.  CCF serves as an independent voice on Cambridge’s systematic and urgent urban problems.

“Our goal is to work across sectors—government, businesses, universities, nonprofits, civic leaders and engaged residents– to foster equity by removing barriers to opportunity, investing in and believing in the inherent potential of human beings and honoring everyone with dignity. We’re delighted to have a group of accomplished and compassionate people joining in this important work,” said Geeta Pradhan, president of the CCF.

Rick Harriman, chairman of the CCF Board added: “Our new board members share our belief in equal opportunity and social equity for all residents and we are delighted to have them help us chart an equitable path forward in today’s innovation economy.”

The CCF has supported nonprofits in Cambridge for more than 100 years, beginning with funding for local, low-income youth to attend Harvard College, which continues today.  The CCF is known for providing seed funding to support impactful, new programs, and offering decades-long support for core community organizations, including the Settlement Houses in Cambridge.  CCF’s current focus is on programs and nonprofits that support strong families, provide education and opportunity, and preserve our city’s cultural richness.

“I’m enthusiastic about Cambridge Community Foundation’s focus on an inclusive vision and shared prosperity in Cambridge,” said Daniel S. Kern.  “I hope to help Cambridge Community Foundation increase its capacity for community leadership, serving as a resource for the entire community.”

Marla Felcher added: “I’ve been a Cambridge resident since 1998 and I think solving the inequality problems here is very doable. There are a finite number of people under the poverty line. At the same time, many are living in some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Given the number of smart, caring people living in Cambridge, there’s a lot of potential. I believe that once Cantabrigians see the issues, they’ll help.”

The new appointees replace four outgoing Board members, including Moacir Barbosa, Director of Community Engagement at Health Resources in Acton; Melville Hodder, Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Inc.; Fritz Foley, Andre R. Jakurski Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School; and Cheryl A. Vozella, Managing Editor and Market Sales Executive for U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.  In honor of their service to the Cambridge community, the Foundation awarded a $4,000 grant to the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC) — Cambridge’s Anti-Poverty Agency whose mission is to empower people and mobilize resources to fight poverty’s causes and impacts through services, education and organizing.  CEOC serves about 5,200 households annually in all its programs.

New Board Members

New Professional Advisors Council Leadership

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 time and I thought long and hard about how I wanted to spend that time.  I also thought about the issues that I care most about: education disparity in Cambridge, immigration, and fair housing.  Everything I care about, the CCF is working on, plus I know multiple people on the CCF board and I adore all of them.  They were literally the people in Cambridge I most admired.  This was a slam dunk.

If you could solve one problem in Cambridge what would it be?

Right now, I have to say it is immigration and immigration reform. For the last year, I’ve been obsessed with how this Administration is treating DACA recipients and people coming into this country who are trying to make a living and live without fear. It’s totally distressing to me, which is why I went to McAllen, Texas.

Number 2 is education disparity. If you solve that you solve a lot of problems.  Growing up, I had a safety net. The moment I was born my family began saving for college.  If a kid’s parents didn’t go to college, and do not have jobs that allow them to save for college, and that kid works hard and gets to the point where he or she says, ‘I’m going to college,’ that’s a major thing. It can be tough to accomplish without financial resources and a safety net.  Over the last ten years, I have been involved in encouraging and helping high school students get into and succeed in college, and now that some of the students are older, doing what I can to help them succeed in their careers, and in graduate school.  Years ago, I met a young woman as she was going off to college, a first gen student — she just started Harvard’s Graduate School of Education this semester. Words cannot express how proud I am of her – what she’s overcome and how hard she’s worked, and what she’s achieved.

Why do you give back to Cambridge?

Not giving back is not an option. I realized about 30 years ago that my husband and I would earn more money than we would ever need. That got me thinking about what I wanted to do with our money.  When I was teaching in Evanston, Illinois, I started educating myself about urban needs and learned about chronic unemployment and differences in schools based on zip code. This opened my eyes to disparity. There was no turning back.

I’ve been a Cambridge resident since 1998 and I think solving the inequality problems here is very doable. There are a finite number of people under the poverty line. Meanwhile, the smartest people in the world are in this city. Given that we have such potential, I think inequality is totally solvable here.

Any final thoughts on Cambridge and why we should care?

As a city, Cambridge’s values are simple—being nice, respecting one another, listening to one another. I think of Cambridge and the Cambridge Community Foundation as a city and an organization that wants to hug everyone.  But Cambridge doesn’t always do that. We’re still a segregated city.  We still have some schools that are better than others. Cantabrigians have to have their eyes opened. Once they see the issues, they’ll help.

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 27^th 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 to the Lives in Limbo Forum on June 27 and I was really interested in seeing the speakers lined up for the event.  I think it’s really important that community foundations convene events like this, bringing the different stakeholders together, and I was excited to see that in action.  And more personally, I feel that it is important to give back to a community that helped make me who I am today.

What did you take away from the CCF Lives in Limbo Forum?

After hearing the different statistics and info from the expert speakers, people, lawyers, working directly on these issues, I wanted to do something.   I could donate money, but I thought it was better to organize something so I could bring in more than I could as an individual and spread the word to more people. A bake sale seemed like the easiest thing to do, in terms of time and commitment.

What did you hear from the community at the bake sale?

It was nice to be part of the fabric of the neighborhood. Every single person was positive.  One young woman was from Puerto Rico and her Dad’s wife was an immigrant trying to normalize her status.  She said it has already cost over $22,000 dollars and she still hadn’t completed the process successfully.  It’s been a major financial burden on the family. Another construction worker gave $25 and took a few brownies, and then he came back for a few more for another $20.  He didn’t want anything else. He just thanked us for being there.

What interests you about community foundations?

I like that community foundations are transparent.  They can be much more democratic and much more driven by what communities actually want; the path of influence is very clear.  I know there are areas of the world and our nation that don’t have many funding opportunities, and there you can see the importance of giving circles and helping people see how we can have access to wealth in an equitable way.

New murals will make Central Square an open gallery for everyone

By Jeffrey Blackwell

Cambridge Community Foundation Correspondent

On a blistering-hot afternoon in Central Square an eager group of residents, business owners and curious passersby gathered in Lafayette Square Park for a neighborhood tour of seemingly nothing more than the weathered brick and cement walls of 10 area buildings.

But even on this extremely humid August day, the crowd of about 100 people was charged with enthusiasm. What they were anxiously waiting to see was not just walls, but future canvases for the Central Square Mural Project.

“Art is an important medium and we live in Boston where we have no shortage of institutions where people can experience fine art,” said Michael Monestime, executive director of the Central Square Business Association (CSBA) and the tour guide. “It’s important that art be accessible, and through this mural project we will be creating an open gallery right here in Central Square.”

This fall, a group of 10 artists from Cambridge and Boston will transform the highly-visible building walls into abstract and interpretative murals in celebration of the neighborhood’s long historic past, its life in the present moment, and its hope for the future a hundred years to come.

The Mural Project is an endeavor of the CSBA to bring vibrancy to a neighborhood in transition, and to colorfully recognize the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s designation of the area as a state Cultural District. The effort also represents an important partnership between the CSBA, business owners, the city of Cambridge, the Cambridge Community Foundation, and other local organizations.

“There are certain stakeholders who validate what it means to be part of the community, and our partnership with the Cambridge Community Foundation is an important one,” said Monestime. “The number of years the foundation has served the community, and the combination between economic development, local businesses, and the community at large, creates a lot of synergy that the foundation helps connect the dots on.”

Caleb Neelon, one of the Mural Project’s artists, is an acclaimed muralist and graffiti artist known both locally and internationally. He grew up in Cambridge and still resides there.

“I’m excited because these are walls that I’ve looked at since I was a teenager and I started doing things on walls,” he said. “So this is a very exciting process to see this transform.”

Boston artist Percy Fortini-Wright said the Mural Project is like others across the nation such as the Wynwood Walls in Miami, Fla., which in 2009 brought graffiti artists from around the world to create an outdoor gallery in the city’s old warehouse district. The Central Square project is distinct from that project in that all the artists are local.

“I think this is an awesome project,” said Fortini-Wright, whose highly-regarded work includes a mural beneath Interstate 93 in South Boston. “I feel this will be a chance to do what Wynwood did in Miami with a more experimental art project in a place that I think is begging for it. It’s a no-brainer that Cambridge would have something like this.”

Monestime said the other difference is in the overall goal of the project.

“A lot of people use a project like this as place-making,” he said. “I want to be very clear that Central Square is already a place and what we are going to work on with this project is place-keeping.”

Cambridge Mayor Marc C. McGovern said he agrees that the Mural Project is a perfect fit for Central Square, a neighborhood where his family has lived for 100 years.

“This is my backyard and this project is so exciting because it does a lot of different things,” he said. “Not only is it about supporting our cultural district in Central Square, not only is it about supporting artists in our community, not only is it about beautifying what are now blank walls, but is also about making art accessible to everybody.”

The murals are concentrated in the center of the business area and include the Cambridge Gas Light Company building, the Barron Building, Green Street Garage, and a series of changing murals on the construction wall installed near Toscanini’s Ice Cream and the former location of Cinderella’s Bar & Restaurant across from Lafayette Square Park.

Anne Shuhler, owner of Classic Graphx on Massachusetts Avenue, said the infusion of public art into Central Square could bring a new vibrancy and life to the area.

“Having been here for a long time, I think it will be interesting see what the murals all give us,” she said. “It will be nice to see that energy changing.”

Boston artist Lena McCarthy, whose brick canvas is located on Green Street, is excited by the challenge of bringing new life to the square with her art. She is also excited by the opportunity to share space and energy with other local artists.

“Do I have an idea of what I will be painting?” McCarthy said. “I guess it’s an idea that has been growing slowly in my mind for my entire life.”

Grants Available to Legal Defense Organizations Serving Immigrant Residents and Workers in Cambridge, MA

August 14, 2018–Cambridge, MA

The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) has released a Request for Proposals to help Greater-Boston/Cambridge nonprofit organizations increase legal representation for low-income immigrants from Cambridge and surrounding under-served communities, currently facing or threatened with deportation proceedings.  CCF will be distributing at least $150,000 already pledged by donors as part of a grass-roots campaign launched last spring to carry out the mission of the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants.

“The immigration crisis is a humanitarian crisis that is playing out nationally and locally, affecting DACA recipients, asylum seekers, undocumented workers, and immigrant parents and their children who were separated at the border.  No matter what side of the immigration debate you are on or what political party you support, as Americans–a country of immigrants–there is one thing that we should stand behind and that is the right to due process for all people,” said Geeta Pradhan, President of the Cambridge Community Foundation.

“We are eternally grateful to the hundreds of residents who contributed to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants.  This was truly a grass-roots effort with people donating what they could. We are pleased to put this money to work right now as we continue to raise funds to address the urgent need for legal defense for immigrants in our communities,” Pradhan said.  Proposals for grants must be submitted to CCF by Sept. 13^th.  The first cycle of grants is expected to be announced in early October.

Data from Pew Research indicates that in 2014, there were 210,000 undocumented residents in Massachusetts, of which over 180,000 are in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  While it’s difficult to ascertain city specific data, proxy data for Cambridge shows 27% of the population is foreign born and 40% of children have at least one foreign born parent.  Cambridge is a sanctuary city and includes many undocumented students, workers and residents.

“At a time when hate is being used to pull us apart, I’m encouraged to see our community step up to support our immigrant neighbors,” said Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern.  “As a local grassroots effort, the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund is a powerful expression of our City’s core values and of what we can accomplish when we join together as a community. We look forward to putting these funds to work to increase legal representation and will continue to find ways to proactively defend the rights of our immigrant community.”

The Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants is the product of a joint effort between CCF and Mayor McGovern’s Office.

Grants will be awarded to legal service providers following a competitive application process. Competitive proposals are expected from organizations offering urgent services, such as immediate deportation defense for low-income immigrants facing a serious risk of removal, including those detained and awaiting removal hearings, and protection against the threat of future deportation, including those eligible for relief or legal status to avoid deportation in the future, including asylum seekers, TPS workers, and DACA recipients.  Immigrants with legal representation have a five times higher chance at a favorable outcome.

The Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants was seeded with a $50,000 grant from the Cambridge Community Foundation. The CCF received a $50,000 matching gift from the Louis Foundation, support from the Johnson Family Fund and the Why Wait Fund, as well as gifts from 250 residents ranging from $5 to $1,000 and above.

As the local giving platform for Cambridge, the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) supports the city’s shared prosperity, social equity and enduring cultural richness, with roots that go a century deep.  We strive to deeply connect sectors across the community, to highlight emerging and critical needs, and catalyze efforts– through advancing philanthropy, grant making, and civic engagement– to ensure resources are focused where they can make the greatest difference.

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For more information, contact:

Lauren Marshall
Director of Marketing and Civic Engagement
(617) 576-9966
[email protected]

Nonprofit Spotlight

Cambridge Camping Association Enters its 125th Year Providing Camp Experiences to Local Youth

By Elie Levine

Cambridge Community Foundation Intern

Cambridge Community Foundation is pleased to partner with nonprofits that support an equitable, socially just and culturally rich city. Cambridge Camping Association (CCA) is one such organization. This year, CCA is celebrating its 125th year of giving under-resourced urban kids a camp experience. According to Executive Director Sharon Zimmerman, the organization has been sending kids to camp for longer than women’s suffrage and the Ford Model T have been in existence.

“Camp is where children play, learn, build confidence and make friends for a lifetime,” Sharon says. “All children deserve the opportunity to experience the magic of camp.” Such continuity and dedication to Cambridge through the decades is impressive, and those who have stayed with Cambridge Camping over time stay committed to the organization’s growth.

Taylor Cole started camp at 9 years old and grew up attending camp each year, rising up in the ranks from junior counselor to CIT. Now, at the age of 25, she serves as the assistant director of Cambridge Adventure Day Camp and just completed her master’s in social work from Boston University. Taylor shared that when she became a mom, she was still in high school, so she was nervous to return to camp, but the camp counselors contacted her and coaxed her back. She’s full of praise for the camp and knows its power firsthand.

“It’s a community. It’s a family,” she says. “They want you back. I think knowing that I always had that, I didn’t have to worry about what was happening in the summer. I knew that I had something to do.”

The day camp is extremely family-oriented. Avanell Peters works at the day camp and also sends her children there.

“I want them to be able to experience, know different people, different backgrounds, different culture and they get that here,” she says.

Cambridge Adventure Day Camp is the organization’s 50-year-old daytime adventure camp, serving 100 kids each summer. CCA also runs Daybreak, which serves 40 kids with social, emotional and behavioral health needs. A school-year program by the same name runs on Saturdays and was piloted this past spring. CCA also pays for kids from under-resourced families to attend day and overnight camps throughout New England.

At Cambridge Adventure Day Camp, kids enjoy a multitude of activities at the camp’s headquarters, Matignon High School in North Cambridge. They also get to go on frequent field trips; favorites include the science museum and local rock-climbing walls. The walls of Matignon are lined with posters illuminating various themes in social justice. Kim Hurdle, a Boston University School of Social Work student, who now works as a counselor at the camp, says she appreciates the opportunity to teach kids about the social justice themes she’s learned about in college.

Dave Hannon has been on the board at Cambridge Camping for the past 15 years. He trusts the organization to provide “a positive, consistent experience for the kids at very low cost, which is trusted by the community.” Parents know the organization and trust it to provide a safe haven for their kids during the summer. A born-and-raised Cantabrigian, Dave understands firsthand the importance of enriching programming for kids. “It’s all about the kids,” he says.

Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants

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 school students and over 100 Harvard students have DACA status.

Currently, only 37% of all immigrants and 14% of detained immigrants go to court accompanied with a lawyer. Deportation proceedings are considered civil matters, so lawyers are not provided by the court. Those with legal representation have a five times higher chance of achieving a favorable outcome.

The Fund

The Cambridge Community Foundation, working in partnership with Mayor Marc C. McGovern, has an ambitious goal of raising $500,000 to help immigrants get the legal services they need to stay, legally, in our country. Your donation will support grants that will be distributed to local legal assistance nonprofits to help:

• Support young adults previously protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) who are now at risk of deportation;
• Prioritize cases involving asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors/juveniles, and other highly vulnerable persons including victims of trafficking, sexual, and/or domestic violence;
• Provide family legal services to ensure protection for children left behind.

The Dollars

The visa process for illegal and legal immigrants can be complex and confusing. Local legal assistance nonprofits provide invaluable information and support, and can help with costs associated with the process:

• $200 medical exam: Immigration proceedings require medical examinations performed by a civil surgeon who has been designated by USCIS. This is not paid by the court.
• $465 DACA fee: The fee covers first time and renewal applicants of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The cost of the application has been one of the major barriers to the DACA program.
• Translation costs: Immigrants may need translation services, and pro-bono attorneys don’t necessarily provide them.
• $6,000 for Asylum: It costs approximately $5,000 to $6,000 in attorney fees for a single client to get through the Asylum process.
• Pro-bono attorneys carry a caseload of 150, and while they offer their services for free, their time on cases requires human capital:
  • The Asylum process requires 70 to 120 hours of legal work.
  • To help one youth gain special immigrant juvenile status requires 50 to 70 hours of legal work.
  • To help one victim of trafficking requires 40 to 80 hours of legal work.

Our $500,000 goal means four non-profit legal assistance organizations can add another full-time attorney to their staff to provide legal representation for 400 to 500 people; pay for medical exams and ensure 200 applicants can pay for DACA application fees or post bail.

The People

While names have been changed to protect privacy, these are just a few real stories of real people in our community who are currently navigating this process with legal assistance.

Ama, a young woman from East Africa, suffered abuse at home, was told at the age of 13 that she had to marry a man, 20 years her senior. She fled to the United States and applied for Special Immigrant Juvenile status, a form of legal relief available to child survivors of abuse, abandonment or neglect.

Maria fled Honduras with three young daughters to escape the abuse of her husband as well as gang violence. With just a few personal items and $27 in cash, they crossed through Guatemala, then into Mexico, where they were abducted by two Zetas who beat Maria for two weeks and demanded thousands of dollars for their release. Maria and her girls escaped, reached the U.S. and are now seeking Asylum protection so she can gain a work permit and build a new life.

Sandra was violently attacked at work but too afraid to talk to the police for fear of deportation and the risk of leaving her young daughter, a U.S. citizen, behind. Even though she’d worked in the area for more than 10 years, she had no path to obtain legal permanent residence. Then came the attack, which resulted in panic attacks and depression and ultimately led her to a legal aid organization to get help. Sandra is filing for a U Visa, a protection to victims of crime who cooperate with law enforcement.

David, a graduate of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and the director of the Boys and Girls Club in Somerville wasn’t a legal resident because he was brought to the United States at a young age. David realized how vulnerable he was when he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in New York state because he didn’t have his citizenship papers. Through pro-bono legal assistance in Cambridge, David, a DACA recipient, has successfully renewed his work authorization for another two years.

To Give

More dollars mean more resources for threatened immigrants.  Make your tax-deductible gift now. Please make checks payable to Cambridge Community Foundation for Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants and mail to 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 or donate online.

Click here to learn more about the fund and need.

What You Can Do

The livelihoods of many immigrants in our country hang in the balance. It’s time to put our privilege and our bodies on the line to protect those communities whose voices are marginalized. These suggestions are adapted from a list of remarks made by Yale Law School professor Michael Wishnie at the community forum Cambridge Community Foundation hosted on June 27, 2018.

1. Give money. Whatever your capacity is, we all must do a little bit more than we’re used to. Give to the organizations that are engaged, full-time, in supporting and protecting immigrant households in Cambridge and beyond.
   1. Donate to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund
2. Voice your concerns. However many protests you used to attend, you have to show up to more.
3. Get out there. Bear witness at the border. Be present at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pickup or checkpoint, or attend an immigration hearing in a courtroom. Join #Not1More campaigns, which are mobilized when one person is under immediate threat of removal.
4. Vote for representatives who reflect your values. It may seem that in Cambridge, we cannot do any better with our elected officials, but elections in nearby Maine and Connecticut do matter. Get on the campaign trail. Get engaged in political work.

How Cambridge and Massachusetts Can Help

The fight goes beyond the efforts we can make as individuals. Beyond that, we must push our local and state leaders to make decisions that protect immigrants in our communities. These are only a few suggestions.

1. Cambridge could adopt a municipal ID program, like many other cities have, protecting the identities of its residents.
2. Massachusetts should de-link its Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) databases from ICE, seeking to re-negotiate its relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to better protect residents.
3. Massachusetts should ensure that the police department is separated from ICE in de-linking databases and information sharing.
4. The Massachusetts National Guard should not allow ICE to use its training facilities.
5. Massachusetts could make driver’s licenses available without regard to immigration status.
6. The Port Authority, which controls the physical space at Logan Airport, could insist that people arriving have access to legal counsel behind Customs lines.
7. Massachusetts could expand the availability of state financial aid for residents who attend college.

Local Nonprofits Supporting Immigrant Populations

Boston Immigrant Justice Accompaniment Network
Volunteers providing accompaniment support for Immigrants in legal process
857-308-2527

Catholic Charities of Boston—Refugee and Immigration Services
Asylum, DACA, employment, visas
www.ccab.org

Centro Presente
DACA
www.cpresente.org

Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC)
Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U visas,
Violence Against Women Act petitions
www.clsacc.org

English for New Bostonians
ESOL Programs
www.englishfornewbostonians.org

Harvard University Law School—Immigration and Refugee Clinic
Asylum, DACA, Removal, Special Immigration Juvenile Status,
Temporary Protected Status, U visa, Violence Against Women Act petitions
www.harvardimmigrationclinic.org

Irish International Immigration Center (IIIC)
Asylum, DACA, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Removal,
Violence Against Women Act petitions
www.iiicenter.org

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Adjustment of Status, Asylum, Removal, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status,
T & U Visas
www.supportkind.org

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Naturalization, Citizenship
www.miracoalition.org

Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR)
Adjustment of Status, Asylum, DACA, Employment, Habeus Corpus, Removal,
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Temporary Protected Status, U visa,
Violence Against Women Act petitions
www.pairproject.org

For additional resources, go to www.harvardimmigrationclinic.org

Nonprofit Spotlight

Inside CommonWealth Kitchen: Q&A with Executive Director Jen Faigel

By Elie Levine

Cambridge Community Foundation Intern

As home to the most innovative square mile on the planet, we Cantabrigians know all about incubation, but in our city the term isn’t restricted to the tech industry.  Think food.

Jen Faigel, co-founder and Executive Director of CommonWealth Kitchen, is making big strides in food-biz innovation through Greater Boston’s first shared kitchen and business incubator space. CommonWealth Kitchen has helped launch more than 200 food companies, the majority of which are owned by women, minorities, low income residents and immigrants.  This year, the Cambridge Community Foundation gave seed money to CommonWealth Kitchen to help create a new lunch-time retail business incubation space in Kendall Square. We caught up with Jen at the opening of The Dining Car on Athenaeum Street to learn more about incubating food startups in Cambridge and the impact on business owners and our community.  Here’s what we learned:

What does CommonWealth Kitchen do and what’s the impact locally?

We are not only Greater Boston’s food and business incubator and food manufacturing enterprise, we are also an economic development organization focused on asset building and wealth creation for low-income women, immigrants and people of color.  We help people create food businesses.  This also creates jobs in the food industry with real opportunity for people to grow in their skills and in their businesses. We’ve been around since 2009 and have helped start over 200 businesses. Almost 60 businesses that started in our kitchen have done well enough to go on and out into the world. In Cambridge, these ‘graduates’ include Clover Food Lab and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese. Outside of Cambridge, we’ve helped establish Batch Ice Cream, McCrea’s Candies, Delectable Desires, Exodus Bagels, Alex’s Ugly Sauce, and Down Home Delivery, to name a few.

How many new jobs has CommonWealth Kitchen created?

It created over 500 new jobs just across our graduates, and another 150 are employed by our current members.

What communities do you impact the most?

In our shared kitchen, currently, about 75 percent of the 50+ member companies are owned by women and people of color. We’re located in Dorchester, in the second lowest-income census tract in the City of Boston. Most of the people coming to us come from the surrounding neighborhood. They often come with barriers to employment, maybe English, maybe a criminal record, maybe immigrant status. By helping these people build assets, they can create a safety net- a critical pathway out of poverty.  We want people to come and have an opportunity to build a business. We’re also increasingly working with farms through our manufacturing initiative, processing surplus produce into products like pickles and tomato sauce that you see at farmers’ markets all around the region. We stand with immigrants, absolutely.

How does the CommonWealth Kitchen work to get the word out about new businesses in and around Boston?

We are always looking for opportunities for our companies to get access to the market. They’re doing amazing things. Food trucks, caterers, bakers, packaged goods…but often they have products that people aren’t familiar with, so customers need the chance to taste their food to know how amazing it is. But since most of these companies don’t have the money for marketing, and access to capital for food companies is an enormous challenge, it’s really hard for them to get noticed.  So how do you get people to know about them? Right now, we work a lot with smaller specialty retailers like Cambridge Naturals and Pemberton Farms, and of course, Whole Foods, but we also reach out to corporations looking for catering or gifts and are increasingly working with colleges and hospitals—places where a lot of people eat and who care about authentic, diverse foods! In Cambridge, we work with Harvard University and have done some work with MIT. And when the opportunity came up for a retail spot in Cambridge we saw the chance for our food trucks and caterers to test out doing retail and do it in a place like Cambridge, where people are so open to lots of different kinds of foods and ethnic, multicultural experiences, and where we understood that we would be welcome in the community. We are Boston-based, and the idea to come across the river in a more permanent way was super exciting for us.  We want to leverage the opportunity… for all of our companies to really have a presence here and for people to know about them.

What’s the plan for The Dining Car moving forward? What does the addition of this space do for the growth of CommonWealth Kitchen?

We have a three-year lease from Bio-Med for the space, so we’re going to be here for a while. We’re going to take companies that are food trucks and caterers who want to test out working in a retail space as a stepping stone to opening their own brick and mortar space. We’re going to give them somewhere between four and six months to really build connections, build their staff, understand what the menu is that works and doesn’t, kind of build all the systems that they need to be able to demonstrate that they’re ready to get the financing to move into their own space. And while they’re doing it, they will also build a network of people who are super excited about their food no matter where they go. Each company is also required to sell products from other companies that are in our network, and the reason is because we want to make the opportunity available to more than one business. So Dining Car is selling cookies from Top Shelf Cookies, mini-pies and other desserts from Sweet Teez Bakery, and cold brew coffee from Commonwealth Cold Brew.  These companies all make products in our kitchen in Dorchester, and Dining Car is selling them for them, so they’re cross-marketing. Their logos are on the signs. Our goal is to leverage our new Kendall Square location to support as many of our member companies as possible, and raise the profile of our work. Over time, we’d love to bring some of our start-up classes and other training programs to the Cambridge community, and use the Kendall location as a launchpad to build strategic partnerships and expand our network as we work to build meaningful pathways for economic opportunity and mobility.

* Note: this interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Lives in Limbo: Experts Discuss Immigration Policies and their Impact

By Jeffrey Blackwell

Cambridge Community Foundation Correspondent

The face of an asylum-seeker is a 28-year-old Honduran woman, who was beaten and raped from age 16, pushed off a 25-foot cliff into a raging river, and left to die by her abuser.

It is the face of a mother from El Salvador escaping the violence of the country with her five-year-old child in tow, following the murder of her 14-year-old son at the hands of a local gang.

It is also the face of a Ugandan woman who fled her country after being raped and beaten by a domestic abuser, and then again by the police she ran to for safety.

Mojdeh Rohani, the executive director of the Community Legal Service Center in Cambridge, said these are the typical stories of refugees they see every day seeking counseling for a lifetime filled with the trauma that did not end when they reached the United States border seeking safety, help, and asylum.

“These are the voices and this is very real,” said Rohani, whose agency provides free legal, and affordable counseling services for low-income residents and immigrants. “It is not like the trauma just happens at the border, the trauma of separation is just the last thing in a whole line of tragic events that these individuals go through.”

Rohani was a panelist for a recent forum “Lives in Limbo: Immigration as a Human Right Issue,” sponsored by the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) at the Cambridge Public Library June 27. More than 150 people attended the briefing and discussion, which focused on the swelling crisis surrounding U.S. immigration policy and the systematic crack-down on individuals and families seeking asylum at American borders. The issue affects thousands of undocumented migrants and their families in Cambridge, Boston, and across Massachusetts.

Geeta Pradhan, president of the CCF, said the forum is part of a series of programs and efforts to not only help bring light to the immigration issue, but also to continue the CCF’s long-standing dedication to the rights of immigrants coming into the community. The foundation partnered with the City of Cambridge in March to establish the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund to support nonprofit organizations that provide services to immigrants and asylum seekers.

“The Cambridge Community Foundation has worked for decades in the area of immigrant rights in partnership with local nonprofits and donors,” said Pradhan. “The urgency of the immigration crisis has continued to deepen from DACA ­– which lead to the creation of the fund to protecting status workers and asylum seekers ­– to the heart-wrenching issue of separating parents from their children and now the Muslim ban. Concerned citizens across our city are responding to the need.”

The forum panel included people on the front line of the immigration crisis, including Daniel Kanstroom, a professor of law at Boston College and co-director of the university’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice; and Michael J. Wishnie, the William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law and Counselor to the Dean at Yale Law School. For many years, Wishnie, with his students, represented low-wage workers, immigrants, and veterans in federal and state litigation. Forum Moderator Susan Church is a trial and appellate attorney focusing on immigration law and criminal defense.

“It’s time we start putting our bodies, our wealth, our privilege inline for justice,” said Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern in his opening statements. “I look forward to these conversations and working with our community in finding concrete ways to harness the outrage we feel, put an end to this injustice, and make Cambridge and our country the socially and economically just community we truly want it to be.”

With the onslaught of breaking news surrounding the immigration crisis, whether it’s from the Twitter account of President Donald J. Trump, or the reporting of national media, the current and ever-changing situation is difficult to follow.

At this point in time, millions of people are being banned from entering the country because of their religious belief or their country of origin. Legal residents are being deported for prior and minor criminal offenses. Asylum-seekers are being prosecuted as criminals in “assembly line” courts. Children are being separated from their parents seeking asylum and are put in detention centers at U.S. borders. The Trump administration has also banned journalists from entering the centers and is working to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“These are some of the most compelling human rights issues, and I believe one of the most compelling human rights movements of our time,” Kanstroom said. “The immediate cause is the policies backed by Mr. Trump, and I do believe there is real racism there. But the reality is deeper and more complex than that. We are experiencing the culmination of what amounts to a long crisis over immigration in this country.”

He said today’s immigration crisis is fundamentally an unresolved issue dating back to the founding of the nation, echoing the Alien and Sedition Act in the 1790s, the Nativist movement of the early 19th century, the Chinese exclusion act of 1882, and Japanese internment during World War II.

But it also has its origins in legislation passed by Congress in 1965 that placed major restrictions on western hemisphere migration, Kanstroom told the audience. For generations, Mexican and other migrants who used to relatively easily cross the border to work, had to have visas following the passage of the new laws. Another set of laws passed in 1996 and signed by President Bill Clinton, created the possibility of accelerated deportations.

“And now you can see this in practice all along our southern border, also in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York,” he said. “Checkpoints, quick arrests, detentions – many citizens worry that we could soon be living in a police state. Non-citizens have lived in one for more than two decades, and it has gotten much worse in the last 18 months.”

The big questions on many peoples’ minds today, is what can they do to help bring about change, or at the very least, help people in the midst of the crisis.

Wishnie said those who wish to make a difference need to be prepared to go beyond their comfort level in terms of financial giving and devotion of their time. People can donate to nonprofit organizations providing legal and counseling support to immigrants and asylum-seekers, join local and national protests, be present in the courtroom for an immigration hearing, or witness a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) checkpoint at a U.S. border. Talking to friends, relatives, and neighbors about the issue, as well as voting and campaigning for candidates who reflect your values, also matters, he said.

“If people under so much stress in immigrant households can carry on, I think we have to as well,” Wishnie said. “So, what can be done. The first thing I wrote down was ‘give money.’ Whatever your level of giving was, it should be a little bit more. I think all of us have to do a little bit more.”

In his closing remarks Roberto G. Gonzales, a professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said immigration can feel like a national debate that is difficult to influence on a local level. But in Massachusetts, there are about 210,000 undocumented people, including 8,000 DACA beneficiaries. In addition, there are more than 12,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in the state.

“This is a national issue, but every single policy we’ve talked about tonight is being felt locally by people within our communities, in our schools and those feeling the brunt of this,” Gonzales said. “It is time for us to be courageous in our actions and to really stand by immigrant families.”

At Cambridge Community Foundation’s annual dinner on May 8, 2018, long-time resident and WGBH journalist Callie Crossley served as the Master of Ceremonies and introduced Harvard professor Brandon Terry, CCF President Geeta Pradhan, and Chairman of the CCF Board Rick Harriman to a capacity crowd of civically minded residents, who came to support the values of Cambridge and the Foundation. Powerful words were shared, and friendships were formed and renewed.

Crossley spoke about how Cambridge, a vibrant and ever-growing community, is becoming increasingly inaccessible for those with less wealth.

“We are a city with open arms and offer enviable resources – but the financial challenges of living here continue to grow,” she said, adding that 14% of Cambridge residents and 17% of young people here live in poverty.

Reflecting on the 50-year anniversary of Martin Luther King’s untimely slaying on April 4, 1968, Terry discussed the continuing prevalence of glaring racial disparities in economic mobility, as well as ghettoization and racial segregation that plague African American families and communities. “Such enduring inequality represents an assault in the dignity and self-respect of poor people and undermines the very freedoms and civil rights that the Civil Rights Movement fought so valiantly to obtain,” said Terry.

These historic moments resonate today, and they resonate locally.

“This question of the moral and political obligations of affluence is especially crucial in communities like Cambridge,” Terry said. “Here, new vistas of scientific, technological and intellectual achievements are routinely opened by clusters of dedicated, well-resourced people recruited to work and study here from around the globe.”

Utilizing Cambridge’s strengths to address its challenges drives the work of the Foundation. Cambridge is a vibrant city full of artists, innovators, scholars, students and resilient families. Serving the entire city and recognizing the richness it contains, Cambridge Community Foundation’s goal is to promote social equity and contribute to a just, culturally diverse and equitable urban community. We support strong families, promote opportunity in Cambridge’s burgeoning innovation economy and foster creativity through grantmaking to local nonprofits, gifts from our generous donors, and civic leadership.

Harriman’s words during the evening affirmed the Foundation’s abiding commitment to equity.

“We all know that we live in a city that is an engine of growth, an innovation economy, but unfortunately, despite our cultural, intellectual and financial capital, far too many of our fellow citizens do not have the opportunity to really thrive,” he said.

President Geeta Pradhan stressed that though Cambridge is a growing, prospering, city, it still faces challenges that are part and parcel with its expansion. Uneven prosperity pushes people out of the city; in fact, racial disparities in education, income, wealth and housing are growing.

The city’s innovation and creativity are helping change outcomes for people left behind.

Pradhan described how the Foundation’s Strong Families Initiative uplifts low-income families, empowering them to aspire to upward mobility through helping themselves and helping each other. She pointed to the important impact that socially-minded businesses in our community can have, citing Google’s donation of 200 laptops to students who earned them by exploring their aspirations and passions in essays. Harriman mentioned the Falcon Pride scholarship and the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, as examples of CCF’s civic leadership.

“Our growing focuses on getting things done, thoughtfully and with compassion. Our approach is to be a convener, a connecter and a catalyst for change,” Pradhan said. “We are the local giving platform for Cambridge—the place for philanthropy and civic action in the community we all love.”

The Cambridge Community Foundation extends a heartfelt thank you to the sponsors, guests, speakers, and especially the Dinner Committee who make the evening memorable.  Together we connected over shared interests and concerns and further strengthened our sense of community and our capacity to support the city we love.

The Former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, concluded her June 17, 2018 New York Times op-ed with this fundamental question: “In 2018, can we not as a nation find a kinder, more compassionate and more moral answer to this current crisis? I, for one, believe we can.”

This sentiment spread across the country as we saw images of traumatized, sobbing children, isolated from their parents after entering our country in search of safety and sanctuary.

The Cambridge Community Foundation has always valued strong families.

Strong families are the anchors for healthy children; they fuel productive workers, they support thriving businesses, and they generate compassionate communities. Research has shown that repeated adverse childhood experiences can lead to toxic stress, which has long-term consequences on physical and mental health, leading to behavioral problems, children dropping out of school, substance abuse, and more. Separating children and their parents is not just morally wrong — it will have a lasting impact on these children, their families, and on communities.

Fundamentally, this issue is about shared humanity. It’s about the kind of people we want to be, the type of community we want to create, and how we want to be known by our children and the generations that come. It is about values of compassion, kindness, and respect for human dignity and speaking up for justice.

We can do something.

Here is what we’re doing at the Cambridge Community Foundation. With Mayor Marc McGovern, we founded the Cambridge Legal Defense for Immigrants. The Foundation seeded the fund with $50,000 and hundreds of Cambridge residents have joined us in support of the local legal defense organizations helping immigrant neighbors in need. We are working towards our June goal of $250,000 and need your donations so we can distribute our first round of grants this summer.

And, because of our strong belief in the power and impact of convening, we’re hosting Lives in Limbo: Immigration as a Human Rights Issue, a panel discussion on Wed. July 27 at the Cambridge Public Library, featuring leading local scholars and practitioners on immigration law.

Join us and share your voice.

Help a family and change their future.

Join us to help reunite families and America!

Geeta Pradhan
President, Cambridge Community Foundation

Nonprofit Spotlight

Cambridge Community Foundation is a proud supporter of Cambridge Community Television (CCTV), an award-winning community media center that serves Cambridge’s diverse populations and our partnership is deepening. CCF has been funding Cambridge Community Television’s Youth Media Program for 17 years. The Youth Media Program promotes healthy development by providing underserved teens with training to express themselves creatively.  In paid positions as media artists, youth have the opportunity to develop valuable career skills, and break through mainstream media messages to tell honest stories about themselves and their community.  Ninety percent of participants report that the program gives them a chance to learn skills they do not learn elsewhere. Participants develop self-worth and confidence in their ability to achieve personal, academic, and career goals.

Amid a citywide movement to better address the needs of high school graduates struggling with the academic, financial and social demands of college, the Youth Media Program expanded its scope, offering recent program graduates between 18 and 25 years of age positions as Youth Trainers and Advanced Producers. Josue Cardozo, who was a participant for two years before he enrolled in the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2016, continued involvement as a Youth Trainer and an Advanced Producer.  This spring, he worked with Cambridge Community Foundation staff and CCTV Youth Media Coordinator Jordy Brazo to produce a powerful video celebrating the City of Cambridge and reflecting on the challenges the City is facing.

On June 27, 2018 CCTV is livestreaming our CCF Forum, Lives in Limbo: Immigration as a Human Rights Issue, a conversation about current immigration policies and their impact featuring leading scholars and immigration lawyers in our local communities. You can watch the event live from 5:00-7:45PM on Cambridge Channel 8 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cctvcambridge.

When Lori Lander was fresh out of college, she helped create a program to engage young adults in Miami’s urban challenges. That program hooked her on the power of convening and civic engagement, and today, Cambridge benefits.

Lander, who is on our board of directors and co-chairs our Program and Special Initiatives Committee, is a powerful advocate for community building in Cambridge. She is one of the founders of Cambridge’s MLK Day of Service. This year, in its eighth year, the event drew more than 3,200 people of all ages and from all walks of life to work on projects that benefit others, in honor of Dr. King. Lori also hosts monthly conversations about urgent issues in Cambridge, in her living room!

“I care deeply about how to get people active and engaged in their community,” said Lori. “It’s what Tip O’Neill said… ‘All Politics is Local’. We’re all responsible for the community we live in and we need to engage to become the community we want it to be.”

The monthly Breakfast Gatherings at Lori Lander’s house started in 2010 when she was thinking about how to coordinate the MLK Day of Service. She invited people she knew from all areas of her life—her Temple, her kid’s soccer teams, families from school, friends and friends of friends. Seventy people were invited to the first one and 60 showed up. People are still coming.

Over the past eight years, she’s convened people to discuss a wide range of topics: women on the margins; local action on climate change; victims of domestic abuse; social entrepreneurship, people transitioning from homelessness to jobs; financial literacy; how to talk about and plan for the death of a family member; race and education in Cambridge; hunger; caring for aging parents and being the aging parent cared for; the challenges facing immigrants; reducing gun violence and many more.

This May, the breakfast focused on a pressing local and national issue – a conversation on Immigrants in Crisis: The Increasing Need for Legal Assistance. Lori had an impressive line up of speakers, because one speaker led her to others – the way the breakfasts function in people’s lives. Those who joined on a sunny morning included Mojdeh Rohani, executive director of Community Legal Services and Counseling Center, Elena Noureddine, senior detention attorney at the PAIR Project, Mayor Marc Mc Govern, Manny Lusardi, liaison for Immigrant affairs, Sarah Kianovsky, BIJAN, and Susan Church, immigration attorney, and our President Geeta Pradhan. The conversation highlighted the deep challenges immigrants face, including deportation, trafficking, lack of legal representation. The overflowing crowd in Lori’s living room asked many questions to build their own engagement in Cambridge and beyond.

Lori picks issues that are large and broad and her speakers present them through a local lens.

“The breakfasts bring people together to learn more about issues, to meet other people who are interested in those issues and inspire people to get involved,” said Lori. “My hope is those who come can find a point of contact– a nonprofit, our community foundation, a group organizing to help neighbors – into a community and find new ways to make a difference.”

Lori Lander is the co-founder of Many Helping Hands, a volunteer organization that brings together Cambridge residents of all ages to help those in need in Cambridge.

$535,000 awarded to 62 local nonprofits this spring

The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) is distributing $535,000 in grants this spring to more than 60 nonprofits, including $130,000 for the Family Independence Initiative (FII), the largest grant in this cycle, to help advance social and economic mobility for local low-income families.  This is the second cycle of grant making this year, bringing CCF’s support of local non-profits to over $1 Million dollars to date.  Every year, the CCF distributes approximately $1.3 Million to support community organizations throughout the city, CCF’s special initiatives, and organizations supported by donor-advised funds.

The only foundation focused exclusively on the needs of Cambridge residents, CCF and its nonprofit partners support a wide range of services, and, this year, focused on addressing the urgent needs of local residents, including immigrant families and workers.

“We are seeing growing community needs related to issues of economic security and immigrant issues that threaten the wellbeing of families, children, workers and the immigrant population in Cambridge,” said Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation.  “We received a record number of requests from 100 organizations seeking funding this spring.  The Foundation and its donors are committed to helping as many organizations as we can and scaling up initiatives such as FII to help families increase economic security and address the greatest needs in our community.”

In addition to supporting nonprofits through grants, the CCF established the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants this spring to provide funding for nonprofits offering legal services to DREAMers protected by DACA and asylum seekers, and to protect children left behind due to the deportation of their immigrant parents.  The Foundation is working to raise $500,000 to address this pressing humanitarian issue.

The Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) is a first-time CCF grant recipient.  According to Anita Sharma, Executive Director of PAIR, the harsh changes in immigrant law policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric have created a dramatic uptick in the need for services and information.  PAIR added three new staff members this year because they had so many requests for legal and education services, resulting in the delivery of 450 community education sessions, alone.

“We have a moral imperative to step up and provide free legal education so immigrants know their rights, know what to expect if detained or put in deportation proceedings, and have access to free legal assistance,” said Sharma.  “This grant means a lot to PAIR.  Our goals are to build and foster relationships with community organizations, like the Foundation, to assist and support these very vulnerable populations.”

The CCF has been supporting nonprofits in Cambridge for more than 100 years, beginning with funding for local, low-income youth to attend Harvard College, which continues to this day.  Nearly half of the nonprofits receiving funding in this spring cycle have been supported by CCF for decades.

Adolescent Consultation Services, Inc. (ACS), received its fortieth grant this year. ACS serves approximately 500 children per year through the Cambridge, Lowell, Framingham, and Waltham Juvenile Courts. The demand for their services is high and referrals continue to increase. “Both the Foundation and ACS are focused on making the most impact with the resources we have,” said Robyn Eastwood, Director of Development of ACS. “By the time these kids get to us, they are in crisis.  To have sustainable, reliable funding means we can continue our work and provide essential services without the added worry of always needing to search for new funding.  We need to grow and this financial help allows us to focus on that growth.”

The Family Independence Initiative is a national nonprofit with a goal of trusting and investing in the initiative and capacity of low-income families, allowing them to move themselves out of poverty.  This is achieved by creating an environment where families come together, empower themselves and improve their lives in their own ways, by setting goals and finding solutions to financial problems, and providing mentoring and access to information and data driven resources.  The $130,000 investment from CCF and its partners this spring will allow FII to expand services to reach an additional 100 Cambridge families this year.  This is the second of CCF’s multi-year commitment to FII, which has engaged 100 families in Cambridge to date.

About the Cambridge Community Foundation:

As the local giving platform for Cambridge– the only foundation focused exclusively on Cambridge– the Cambridge Community Foundation connects sectors across the community, to highlight emerging and critical needs, and catalyze efforts– from fundraising and grant making, to civic engagement– to ensure resources are focused where they can make the greatest difference.  Inspired by Cambridge’s innovation, cultural richness, and generosity, the Cambridge Community Foundation strives to promote shared prosperity and social equity across our community.

Recipients of CCF grants this spring include:

Immigrant / Legal Services

KIND Inc. — $10,000 for Access to Justice, Kids in Need of Defense serves unaccompanied children who enter the US immigration system alone and strives to ensure that no such child appears in court without representation. Also, in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance, a paralegal will conduct outreach at teen health clinics and with educational providers.

Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project, Inc. — $5,000 for Community “Know Your Rights” for Immigrants which is an initiative to empower immigrants to understand and use their constitutional rights regardless of their immigration status. The PAIR Project provides free legal representation to asylum seekers and immigrants unjustly detained.

Shelter Legal Services Foundation / Veterans Legal Services — $4,000 for Veterans Legal Clinics which provide free and accessible legal services to promote self-sufficiency, stability, and financial security of homeless and low-income veterans.

Adbar Ethiopian Women’s Alliance — $6,500 for an early reading initiative focused on 2-5 year-olds and a computer clinic that focuses on computer literacy.

Irish International Immigrant Center — $5,000 for legal services for immigrant youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Center offers free legal help directly to schools, shelters, community organizations, as well as educating the adults who work with at-risk youth.

Urgent / Basic Need

Bridge Over Troubled Waters — $7,500 for Street Outreach and Mobile Medical Van programs to connect runaway, homeless and street youth with services to reduce their risk of long-term homelessness.

Community Servings — $6,000 for Nutrition Program for Cambridge Residents Affected by an Acute Life-Threatening Illness.

Cradles to Crayons — $5,000 for a partnership between Food For Free and CTC’s Everyday Essentials program which provides clothing, school supplies, and other items children need.

Emerge — $3,750 for the Counseling Scholarship Fund, which allows low-income and unemployed people to complete the abuser education program.

FamilyAid Boston — $5,000 for the Family-to-Family Project, which supports families at risk of homelessness through flexible funding grants and comprehensive case management.

The Friday Café — $2,000 for a welcoming space where homeless and housed neighbors can gather and get to know each other. The café offers food & coffee, rest & resources to people living on the margins, as well as community.

Harvard Square Churches Meal Program — $4,000 to assist a four member staff team, three stipended homeless persons, and numerous volunteers, serve nutritious meals to 90-140 homeless and underserved people weekly.

Heading Home — $5,000 for the Susan Duley House, which serves single homeless women through permanent, supportive housing and intensive case management.

Homeless Empowerment Project (HEP)/Spare Change News — $8,000 to support an Executive Director as HEP improves their business model to avoid financial trouble connected to running a print newspaper in an era of online journalism.

Metro Housing Boston — $7,500 for the Center for Hoarding Intervention which provides intensive case management for low-income residents struggling with hoarding disorder and at risk of eviction, as well as training for service providers.

New Communities Services, Inc — $5,000 to support a collaboration with the new Cambridge Warming Center to reach out and eventually offer permanent housing to homeless elders and adult disabled persons.

On The Rise, Inc. — $7,500 for Keep The Keys, a housing retention program for formerly-homeless women, which provides support groups, home visits and other services to chronically homeless women as they move into their own apartments.

The Outdoor Church of Cambridge, Inc. — $2,500 for street outreach to homeless people and services, including providing food, toiletries, clothing.

Solutions at Work, Inc. — $7,500 for the Children’s Clothing Exchange, where low-income people can swap outgrown children’s clothing, and SolutionsWear, which provides interview appropriate clothing for low-income adults.

Women’s Educational Center, Inc. — $5,000 for the Drop-In Program for Low-Income, Homeless and Abused Women.

STEAM / Addressing Education-Innovation Gap

Cambridge Community Television — $15,000 for Youth Media Program, which promotes healthy youth development by providing predominantly under-resourced young people with training and support to express themselves creatively, as well as develop valuable and practical career skills.

Science Club for Girls — $7,500 for the Science Club for Girls, to help the twenty-year old local nonprofit to grow its fundraising base, plan for a fall relaunch of programs, and explore partnership opportunities with organizations that are committed to the mission of fostering excitement, confidence and literacy in STEM for girls from underrepresented communities.

Seniors

Cambridge At Home (dba Cambridge Neighbors) — $2,000 for On the Move which provides subsidized taxi rides to elders in a program dedicated to helping aging seniors stay in the homes and neighborhoods they love.

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services — $3,000 for Evening, Weekend and Emergency Home-delivered Meals, which serves elders who require more nutritional assistance than the government-funded Meals on Wheels.

VNA of Eastern MA — $8,000 for Senior Supportive Housing and Services to help cover services and supplies not covered by insurance.

Health / Mental Health

Adolescent Consultation Services, Inc. — $5,000 for Direct Mental Health Services for Court-Involved Children and their Families including: specialized psychological evaluations, counseling, and advocacy at no cost to families.

CW Taekwondo at Boston — $2,500 for Martial Arts Outreach Program, which reaches into the community connecting youth to world-class movement arts education at an affordable price and access to life skills (bullying and stranger danger).

MetaMovements Community Programs — $2,500 for Seasoned Salseros, a free program for elders to build community and improve health through Salsa dance and story sharing. Young people participate with the seniors as well.

Parenting Journey — $4,000 for Parenting Groups: evidence-based, therapeutic supports that address the the parenting challenges families in poverty face and their impact on wellness.

Self Esteem Boston Educational Institute — $2,500 for Success at Womanplace, a program that builds self-esteem and essential life skills of homeless and disadvantaged women so they can recover from drugs & alcohol.

Strategies for Youth, Inc. — $5,000 for Juvenile Justice Jeopardy, a computer-based game that uses role plays and scenario-based questions to challenge youth’s assumptions and rethink their strategies when responding to authority figures. The police department, youth centers, and school clubs are interested in using this game with Cambridge youth.

VNA Hospice & Palliative Care — $3,000 for Meeting End-of-Life Needs for terminally ill Cambridge residents and their loved ones.

Education / Out-of-School Time

Agenda for Children — $50,000 for the Agenda for Children from CCF and its partner, the City Fund, to support Cambridge-based out-of-school time providers and the families, youth and children they serve.

Afterworks — $4,000 for scholarships to the afterschool program, providing high-quality care; tutoring and homework help; inclusion and cross-cultural understanding through the arts; and support for working parents.

AGM Summer Fund — $20,000 for Cambridge camps.  This donor collaborative was established to steward the fair and equitable distribution of resources to ensure access to summer opportunities for underserved youth.

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc. — $5,000 for FAFSA Application Completion and Loan Debt Reduction Project, serving racial and ethnic minority households, especially those with limited English Proficiency, first generation college students and low-income households.

College Success Initiative — $15,000 for Campus-Based College Success Coaching Program, a city-wide effort to support low-income graduates of CRLS, Just-A-Start Youth Build, and Cambridge Learning Center’s Bridge to College Program to help them complete a college-level credential within 6 years at a rate equal to their higher-income peers.

Discovering Justice, The James D. St. Clair Court Public Education Project — $2,500 for a K-8 literacy-based experiential social studies and civics curriculum that gives students a deeper understanding of democracy.

Horizons for Homeless Children — $3,000 for 3 Play Spaces in family shelters in Cambridge which are developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed, “kid-friendly” spaces lead by volunteer activity leaders.

Girls’ LEAP — $2,500 for Lifetime Empowerment and Awareness Program, which teaches physical safety skills and socio-emotional skills to develop girls’ self-awareness, conflict resolution skills, courage, and self-esteem.

Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary — $1,500 for Plants and Animals of Local Environments Project, which takes place at the CPS Maynard Ecology Center at Fresh Pond and serves all second grade classrooms in Cambridge.

Phillips Brooks House Association: CYEP — $3,500 for Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program, which offers seven weeks of affordable summer programming to 160 low-income children from three Cambridge housing developments.

uAspire — $5,000 for College Affordability Advising for high school seniors in Cambridge. The goal is to ensure matriculation in an affordable postsecondary program.

Economic Security / Employment

Family Independence Initiative — $130,000 for FII to scale up their support of Cambridge-based families by investing in the initiative and capacity of low-income families, allowing them to move themselves out of poverty.  The CCF and its partners are supporting FII in their goal to engage 400 Cambridge-based families by 2020.

CommonWealth Kitchen — $7,500 for CWKendall, a retail storefront in Kendall Square that will be offered to CWK’s member businesses that are owned primarily by low-income women, immigrants, and people of color. CWK is a nonprofit food business incubator focused on breaking down barriers to economic mobility.

Compass Working Capital — $7,500 for Family Self-Sufficiency Program, which supports families that receive assistance through Cambridge Public Housing to build assets and financial capabilities as a pathway out of poverty.

Found in Translation — $3,500 for Language Access Fellowship Medical Interpreter Certificate Training and Job Placement Program, this innovative nonprofit enables low-income and homeless bilingual women to launch careers as professional Medical Interpreters and at the same time addresses a major language barrier to health care by providing interpreters.

Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House — $15,000 to build capacity for Wrap-Around Services to strengthen and empower community by addressing economic, social and political inequities that shape the lives and futures of Port residents.

Early Childhood

Community Action Agency of Somerville — $10,000 for Early Childhood Teacher Training Program, which trains parent volunteers as paid substitutes, providing them income and a career path while increasing the number of trained teachers.

Families First — $4,000 for Power of Parenting, a parenting education program with an interactive curiculum that increases the number of program hours provided & the impact on under-resourced families.

Math Talk — $5,000 for Math Talk APP + MathScapes, which support parents and teachers to engage children 3-7 in developing an understanding of core STEM concepts and provides geolocation specific prompts in public spaces.

Civic Engagement / Volunteerism

Cambridge Volunteer Clearinghouse — $20,500 to find, inspire, inform and match adults who wish to volunteer with satisfying and needed volunteer positions serving Cambridge residents and providing workshops for volunteer managers.

The Port Café — $2,000 for coordination in a space which connects neighbors from the Port community through food and community building.

Arts & Culture

Actors’ Shakespeare Project — $2,500 for Community Engagement Programs such as free pop-up performances in public venues and reduced tickets for low- income residents for performances of Much Ado About Nothing.

Cambridge Center for Adult Education — $2,500 for Blacksmith House Poetry Series which includes 8 programs in fall & spring. This spring’s series will devote its 1st reading to “Emerging Writers’ Night.”

Cambridge Jazz Festival — $2,000 for a festival expansion to include a Saturday program featuring women in jazz.

Central Square Theater — $10,000 for Community Connectivity and Education, helping launch Youth Underground’s new multi-year civic theater project and audience outreach for a co-production with The Front Porch Arts Collective.

Dance Complex, Inc. — $12,500 for All In Movement, a pilot that removes barriers to dance. In addition to new workshops and access classes, AIM brings movement arts focused on health, empowerment, esteem-building to the neighborhood.

Gallery 263, Inc. — $2,500 to grow the Gallery’s capacity to ensure it can continue to provide high-quality, low cost artistic programming to the community for years to come.

José Mateo Ballet Theatre — $5,000 for the 9^th Dance for World Community Festival Week, June 5-10, 2018 in Harvard Square, including a Dance on Film series, panel discussions, workshops and a full day of free dance performances and classes.

Multicultural Arts Center — $4,000 for the Arts & Community Dialogues Program, which uses the arts and facilitated dialogue to discuss issues that engage and impact the community.

Shelter Music Boston — $2,500 for Transformative Concerts at CASPAR Emergency Shelter which are the work of highly skilled professional musicians. Monthly performances create a sense of community built on the relationships developed between shelter guests, shelter staff, and musicians.

Survivor Theatre Project — $2,000 for 2018 Healing Through Creative Arts Workshop Series, which aims to expand public awareness on sexual violence and promote access to healing resources for survivors of sexual violence.

For more information, please contact:

Lauren Marshall

Director of Marketing and Civic Engagement

Cambridge Community Foundation

617-576-9966

[email protected]

Upcoming Event

The Immigrant Experience: Learning Through Art and Community Voice

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24
5:30 – 6:30 pm
Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard, Cambridge

Photo Credit: Robin Lubbock/WBUR

“If a society permits one portion of its citizenry to be menaced or destroyed, then, very soon, no one in that society is safe.”  — James Baldwin

We have seen the inhumane and unjust treatment of immigrant families and children in our country and our communities, but what is the effect on the human being? Learn more about the immigrant experience through poetry and stories of those living in our community today at this innovative Cambridge Community Foundation experience. Standing beside Teresita Fernández’s Harvard public art project, Autumn (…Nothing Personal), we will learn about how this work was inspired by James Baldwin’s 1964 essay, Nothing Personal, published at the height of the civil rights movement. Local poets, storytellers, and students will personalize and bring to life the themes of disconnection, injustice and divisiveness in America, as well as the hope that love, light and trust can bring. We hope you can join us for this unique experience.

Special thanks to MassPoetry, Enroot, and the Harvard University Committee on the Arts for this community platform.

This event is free and open to all. In the event of rain, this event will be cancelled.

Presenters Include:

Amanda Figueroa — local graduate student

Paola Ozuna — youth worker

Three local high school students

Jean Dany Joachim — poet
Poet in Residence at First Church in Cambridge
Cambridge Poet Populist (2009-2011)

Anthony Febo — poet, actor, youth worker
Co-founder of FreeVerse!
Half of Adobo-Fish-Sauce
Co-founder of Powderhouse Studios

Enzo Silon Surin — poet
Recipient of the Brother Thomas Fellowship for Artistic Excellence (The Boston Foundation)
Named the PEN New England Celebrated New Voice in Poetry

Regie Gibson — poet and literary performer
Recipient of the Absolute Poetry Award (Monfalcone, Italy)
Recipient of the Walker Scholarship (P-Town FAWC)
Recipient of the Brother Thomas Fellowship for Artistic Excellence (The Boston Foundation)

Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the President

We are seeking a dependable, creative and organized individual, who enjoys working in a mission-driven, results-oriented fast paced environment. Responsible for maintaining the efficiency of office operations and providing daily critical administrative support to the President, the ideal candidate must have excellent administrative, technical and organizational skills, strong verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated capacity to work independently, good judgment and the ability to maintain a calm balance among multiple priorities.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Office Management:

• Maintain office by organizing office operations and procedures; managing incoming and outgoing mail; designing and maintaining filing systems; monitoring and maintaining office supplies;
• Work with outside vendors to ensure maintenance and updating of IT hardware, software, server and website. Problem solve when technical issues arise;
• Manage and coordinate phone coverage and serve as the first point of contact for outside calls and inquiries;
• Manage and maintain office calendar, coordinate and track staff meetings, employee work schedules; and schedule conference room for external partners;
• Assist with external communications — email blasts, social media, and website as requested;
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Executive Support:

• Manage and maintain calendar and arrange meetings and itineraries for President
• Manage President’s correspondence (email and US mail) and prepare President for meetings
• Handle information requests and update contacts database as directed by President
• Coordinate logistics (including conference calls and digital presentations) and assist with distribution of materials for meetings of the Board of Directors, Board Committees, and other groups

 Essential Skills and Capacities:

• Excellent organizational, people and phone skills and experience with administrative management practices and procedures;
• Advanced computer proficiency, including Microsoft Office 365 skills, with an ability to become familiar with community foundation-specific databases and software;
• Experience with assisting high-level corporate or nonprofit leaders;
• The ability to work with confidential information and interact with donors, board members, other volunteers, nonprofits and the communities they serve;
• Strong problem-solving and project management skills;
• Ability to follow up on multiple tasks and link disparate elements with meticulous attention to detail;
• Associate or bachelor’s degree and 3+years administrative support experience required.

This is a full-time position with benefits, compensation commensurate with experience. To apply, please submit your resume with a cover letter to: Gwyn Gallagher at [email protected].

Immigration

Thursday, January 18 – 6:00PM-7:30PM

Spiegel Auditorium, 56 Brattle St. Cambridge, MA

What do we mean when we say, “America is a nation of immigrants”? According to the Migration Policy Institute, immigrants make up over 13% of the United States population, with some sources citing hundreds of thousands of new arrivals each year. In this conversation, grassroots organizers and legal experts will explore issues that affect immigrants in the United States today, including current and potential protective policies for immigrants and refugees, immigration reform,  paths to citizenship, and how local organizations can empower immigrants to participate in their local communities and civic life.

Join us for a welcome reception with refreshments and light snacks at 5:30pm.

 CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Please note: This event is almost sold-out. If you plan on attending, please reserve your spot at the link above!

The Cambridge Center for Adult Education has a long history as a beacon for learning and discussion on topics of import. This series is presented in partnership with the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) and Cambridge Community Television (CCTV).

Panelists

Eva Millona | Executive Director, MIRA: Eva A. Millona is Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), the state’s largest organization representing the foreign-born, and co-chair of the National Partnership for New Americans, the lead national organization focusing on immigrant integration. She is also the co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants and serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Sabrineh Ardalan | Assistant Director, Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program: Sabrineh Ardalan is assistant director at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program. At the clinic, Ardalan supervises and trains law students working on applications for asylum and other humanitarian protections, as well as appellate litigation and policy advocacy. She has authored amicus briefs submitted to the Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as to the federal district courts and circuit courts of appeal on cutting-edge issues in U.S. asylum law.

Elena Noureddine | Esq., Attorney at PAIR Project: Elena specializes in removal defense, criminal immigration, asylum, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Criminology from the University of Florida and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. In law school, Elena participated in Boston University’s Asylum and Human Rights Clinic, representing clients in USCIS interviews and before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. She focused on the representation of juveniles facing deportation who, because of their age, are often neglected for services and go unrepresented.

Moderator

Madeline Choi Cronin | Immigration Lawyer: Attorney Madeline Cronin has practiced U.S. immigration law since 1994, concentrating in business, family and deportation. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and serves as a Volunteer Attorney with the Irish International Immigration Center (IIIC), and has served as an Asylum Pro Bono Volunteer with the Political Asylum Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project.

The Fall 2017 issue of our Newsletter probes a major city report on urgent needs in Cambridge, presents a program helping immigrant children stranded in the legal system, and celebrates the gift of Maurice Anderson responding to urgent community needs. We are delighted to introduce seven new board members, and the members of the Professional Advisors Council.

Read more here:  Driving Change

November 27, 2017

Dear Cambridge Friends,

What do you want for your community?

For many, the answer is the same as what we all want for our children and loved ones: good health, an education that will support them in their work and lives, and the means to fulfill their dreams.

For too many, those goals are just beyond their grasp.  15% of our community now lives in poverty, and they are making hard choices every day.

That’s why the Cambridge Community Foundation was established over one hundred years ago, and why we continue granting over $1.3 million annually creating opportunity, hope, and shared prosperity. 

Through the power and impact of collective giving , your gift directly supports a civic agenda benefitting everyone in Cambridge and nonprofits that build lasting relationships with communities one person at a time.

This year, an anonymous donor is offering $25,000 to support the Foundation’s civic leadership agenda.  Join your neighbors with a gift  for Cambridge. 

Your gift will promote a caring and compassionate city, and support our community’s foundation – Cambridge Community Foundation.

Sincerely,

 

Geeta Pradhan

President

We are nearing Thanksgiving, Fall is behind us, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. Members of our community are in need of warm weather gear and would be  thankful for a new pair of boots, or a winter coat in time for the holiday.  Join us as we partner with Kendall Square Association and CASPAR Homeless Shelter to help our neighbors!

Winter Coat & Boot Drive

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Alternatively, Donate with “KSACCF” in your message!

 

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

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 31^st among mid-sized cities in its diversity ranking index of 74.73 points — an index based on ethnicity and race, language and birthplace. With 27 percent of our local population foreign born, Cambridge’s success is defined by its ability to be open, inclusive and embracing of diversity.

 

For children whose parents came here in search of a better life (an estimated 8,000 in Massachusetts), America is the only home they have ever known. They have contributed to the economy, to their communities, and to the nation in countless ways. To uproot these young people, who are productive members of American society, is not just a moral issue but also has serious economic implications. The recent endorsement of over 792 companies in an open letter to Washington Leadership speaks in defense of retaining DACA, or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act as an important economic force. It further reinforces the valuable contributions of immigrants, in particular, the DREAMers — a critical component of America’s communities and its workforce.

 

Denying DREAMers denies our history and our values. The Cambridge Community Foundation has long supported immigrant populations through efforts such as the Immigrant Initiative and our nonprofit partners such as Enroot, Massachusetts Alliance for Portuguese Speakers (MAPS), Kids In Need of Defense, as well as other legal and community services. We stand behind our continued commitment to support all those who make up our beloved city!

Mo Barbosa and Phil Johnson

Co-Chairs Civic Leadership & Communications Committee

Geeta Pradhan

President, Cambridge Community Foundation

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:

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 in our community – changes that reflect voices seldom heard, that seek justice and fairness, that weave together strengths from multiple parts of our community.  With a fundamental approach that carries at its core ‘respect for human dignity’, we commit to bringing together different parts of this city to promote greater understanding.

In a city where people gather from all over the world to solve problems, we urge you to join us and craft the solutions to fulfill a humanitarian vision of ‘equity and shared prosperity’!

Richard Harriman, Board Chair

Geeta Pradhan, President

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 other members of this board in this important work.”

 

Cambridge Community Foundation is one of the oldest community foundations in the country. The only foundation with the whole city of Cambridge in its purview, it is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing more than a million dollars in grants annually to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation, which recently celebrated 100 years in Cambridge, provides leadership support and funding to respond to urgent local challenges. It partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community, forming a Cambridge Endowment.

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 a valued member of this team.”

“The issues the Cambridge Community Foundation grapples with resonate with me,” said Vozzella. “In every part of my life, I see opportunities to address challenges that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Working with the Foundation gives me the chance to work with engaged, knowledgeable people on the same kinds of challenges. This is a great opportunity.”

Cambridge Community Foundation is one of the oldest community foundations in the country. The only foundation with the whole city of Cambridge in its purview, it is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing more than a million dollars in grants annually to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation, which recently celebrated 100 years in Cambridge, provides leadership support and funding to respond to urgent local challenges. It partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community, forming a Cambridge Endowment.

Cambridge Needs Assessment

 

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 Foundation provided substantial funding support for the needs assessment and anticipates that it will inform its future efforts.

 

Cambridge Needs Assessment

A new report by the Cambridge Community Foundation draws attention to three powerful trends now shaping our city’s future: increasing income inequality, rapidly rising housing costs and persistent educational disparities. Where are these trends taking Cambridge? Can our city-with its booming innovation economy and exceptional community assets-keep its historic commitment to social justice and create a future in which prosperity is shared across the entire community?

 

Please join us for a community conversation on Wednesday, March 1, 2017

8:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast and registration
8:30-8:50 a.m. Welcome and a Presentation of the Report Findings
8:50 – 10:10 a.m. A Panel of local Thought Leaders

MODERATOR:

Marjorie Decker, Massachusetts State Representative, 25th Middlesex District

PANELISTS:

Randy Albelda, Graduate Program Director and Professor of Economics, College of Liberal Arts: Senior Fellow Center for Social Policy, UMass Boston
Moacir Barbosa, Director of Community Engagement, Health Resources in Action
Barry Bluestone, Russell B. and Andree Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy, School of Public Police and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University
Ronald F. Ferguson, Fellow, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and Faculty Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative, Harvard University

10:10 – 10:50 a.m. Community Table Conversation
10:50 – 11:00 a.m. Highlights and Closing

FOR INFORMATION: Contact David Trueblood

At the end of the 19th Century Central Square consolidated its position as Cambridge’s emerging downtown.
The business district expanded, erasing the physical distinction between the old villages into a civic center.

Cambridge had long since become a heterogeneous city of immigrant working people, college faculty, and commuting professionals, but it was still wrestling with the contradiction between its image as a middle-class city of single-family homes and the presence of a large working class that needed decent affordable housing.

Even after the opening of the subway in 1912, Central Square residents continued to shop locally for personal and household goods and services. The number of small businesses continued to grow. Regional and local department store chains sold a variety of clothing and household goods at affordable prices. This was a period where local hardware, furniture, shoe, and drugstores proliferated, and service-orientated businesses flourished. One unique aspect of the place is that many salespeople lived in nearby neighborhoods, contributing to the family atmosphere in the Square.

 

As we approach 2017 we want to thank you on behalf of our grantees for your energy, for giving and for your commitment to the future of Cambridge.

What’s coming in 2017?

• Save the date for the Cambridge Community Foundation Centennial Gala: March 28, 2017 – Our centennial gala will take place on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, 6-9pm, 75 Amherst Street, Building E-14, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA, located at the MIT Media Lab. It will be a great night for Cambridge and the Foundation. Please mark your calendars!
• Our shared prosperity project will debut in February with our report on Cambridge – a close look at key indicators that underlie fundamental aspects of community, opportunity, and innovation. We look forward to distributing the report, and hearing your thoughts on shaping the agenda for change.
• A new website is on its way!

2016 Update – $1,000,000 in grants for Cambridge

Reflecting our grantmaking strategy, we continue to respond to the community for urgent need, innovation, and to provide essential support for the nonprofits that bring hope, opportunity, and high demand services to city residents. We have streamlined our grantmaking process, and now offer grants for our community fund and strategic initiatives.

In 2016, the Board of Overseers approved over a $1 million in grants: $665,000 in December grants, and $334,000 in June grants. We encourage you to take a close look at the list of grants and grantees, and share any questions or comments.
A December grant will create the Rebuilding Fund, to people affected by the fire to rebuild their lives. Learn more here.

• A $25,000 grant will support new work examining the achievement disparity among Cambridge students. The grant will help develop a Cambridge Public School
• District plan examining data related to persistent gaps of achievement and opportunity, with funds being used for research, data analysis, and an external advisory team.

Partnering with our city for the future

• Tech-cellerate Youth – A generous gift of 200 computers and a $50,000 sponsorship for digital-inclusion training and support from Google’s Goodware Program will accelerate positive youth development through technology access, training, and exploration. The project aims to provide greater access to the “Innovation Economy” for students in the Port Neighborhood, located close to Kendall Square, the epi-center of the region’s technology sector. Tech-cellerate Youth is a partnership between Google, Cambridge Community Foundation, several youth development organizations and the City of Cambridge STEAM Initiative.
• Family Independence Initiative – A co-investment of the Cambridge Community Foundation and an anonymous donor is helping 100 Cambridge families build their income and assets. The Program draws upon the initiative and energy of families working in groups of 6-8, helping them build social networks, supporting each other’s ideas and visions of a brighter future for themselves and their children.
• Cambridge Connects – An NEA funded community driven arts project developing and sharing narratives of how artists and community imagine the future of their Cambridge neighborhoods. Focused around Central Square, a state designated historic and cultural district, this youth development project is generating stories that we will be sharing with you, to provoke inspiration and conversation!
• STEAM – In April, the Foundation convened over 275 people in Kendall Square for a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) conversation. Leaders from many sectors talked about the critical role played by creativity integrated with technical skills.

Steve Vinter, Site Director of Google Cambridge, gave the keynote address, which was followed by a panel of experts included Stu Schmill, MIT Dean of Admissions; Sarah Ayers Steinberg, Vice President for Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase; and Jerry Rubin, CEO of Jewish Vocational Services and Martha McKenna, Lesley University Professorand director of Cambridge Creativity Commons.

Sharlene Yang, Cambridge S.T.E.A.M. Coordinator and Deborah Ruhe, Executive Director of Just A Start, led table discussions urging participants to share perspectives on building pathways into the innovation economy. We were thrilled to be joined by Mayor Denise Simmons (through Anne Pierre’s video!).

There is more that we can and will do together, and all of us at the Foundation look forward to working closely with our many partners, our donors, and our friends across the city in 2017.

Wishing everyone a New Year filled with joy, peace, understanding, and opportunity!

Geeta Pradhan
President

As the Cambridge Community Foundation prepares to begin its second century, it has reimagined its offices at 99 Bishop Allen Drive as a convening space for local nonprofit organizations, grown its staff to meet the challenges of life in the 21st century – and created a new logo to encapsulate its identity.

“We wanted a new emblem to capture key elements of our vision – a vibrant, diverse and inclusive city with a culture of giving and opportunity for all,” said Richard Harriman, board chairman of the Foundation. “We thought about the variety, complexity and sheer intensity of Cambridge and reached for those qualities.”

The Foundation was established in 1916, making it one of the oldest community foundations in the country. The only foundation with the whole city of Cambridge in its purview, it is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing $1.2 million in grants in 2015 to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation provides advocacy and civic engagement support to deal with urgent local challenges and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community.

“Logos are a challenge, but this was fun to imagine,” said Geeta Pradhan, Foundation president and CEO “We described the qualities we wanted to express – dynamism and diversity to begin with.  It had to speak to every part of this city. And what we came up with was then beautifully translated into the element shown here by our designer, Carol Maglitta, principal at One Visual Mind.”

The new logo incorporates colors of the old logo, which has been in use for several decades, but bundles with them new colors – red, orange and yellow. The shape suggested an abstract “C” to many who saw the design as it came into being.

“We describe our mission using words like ‘Collaborator,’ ‘Convener for the Community,’  ‘Catalyst for change,’ and we were created to serve Cambridge,” said Pradhan. “So the letter C clearly resonates with us.”

Many also see the logo as many elements coming together to form one or, conversely, one element that opens to reveal all its parts.

For information, contact David Trueblood, [email protected], 617-576-9966

In 2013, with support from the Cambridge Community Foundation and the Harvard Aggasiz Community Fund, senior leadership from a wide spectrum of nonprofit organizations in Cambridge began meeting regularly to discuss issues of mutual concern in providing services to residents of Cambridge. Out of these initial meetings the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition was created.

The unified message that helped set the stage for this work was: “Cambridge nonprofit leadership is ready to build strong partnerships— with each other and with other sectors—in order to meet changing needs, close  the opportunity gap, and improve the quality of life for the community.”

Over the past three years, the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition has held community- wide summits, established a Steering Committee, and hired a coordinator.  They have worked with the City to develop and strengthen the upcoming Community Needs Assessment study and are working towards a three-year strategic plan  to take their ideas to actionable agendas.   The Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition’s stated purpose is to strengthen the Cambridge nonprofit sector by building collective voice and promoting collaboration in order to meet changing needs and improve the quality of life for the community.  Their vision, guided by principles of collaboration, inclusion, transparency, strategy and leadership is to ensure that: “The Cambridge nonprofit sector will have the community support, resources, information, and influence to enact positive change for Cambridge residents”.Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition

A grant from the Cambridge Community Foundation is sending 220 CRLS students to take part a conversation with noted playwright/performer Anna Deavere Smith that draws from her new work Notes from the Field: Doing Time on Education at the American Repertory Theater (ART).

The work drills down on what has been called the school-to-prison pipeline, a system in which students of color are punished, removed from classrooms and sent into the juvenile justice system in far larger numbers than their white peers.

The students will have a chance to take part in a “talkback” with the author, who has earned a national reputation for her works, which create dramatic explorations of topical issues drawing on people’s testimony. A matinee on September 14 will include the performance and post-show.

Foundation President Geeta Pradhan is working on a report that will gather together challenges facing the Cambridge community as well as the remarkable resources available here, developed by the City of Cambridge and other agents in a city rich in information and expertise.

A key partner in the report is Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a leading regional agency created to promote smart growth, healthy communities and an informed public in the 100-plus cities and towns of Metropolitan Boston.

The essential theme of the report is the idea of Shared Prosperity. The small scale of the city and the depth of talent, a tradition of creativity and innovation, and high levels of civic engagement suggest great opportunity to position Cambridge for success.

Stay tuned for the report, which will be released at a forum later this fall.

A public forum about building pathways into the regional Innovation Economy for local youth and older workers drew a capacity crowd to the Kendall Square Marriott in April. In response, the Cambridge Community Foundation plans a series of conversations to act on ideas surfaced at the forum.

The original event was hosted by the Foundation, with partners including Just-A-Start Corporation, Kendall Square Association, Metro North Regional Employment Board, SkillWorks and the City of Cambridge, including The Agenda for Children and the Cambridge Expanded Learning STEAM Network.

Sponsors lined up to support the gathering, including Akami, Biogen, Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Cambridge College, Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition, Cambridge Public Schools, the Cambridge Science Festival, Cambridge Innovation Center, Google, Harvard University, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lesley University, Boston Marriott Cambridge, MassCan, Microsoft, MIT, New England Venture Capital Association, Novartis and The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

The conversations, described as ‘salons,’ will bring together interested people from the different sectors among the partners and sponsors to follow up on ideas about ways to create greater opportunity by better connecting the community to the extraordinary and dynamic economy that is centered in Kendall Square.

The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced grants to 51 local organizations totaling $334,336 in its spring grantmaking docket. Funding decisions continued to reflect the following goals:

• Building bodies of work that create opportunities for collective action and measurement;
• Supporting the Foundation’s goal of increasing impact in the community;
• Giving priority to agencies that offer high-quality programs and a scale aimed at supporting progress on key issues or populations.

The Foundation envisions a vibrant, diverse and inclusive city with a culture of giving and with opportunity for all. As a civic leader, the Foundation works in close partnership with donors and stakeholders to achieve that vision by connecting people, knowledge and resources to catalyze change in the city of Cambridge. Grantmaking is an important part of that work and reflects the strength and breadth of nonprofit organizations serving local residents.

The spring grants were made in nine areas, including three grants that align with Foundation initiatives.  They include:

• Support for the Family Independence Initiative, to expand a program with a robust record of success in helping low-income families achieve independence and make economic progress by tapping their own insights, hard work and social networks.
• Three grants to strengthen the idea of STEAM education – which integrates programs focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math with the Arts to help prepare Cambridge students and adults seeking career advancement to find opportunity in the Innovation Economy.
• Matching funds for a grant to the Foundation from the National Endowment for the Arts to support programs in four neighborhoods close to Central Square.

In addition, grants were made to organizations working in the following areas: Economic Mobility and Empowerment, Early Childhood Services, Education and Youth Services, Immigrant and Community Services, Urgent Needs, Senior Services and The Arts.

FOUNDATION INITIATIVE FUNDING

Strengthening Families

Family Independence Initiative (FII) – $30,000

FII works to end poverty by cultivating connections, choice and capital in very low income communities. Families in the program set goals and track their progress, meeting monthly to share resources, ideas and advice, providing mutual support. A national program, FII has established an effective record of economic progress and greater opportunity. This grant was augmented by a gift from a local donor for $80,000 to provide support for FII over the next two years.

Small Can Be Big Inc. – $10,000

This program addresses the growing regional reality of homelessness by providing modest supports raised by public donations to families at risk. Client families’ stories are presented in a public yet respectful way and money raised is used to avert homelessness. A gap fund covers any difference between need and money raised for a specific family. This grant will be used to support Cambridge families through the gap fund.

STEAM Education

Cambridge Creativity Commons – $17,500

This program works with Cambridge Public School science teachers and technology specialists with direction provided by the Director of CCC to integrate the arts with science and technology projects. Creativity Commons projects build teacher expertise and give students 21st century skills such as creativity, critical thinking and communication.

Innovators 4 Purpose – $10,000

I4P helps youth develop skills as innovators capable of solving complex problems – preparing them to fully participate in today’s innovation economy while helping to ensure the STEM education pipeline reflects America’s evolving demographics. I4P works with students in grades 3 to 12, with a focus on Latino and African American youth.

The Possible Project – $20,000

The Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP), offered by The Possible Project, uses entrepreneurial, experiential, innovative learning to promote positive youth development, job readiness and post-secondary school planning for low-income students. YEP works with 220 Cambridge students from three local public high schools. CCF’s grant will increase the number of minority youth who will benefit from this program.

ARTS AND CREATIVITY

Cambridge Connects – $20,000

Partnerships in four neighborhoods around Central Square will be created to raise awareness of the value of inclusion in a city being hollowed out by income inequality. Each partnership will pair an Arts organization with resident youth to articulate what the neighborhood values. CCF’s proposal for Cambridge Connects was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant requiring matching funds.

ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND EMPOWERMENT

Cambridge SNAP Match Coalition — $5,000

To help double the buying power of low-income residents by matching what consumers spend in SNAP, to make healthy local produce more affordable at local farmer’s markets.

Community Action Agency of Somerville — $5,000

For early childhood teacher training.

Self Esteem Boston — $3,000

To provide self-esteem training to low-income, at-risk people, with a focus on women in shelters and transitional programs.

EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES

Algebra Project: Math Talk – $4,000

A pilot program to develop products and services to support parents, teachers and caregivers seeking to engage children ages 2-5 to develop a basic understanding of math concepts, build vocabulary, and accelerate language development.

Horizons for Homeless Children – $3,000

To support Playspaces in family shelters in Cambridge and to recruit and train playspace activities leaders to help staff them.

Nurtury — $4,362

To support a new language and literacy curriculum and to purchase supplies and provide three teacher coaching sessions for the Harvard Street center in Cambridge.

EDUCATION AND YOUTH SERVICES

Afterworks — $4,000

$4,000

To help provide for operational suppport to maintain the scholarship program ensuring that children in need will have access to after-school programming.

Associated Grant Makers Summer Fund — $20,000

To support the Summer Fund donor collaborative that helps ensure summer camps and programs are available for underserved, low-income and homeless youth. The grant directs funds to camps that serve Cambridge and that address summer learning loss.

BSA Foundation — $2,500

To support efforts by the Boston Society of Architects to develop an outreach program to engage 150 children in Cambridge in community-based, hands-on architecture and design activity using STEAM practices.

Cambridge Community Center — $5,000

To help support Hip Hop Transformations for teens in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance & Cambridge Police to help develop critical consciousness, and violence-prevention and conflict-management skills.

Cambridge Community Television — $3,974

For a six-week media institute to enable two high school seniors to join the staff as youth trainers.

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee — $5,000

To expand its FAFSA application assistance and follow-up program to help increase the number of low-income households that understand the financial aid award process and strengthen financial literacy related to the costs of higher education.

Cradles to Crayons — $2,500

To support their year-round program to help children thrive at home, at school and at play.

uAspire – $5,000

To help support their college affordability programs for Cambridge students.

Wheelock Family Theatre – $4,000

To provide four Cambridge teens a chance to take part in WFT’s new Teen Technical Theatre Training Program to foster interest in STEM plus arts (STEAM) through a hands-on immersion in theatre crafts.

The Young People’s Project — $7,500

To launch a new math literacy program in partnership with Cambridge Youth Programs for students in Moses Youth Center and Fletcher Maynard Academy.

Youth Enrichment Services – $2,500

To support Operation SnowSports & Outdoor Adventure for a diverse population of low-to-mid-income Cambridge youth.

IMMIGRANT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Adbar Ethiopian Women’s Alliance — $5,000

For two literacy programs seeking to close language and learning gaps between children in low- and high-income households and to help families gain the same skills.

EMERGE — $3,000

For scholarship support of the Abuser Intervention Program.

Parenting Journey — $4,000

To support parenting programs that help at-risk parents create stronger, more resilient families.

URGENT NEEDS

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center – $6,000

To help fund operating expenses and to hire a contracts manager to support BARCC’s services.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters — $6,000

For street outreach to connect with homeless youth.

Cambridge Health Alliance Foundation – $5,000

To support the health integration program in outpatient psychiatry.

Food For Free – $3,000

To support a program that helps feed over 25,000 people in partnership with 100 local food programs.

Heading Home – $5,000

To help chronically homeless individuals with disabilities in Cambridge.

Many Helping Hands – $2,500

To support Gift Cards for Guns, a Safer Homes, Safer Community Initiative to reduce the number of guns in the community.

On the Rise – $3,000

To help support Safe Haven & Keep the Keys programs for homeless women as they move beyond crisis.

Solutions At Work – $10,000

To help support the Children’s Clothing Exchange, and Solutions Wear – to provide homeless or low-income individuals with business attire as they seek to re-enter the workforce.

Transition House – $5,000

To resurface the playground at their emergency shelter to make it safer for children’s play.

The Union Partnership for a Whole Community – $7,500

To support the effort to develop a pipeline of highly trained nonprofit leaders of color.

Wellmet Project – $3,000

To support transitional housing services for individuals with mental illness.

Women’s Educational Center – $5,000

To support services to low-income, homeless, and abused women.

SENIOR SERVICES

Homeowners Rehab — $15,000

To help support free technical assistance and a loan program to assist low-income homeowners in Cambridge.

The Nature Connection — $4,000

For therapeutic and animal-assisted programs to a diverse population of senior citizens at the Cambridge Health Alliance Elder Service Plan.

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services — $3,000

For weekend home-delivered meals for isolated elders.

VNA Care Network & Hospice — $5,000

To help defray costs at the Elizabeth Evarts de Rham Hospice and care provided in patients’ homes in Cambridge.

ARTS

American Repertory Theater — $5,000

To help support program expenses for 220 CRLS students to attend a matinee and interactive discussion addressing the “school-to-prison pipeline” that affects disadvantaged youth.

Cambridge Arts Council – $5,000

For the Summer in the City program to provide free diverse arts programming for the public in parks and community spaces.

Cambridge Symphony Orchestra – $2,000

For a free Pops on the Lawn Concert in Sennott Park.

Central Square Theatre – $5,000

For the Community Connectivity Program and resident youth ensemble in Central Square and across neighborhoods.

Gallery 263 – $2,500

To support operations for the nonprofit arts space on Pearl Street.

Jean Appolon Expressions – $5,000

For reduced tuition for the after-school Teen Program at the Dance Complex, focused on Caribbean and African cultures.

José Mateo Ballet Theatre – $5,000

To help support Dance for the CommonWealth, an outreach program that gives Cambridge residents of all ages access to the arts.

Multicultural Arts Center — $4,000

For operating support.

Revels, Inc. — $2,000

For the 18th Annual RiverSing event.

For more information contact David Trueblood [email protected] or call 617-576-9966 x 103

The Cambridge Community Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with organizations and people committed to making a difference in our shared community. The foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations, convenes innovative and collaborative groups, and connects donors to the community and to issues they care most about.

 

S.T.E.A.M. education connects technology, art to create ‘ladders’ for students, adults in search of careers drawing on 21st century skills

CAMBRIDGE

Just how important is the innovation economy to those who live and work in Cambridge and the surrounding region?

• Almost 40 percent of the state’s workforce is employed in the innovation sector, far more than any other state.
• Wages in the innovation sector are typically much higher than average wages, one reason for the robust economy in Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts itself was ranked the top innovation hub in the country by Bloomberg News earlier this year.

In turn, the innovation economy itself is driven by trained talent – employees entering the workforce with critical skills. At the same time, there is a growing need to give young people access to learn the skills that provide access to opportunity and, ultimately, a share in the prosperity innovation generates.

One result has been the development of S.T.E.M. education – the letters stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math – which represents the effort to prepare young people, or adults with skills that fit the needs of the 21st century knowledge economy.

S.T.E.A.M. takes that strategy a step further by bringing the Arts into the mix. At the heart of this inclusion: the understanding that creativity drives innovation. Cambridge has been a leader in turning this insight into school strategy with long-term leadership from local educators and City Councilors.

That vision will be at the center of a public forum set for April 22 in Cambridge that has drawn an extraordinary array of supporters. Schools, businesses, civic leaders and groups are coming together to share the news that an integrated S.T.E.A.M.  program can serve everyone’s interests:

• Businesses in the innovation economy who need trained and prepared workers,
• Children and adults seeking greater opportunity by  sharing in the prosperity symbolized by the gleaming towers of Kendall Square,
• And community leaders who seek greater equity for all in a region too often described as ‘A Tale of Two Cities,” where opportunity is not available to all in equal measure.

The Forum, titled Stoking a 21st Century  S.T.E.A.M. Engine: Rocket Fuel for the Innovation Economy, was conceived by a group of organizations that give an indication of just how wide a range of interests come together in the idea of S.T.E.A.M.

Members of the steering committee include The Agenda for Children, an out-of-school-time initiative serving schools and families in Cambridge: Cambridge Community Foundation, the only charitable foundation serving all of Cambridge; Just-A-Start Corporation, which works to build housing security and economic stability; the Kendall Square Association, which represents a neighborhood that serves as a global hub of innovation; the Metro North Regional Employment Board, which strengthens the regional workforce by giving residents critical skills; and SkillWorks, a regional partnership that creates pathways out of poverty by building access to family-sustaining jobs.

A growing array of partners

The heft and scope of organizations that have signed on in support of the Forum underscores the power of a focused educational and workforce strategy.

Among a growing list of sponsors are the City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Public Schools, the Cambridge Science Festival, and the Cambridge Expanded Learning STEAM Network (known as EL STEAM). Other education partners include, Cambridge College, Harvard University, Lesley University, MIT and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.  

Business sponsors include Biogen, Cambridge Innovation Center, Google, JP Morgan Chase Inc., Microsoft and Novartis.

Nonprofit sponsors include the Cambridge Nonprofit Coaltion, MassCAN (which focuses on the workforce need for computer science expertise) and the New England Venture Capital Association.

One measure of the appeal of the idea of a forum focused on S.T.E.A.M. – the Kendall Square Marriott Hotel, where the event will take place, has signed on as a sponsor, as well.

Expertise and common purpose

The program will start by framing the issues at stake, putting the day’s conversation in context. Geeta Pradhan, president of the Cambridge Community Foundation will begin the forum and Deborah Ruhe, executive director of Just-A-Start will wrap up the day.

The global and local context will be laid out by the two keynote speakers, Sarah Ayres Steinberg, vice president for Global Philanthropy at JP Morgan Chase Inc., which recently announced a world-wide multi-year program of investment in skills training for adults, and Steve Vinter, site director for Google Cambridge, a long-term advocate for S.T.E.M. education.

A panel focused on lifting up cutting-edge collaborative strategies to build pathways into the innovation economy will be moderated by Philip Jordan, vice president and principal at BW Research Partnership, which works to analyze and present a clear picture of a dynamic economic landscape.

Panelists will include Denise Simmons, mayor of Cambridge; Jerry Rubin, CEO of JVS (Jewish Vocational Service); Stu Shmill, dean of admissions at MIT; and Martha McKenna, Lesley University Professor and director of the Creativity Commons in Cambridge. Keynote speaker Sarah Ayres Steinberg will also join the panel discussion.

After the panel discussion, cross-sector table discussions will take place as attendees brainstorm ideas for a Cambridge pilot strategy that draws from industry professionals, teachers, students, representatives of higher education and nonprofits. The discussion will be moderated by Sharlene Yang, Cambridge’s new S.T.E.A. M. coordinator. Suggestions by attendees will be tweeted out to create an online body of idea to seed future conversations.

The forum is free and open to the public, although seating is limited and those who plan to attend are advised to register at www.cambridgetalentpipeline.org . For information, call Ashley Coates at 6t17-918-7558 or email [email protected] . Press contact is David Trueblood at 617-319-5212 or [email protected]  .

 

Cambridge Community Foundation President Geeta Pradhan will interview Karl Dean, former mayor of the City of Nashville, in a forum open to the public on March 29 in Boston.

Dean earned national attention for his efforts to leverage a building boom to connect neighborhoods, expand transit and build greater opportunity for local residents. He is the first Mayor in Residence at the Boston University Initiative on Cities, a program created to advance strategies to help cities serve as centers of economic growth and positive social development.

The one-on-one conversation, titled Urban Identity Quest, brings together two civic leaders who have earned reputations as agents of urban change and increased quality of life.

He will be interviewed by Geeta Pradhan, a catalyst in efforts to leverage expanded transportation access to increase opportunity in low-income Boston neighborhoods.  Her work was crucial to the creation of the Fairmount Corridor Initiative, which brought jobs, housing and economic investment to a nine mile stretch of Boston neighborhoods.

She currently serves as president of the Cambridge Community Founding, the only foundation serving all of Cambridge, making grants to local nonprofit organizations and serving as a neutral convener working across sectors to identify critical issues and creative solutions to the city’s challenges.

The conversation, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at BSA Space, home of Boston Society of Architects, 290 Congress Street, Boston , Tuesday March 29.Register at the BSA Space website located  here.  

Cambridge Community Foundation was established in 1916. The only foundation with the whole city of Cambridge in its purview, it is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing $1.2 million in grants in 2015 to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation provides advocacy and leadership support to deal with urgent local challenges and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community.

CONTACT: David Trueblood, [email protected] 617-576-9966 ext. 103

The news was announced March 10 as part of an $82 million distribution to fund local arts projects and partnerships.

 

“As the community foundation of the City of Cambridge, we are delighted to receive this funding,” said Geeta Pradhan, president and CEO of the Foundation. “The goal of our project is to ensure that Central Square can continue to be both a vibrant cultural destination and a place where every part of Cambridge comes together. This grant creates a wonderful opportunity for us to partner with neighborhoods, businesses and the cultural community.”

 

The Cambridge project, titled Cambridge Connects, will bring together artists and community leaders to tell stories that describe what kind of community local residents want Cambridge to be. The focus is on five neighborhoods including the Port, Cambridgeport, Riverside and Mid-Cambridge, as well as the Central Square District. It will use a variety of forms storytellers find compelling to place local residents in a dynamic and changing city.

 

The project is designed to inform the Cambridge Community Foundation’s future work and the city’s strategic planning process.

 

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency created in 1965 to increase opportunities for people to take part in the arts. It works through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies and the philanthropic sector. It seeks to support arts learning and also to affirm and celebrate the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

 

“The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said NEA Chairman Chu. “Supporting projects like the one from Cambridge Community Foundation offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

 

The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced the appointment of Usha Pasi as vice president for Donor and Philanthropic Partnerships. She will work with the president, the leadership, members of the board, and donors to increase the reach and impact of the foundation.

“It is an exciting opportunity to be able to add someone of Usha’s caliber to our team,” said Geeta Pradhan, president of the foundation. “She brings an extraordinary record of achievement at some of the most significant organizations and institutions in our region, and nationally.”

Pasi served most recently as chief development officer at Facing History and Ourselves, which engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.  She played a leadership role there, and with her team, secured $150 million to support the organization’s mission. During her tenure, Facing History recorded its largest number of donors to date; grew its endowment substantially; and, raised the largest commitments in its history. Earlier, she was director of leadership gifts and associate campaign director at the Museum of Fine Arts, during an historic campaign that reimagined and greatly expanded the museum.

She also has extensive experience with institutional and individual giving at Yale University, and was instrumental in building Stanford University’s foundation relations program. Pasi was director of foundation relations for Yale University, and she held comparable leadership responsibility for major gifts at Yale.  She earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Pasi will be responsible for increasing institutional capacity and strengthening relationships with individual donors and with other philanthropic organizations, building on the foundation’s collaborative culture. She will be developing the foundation’s leadership potential in local philanthropy, raising its position as a force for civic leadership.

“Cambridge boasts a unique heritage and today the city stands at the epicenter of the 21st century innovation economy,” said Pradhan. “That adds up to significant challenges and opportunities. Having Usha with us in her new role positions us to deliver on the power of philanthropy driving change in a positive direction.”

Pasi is married to Subir Sachev, Herchel Smith Professor of Physics at Harvard University, and the couple has two daughters. Pasi has been active with professional organizations, including service as president of Women in Development of Greater Boston, and board membership board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Massachusetts Chapter.  More recently, she has been serving as pro bono counsel for Grub Street, one of the country’s leading creative writing centers, and consulting with the Perimeter Institute (www.perimeterinstitute.ca).

“It is a singular honor to be invited to join Geeta Pradhan and the team in supporting and advancing the Cambridge Community Foundation’s far-reaching grantmaking and donor advisory efforts,” said Pasi. “Cambridge is a modern city with a deep history of citizen engagement, great generosity, and a profound understanding of and commitment to diverse perspectives. Its unswerving embrace of democratic inclusion and creative inspiration contributes to the dynamism of the broader region.  I am very optimistic about the prospects for new levels of achievement and impact by Cambridge Community Foundation in the years to come.”

Cambridge Community Foundation was established in 1916, making it one of the oldest community foundations in the country. The only foundation with the whole city of Cambridge in its purview, it is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing $1.2 million in grants in 2015 to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation provides advocacy and leadership support to deal with urgent local challenges and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community.

 

Cambridge Community Foundation has named David E. Trueblood vice president for Communications and Public Relations. In this role, he will work to raise the Foundation’s public profile, articulating the work and goals of the Foundation to the community it serves. He will manage relationships with the media and develop new and effective ways to strengthen the community’s ability to share in a common conversation about critical issues.

“David brings great skills, deep familiarity with the work of community foundations and years of personal experience living and working in Cambridge,” said Geeta Pradhan, president of the Foundation. “The perfect mix. He will be a key member of the team as we work to sharpen the role of the Foundation as a civic player in the city.”

Trueblood has long experience with Boston-area media. He began his career as a reporter for local newspapers that grew into the Community Newspaper Company, now part of GateHouse Media. He wrote about the early rise of biotech in Cambridge as well as the rapidly evolving food scene as a restaurant critic. He managed newspapers and groups of papers in Greater Boston and founded an award-winning newspaper to cover the Boston neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton for the former TAB newspaper company.  He was managing editor for the Community Newspaper Company, which published 100-plus news and specialty publications in the region, with particular responsibility for investigative reporting and cultural news.

When the Community Newspaper Company was sold in 2001, Trueblood developed his interest in nonprofit enterprise, becoming director of Communications for Trinity Church in Copley Square as it underwent a major capital campaign and retooled its historic building to serve a greater and more inclusive community. He joined the Boston Foundation in 2005 as director of Public Relations. More recently he worked for community foundations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Trueblood earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in history from Harvard.

“Communications is most powerful when it brings people together,” said Trueblood. ”Creating an inclusive conversation about the future of our city—that is my goal for this Foundation.”

Cambridge Community Foundation was established in 1916, making it one of the oldest community foundations in the country. It is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing $1.1 million in grants in 2014 to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation provides leadership support to deal with urgent local challenges and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community.

The Board of Overseers of the Cambridge Community Foundation has named Geeta Pradhan to be its president. She succeeds Bob Hurlbut, Executive Director, who led the organization for 21 years before recently announcing plans to retire.

“Geeta is innovative, collaborative and action oriented, three key qualities that we sought,” said Richard Harriman, Chairman of the Board of Overseers for the Foundation. “She brings a wealth of experience in addressing the issues and opportunities that we see in our community. Her blend of passion, bold thinking, humility and hard work will serve the foundation and the community of Cambridge well.”

Pradhan brings a deep background in philanthropy, urban planning and economic development. She comes from the Boston Foundation, where she oversaw community impact and grantmaking in Education, Health, Jobs, Housing & Neighborhoods and the Arts. Pradhan also played a leading role in a range of initiatives and collaborative ventures, including work on the Fairmount Corridor Initiative, a project on a grand scale which seeks to create greater opportunity for Boston’s low-income neighborhoods by improving transit access as well as housing and community economic development through the arts, entrepreneurship, and family asset development.

As the Boston Foundation’s strategic leader for the nonprofit sector, Pradhan helped seed and develop the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, the state association of nonprofits, and co-authored the groundbreaking report Passion & Purpose: Raising the Fiscal Bar for Massachusetts Nonprofits, the first-ever in-depth analysis of the economic and social impact of the nonprofit sector on the state.

Earlier, she initiated and co-developed the Boston Indicators Project, an award-winning web-based resource that pioneered the use of data to track progress on key community goals at the regional and local levels.  The Indicators Project integrates data across ten sectors, including Civic Health, Cultural Life, Economy, Environment and Energy, Education, Health, Housing, Public Safety, Technology and Transportation.

Pradhan earlier served in local government, as director of the Sustainable Boston Initiative, following a leadership role in the Department of Neighborhood Development for the City of Boston.

She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned a Master’s Degree of Architecture in Urban Design. Pradhan received a Bachelor’s Degree in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India. An artist who studied traditional Chinese brush painting, she has held public exhibitions of her work.

“It is an honor to succeed Bob Hurlbut and add to his exceptional legacy” said Pradhan.  “My goal is to build alliances and partnerships necessary to mobilize the unique and extraordinary resources of Cambridge for greater access to opportunity and contribute towards an inclusive community for everyone who calls this great city home.”

The Cambridge Community Foundation was established in 1916, making it one of the oldest community foundations in the country. It is a key supporter of nonprofit organizations, distributing $1.1 million in grants in 2014 to meet local needs and support the aspirations of Cambridge residents. The Foundation provides leadership support to deal with urgent local challenges and partners with donors to provide a permanent source of charitable funds for the community.

Grants will expand and enhance science education for Massachusetts schools

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Programming robots to record weather data. Fabricating mechanical parts with a 3D mill. Speaking with astronauts on the International Space Station. These are among the projects that will come to life in Massachusetts public and charter schools in 2015, thanks to Cambridge Community Foundation and Biogen Idec Foundation’s second annual Ignite the Power of STEM competitive grant program. Cambridge Community Foundation, which administers the program, selected 18 grants out of 54 applicants from across the state. Biogen Idec Foundation funded the program, totaling $84,520. The program represents a special partnership between business and the local community.

The Ignite the Power of STEM grants support innovative programs that increase science literacy, encourage youth to pursue scientific careers, create classroom excitement and provide hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, engineering and math. Applicant schools had to be represented at the 2014 Massachusetts STEM Summit to be eligible.

“I am impressed with the diversity of school programs and creative spirit in their grant applications. Most important are the collaborative efforts they represented. Congratulations to students, teachers, and schools, and thanks to Biogen Idec Foundation for breathing financial life into such STEM possibilities,” said Bob Hurlbut, executive director of the Cambridge Community Foundation and a former headmaster of 25 years.

“We have collective responsibility to provide a variety of STEM pathways for students of all abilities, and to provide resources and support for STEM educators,” said Tony Kingsley, chairman of the Biogen Idec Foundation.  “The Ignite the Power of STEM grant program supports innovative initiatives that reach a diverse group of students throughout Massachusetts.”

The Ignite the Power of STEM program received 54 applications. The winning programs span K-12 and urban and suburban districts throughout the state.  The winning projects are listed below:

• Locke Middle School in Billerica for the Math and Science of Robotic Drones
• Blackstone Vocational Technical High School in Upton for Space Station and Russian Integration Projects
• Assabet Valley Collaborative Alternative School in Marlborough for “Robotics and Practical Application in the Classroom”
• Bourne High School for “Aquaponics Lab”
• Cambridge Rindge and Latin School for “Mapping Genetic Pathways in Yeast”
• Danvers High School for “Digital Fabrication Lab”
• Fuller Middle School in Framingham for “Supporting STEAM @ Fuller”
• Everett High School for “EHS Robotics”
• South Street Elementary School in Fitchburg for “WeDo Simple Machines”
• Medford Vocational Technical High School for “Aquaculture Facility”
• Nissitissit Middle School in Pepperell for “NMS Raspberry Pi”
• STEM Middle Academy in Springfield for “Carlisle Brook Preserve/Outdoor Classroom”
• Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High in Rochester for “Get the Lead Out”
• Waltham High School for “Did You See That? I Did!”
• Sandwich STEM Middle School for “Environmental Monitoring and Technology”
• Country Elementary School in Weston for “Take it Outdoors: Green STEAM”
• Abigail Adams Middle School in Weymouth for “littleBits” of STEM
• Mass Academy of Math and Science in Worcester for “Professional Development for IOMIC/GOOD Training”

For a full summary of each of the winning projects, visit the MA STEM Summit website at mass-stem-summit.org/summit-news/ignite-the-power-of-stem-grant-program-2014-winners.

For additional information on the Ignite the Power of STEM grant program, visit www.biogenidec.com/ignite.  To learn more about the Cambridge Community Foundation, visit www.cambridgecf.org.

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Media contact: Becki Harrington-Davis, communications director, Cambridge Community Foundation: 617-576-9966 or [email protected].

 

Grants will expand and enhance science education for Massachusetts schools

CAMBRIDGE, MA—Programming robots to record weather data. Fabricating mechanical parts with a 3D mill. Speaking with astronauts on the International Space Station. These are among the projects that will come to life in Massachusetts public and charter schools in 2015, thanks to Cambridge Community Foundation and Biogen Idec Foundation’s second annual Ignite the Power of STEM competitive grant program. Cambridge Community Foundation, which administers the program, selected 18 grants out of 54 applicants from across the state. Biogen Idec Foundation funded the program, totaling $84,520. The program represents a special partnership between business and the local community.

The Ignite the Power of STEM grants support innovative programs that increase science literacy, encourage youth to pursue scientific careers, create classroom excitement and provide hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, engineering and math. Applicant schools had to be represented at the 2014 Massachusetts STEM Summit to be eligible.

“I am impressed with the diversity of school programs and creative spirit in their grant applications. Most important are the collaborative efforts they represented. Congratulations to students, teachers, and schools, and thanks to Biogen Idec Foundation for breathing financial life into such STEM possibilities,” said Bob Hurlbut, executive director of the Cambridge Community Foundation and a former headmaster of 25 years.

“We have collective responsibility to provide a variety of STEM pathways for students of all abilities, and to provide resources and support for STEM educators,” said Tony Kingsley, chairman of the Biogen Idec Foundation.  “The Ignite the Power of STEM grant program supports innovative initiatives that reach a diverse group of students throughout Massachusetts.”

The Ignite the Power of STEM program received 54 applications. The winning programs span K-12 and urban and suburban districts throughout the state.  The winning projects are listed below:

• Locke Middle School in Billerica for the Math and Science of Robotic Drones
• Blackstone Vocational Technical High School in Upton for Space Station and Russian Integration Projects
• Assabet Valley Collaborative Alternative School in Marlborough for “Robotics and Practical Application in the Classroom”
• Bourne High School for “Aquaponics Lab”
• Cambridge Rindge and Latin School for “Mapping Genetic Pathways in Yeast”
• Danvers High School for “Digital Fabrication Lab”
• Fuller Middle School in Framingham for “Supporting STEAM @ Fuller”
• Everett High School for “EHS Robotics”
• South Street Elementary School in Fitchburg for “WeDo Simple Machines”
• Medford Vocational Technical High School for “Aquaculture Facility”
• Nissitissit Middle School in Pepperell for “NMS Raspberry Pi”
• STEM Middle Academy in Springfield for “Carlisle Brook Preserve/Outdoor Classroom”
• Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High in Rochester for “Get the Lead Out”
• Waltham High School for “Did You See That? I Did!”
• Sandwich STEM Middle School for “Environmental Monitoring and Technology”
• Country Elementary School in Weston for “Take it Outdoors: Green STEAM”
• Abigail Adams Middle School in Weymouth for “littleBits” of STEM
• Mass Academy of Math and Science in Worcester for “Professional Development for IOMIC/GOOD Training”

For a full summary of each of the winning projects, visit the MA STEM Summit website at mass-stem-summit.org/summit-news/ignite-the-power-of-stem-grant-program-2014-winners.

For additional information on the Ignite the Power of STEM grant program, visit www.biogenidec.com/ignite.  To learn more about the Cambridge Community Foundation, visit www.cambridgecf.org.

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Media contact: Becki Harrington-Davis, communications director, Cambridge Community Foundation: 617-576-9966 or [email protected]