Cummings Foundation

Cummings Foundation is a US private foundation based in Woburn, MA.

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

Through its local grant programme, Cummings Foundation supports a wide variety of nonprofits in eastern Massachusetts, particularly within its stated county and community area. Its local priorities are human services, fairness and justice, education, healthcare and the environment. It seeks organisations headquartered in its geographic area and providing most services there. Its approach is to learn with nonprofit leaders and invest in organisations and efforts that match its values and priorities and have meaningful, positive and sustainable impact on local communities. Separate invitation-only support reaches a limited number of national and international organisations, including work in Rwanda.

Themes

• Human services
• Fairness and justice
• Education
• Healthcare
• Environment
• Animal welfare

Geographic Focus

Essex County; Middlesex County; Suffolk County; Brookline; Dedham; Milton; Needham; Quincy; Wellesley. Priority: Rwanda.

What They Don't Fund

• Cummings $35 Million Grant Program only: Endowments; Medical research; Private foundations; Religious endeavors; Relatively new entities; Political, legislative, or lobbying organizations; Individuals or debt reduction, no matter how worthy; Very large organizations already supported by robust endowments; Organizations that seek to infringe on civil liberties or personal freedoms; Organizations that treat people unfairly based on protected characteristics; Primary and secondary schools that charge tuition, including those that provide financial aid; Organizations that are not classified as public charities under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code; National or regional organizations, or local branches thereof, that do not have an EIN and board of directors separate from that of the larger entity; Municipalities (with the exception of public schools), except for the 12 communities in which the Cummings organization operates commercial properties; regional, national, or international organizations (even if based locally); organizations that maintain offices or provide services outside Massachusetts (with the exception of Merrimack Valley nonprofits that also serve Southern New Hampshire); a local office/affiliate of a regional or national organization, unless it has its own EIN

Applicants first submit a letter of inquiry. The Foundation sends application invitations to selected LOI submitters; a full application follows only for those invited.

Deadlines: The letter-of-inquiry submission window lasts several weeks and has a closing deadline in each annual grant cycle.

• Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 99% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
• Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 22 grants to organisations were $1,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

• Applicants should demonstrate cost-effectiveness and fiscal responsibility.
• Applicants should use commonly understood language for readers with varied backgrounds.
• Applicants should use hard numbers and specifics rather than rhetoric.
• Submitting requests early can help an application stand out.
• The Foundation prefers diversified funding sources and does not want its contribution to represent an outsized share of an organisation’s budget.
• Applicants should explain how Cummings funding will strengthen their organisation’s overall mission, impact, and capacity to serve the community.
• Proposals should not be framed as requests for a particular project or programme.
• Special consideration is given to nonprofits based in the communities where the Cummings organization operates commercial real estate.