Cummings $30 Million Grant Program awards Marblehead Counseling Center a Three-year Grant
Marblehead Counseling Center awarded $120,000 Cummings GrantMarblehead nonprofit receives 3 years of funding from Cummings Foundation
Marblehead, May 22, 2023–Marblehead Counseling Center (MCC) is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share in $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. The Marblehead-based organization was selected from a total of 630 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $120,000 over three years.
MCC is a not for profit mental health clinic with a mission to improve the quality of life for individuals and families in Marblehead, Swampscott, and other North Shore communities by providing a high-quality, local source of mental health and family support.
The recognition and financial support of Cummings Foundation is an important element of the work MCC has been doing for over 50 years and will enable enhanced mental health services to our clients.
This Cummings Foundation grant will support North Shore Community Cares, a continuum-of-care-model, seamlessly transitioning graduate clinicians into their supervision phase of their career. While developing in their profession, they continue in the best practices in which they have received guidance and instruction through internships with MCC. By enabling MCC to retrain these clinicians in the period between graduation and independent licensure we can assure the best level of care for our clients.
The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties.
Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial property. Its buildings are all managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“The way the local nonprofit sector perseveres, steps up, and pivots to meet the shifting needs of the community is most impressive,” said Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are incredibly grateful for these tireless efforts to support people in the community and to increase equity and access to opportunities.”
The majority of the grant decisions were made by about 90 volunteers. They worked across a variety of committees to review and discuss the proposals and then, together, determine which requests would be funded. Among these community volunteers were business and nonprofit leaders, mayors, college presidents, and experts in areas such as finance and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
“It would not be possible for the Foundation to hire the diversity and depth of expertise and insights that our volunteers bring to the process,” said Vyriotes. “We so appreciate the substantial time and thought they dedicated toward ensuring that our democratized version of philanthropy results in equitable outcomes that will really move the needle on important issues in local communities.”
The Foundation and volunteers first identified 150 organizations to receive three-year grants of up to $225,000 each. The winners included first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings grants. Twenty-five of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected by a volunteer panel to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $300,000 to $1 million each.
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, workforce development, immigrant services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 46 different cities and towns.
Cummings Foundation has now awarded $480 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus nearly 1,500 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
About Marblehead Counseling Center
Founded in 1969, Marblehead Counseling Center is a not for profit mental health clinic serving the North Shore. Our clinicians are fully licensed and certified skilled professionals. We provide counseling for a wide array of mental health challenges, from day-to-day life challenges to anxiety, to the most severe and persistent mental illnesses in a comfortable and nurturing environment. We are an insurance-based provider and offer flexible appointments. MCC also supports Marblehead clients with limited means and few health care alternatives. Over the years, MCC has become an established training ground for much needed clinicians in the mental health crisis.
Our clients are children, teens, adults, seniors and those navigating life’s transitions. We provide guidance and support for all kinds of family issues, such as divorce, aging, and at-risk teens. We also help individuals and family members deal with abuse and addiction.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, MA and has grown to be one of the largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn, and Cummings Health Sciences, LLC. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Contact: Lisa Cohen, Marblehead Counseling Center, 781-631.8273, lcohen@marbleheadcounseling.org
Contact: Alison Harding, Cummings Foundation, 781-932-7093, aeh@cummings.com