Youth Villages stories

Nonprofit one of 130 organizations to receive grant from Cummings Foundation
WOBURN, Mass. (May 29, 2020) – Youth Villages is one of 130 local nonprofits to receive grants through Cummings Foundation’s $20 Million Grant Program. Located in Woburn, the organization was awarded a $500,000 grant and was chosen from a total of 738 applicants during a competitive review process.

Youth Villages is a national leader in children’s mental and behavioral health committed to building strong families, providing intensive in-home services, helping young adults who experience foster care with the transition to adulthood, and significantly improving outcomes for children, families and young people involved in child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Funds from the grant will support the organization’s LifeSet program, which helps young people who have experienced foster care reach their full potential, serving as a bridge from foster care to successful adulthood.

“We are so incredibly grateful to receive this grant,” said Matt Stone, Youth Villages executive director in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. “These dollars will significantly impact our ability to help young adults who experienced foster care at one of the most vulnerable – and exciting – times of their lives: becoming adults. We are even more thrilled by the fact that these dollars will be matched by the state of Massachusetts due to a partnership to grow the LifeSet program.”

The Cummings $20 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties. Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the foundation, by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the foundation.

“We have been impressed, but not surprised, by the myriad of ways in which these 130 grant winners are serving their communities, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “Their ability to adapt and work with their constituents in new and meaningful ways has an enormous impact in the communities where our colleagues and leasing clients live and work.”

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $280 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of 130 grant winners is available at CummingsFoundation.org.

About Youth Villages
Youth Villages is a national leader in children’s mental and behavioral health committed to building strong families, delivering effective services and significantly improving outcomes for children, families and young people involved in child welfare and juvenile justice systems across the country. Founded in 1986, the organization’s 3,000 employees help more than 30,000 children annually in 21 states across the U.S. Youth Villages has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.youthvillages.org

About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn, an Veterinary School at Tufts, LLC in North Grafton. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.