What Cummings Foundation does

Cummings Foundation, Inc. is a private 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings in Woburn, Massachusetts, and recognized as one of the three largest foundations in New England. The Foundation's defining structural feature is its ownership of the large majority of commercial real estate managed by affiliated Cummings Properties — approximately 11 million square feet of debt-free space across eastern Massachusetts — the rental profits of which fund the Foundation's grantmaking. Core programs consist of the $30 Million Grant Program (awarding 150 multi-year grants annually to 150 eastern Massachusetts nonprofits, with 25 grants upgraded to 10-year terms), two not-for-profit New Horizons senior living communities in Woburn and Marlborough serving more than 500 residents, an affiliated colleges portfolio spanning seven institutions (Tufts, Endicott, Franklin Cummings Tech, Salem State, Roger Williams, UGHE in Rwanda, and the Harvard Medical School Paul Farmer Collaborative) with cumulative commitments above $200 million, and invitation-only international philanthropy focused on Rwanda's post-genocide recovery.

Grant selection is conducted through a community volunteer model: approximately 100 greater Boston professionals serve on four successive committees that evaluate letters of inquiry and full applications submitted via the GrantInterface online portal. The Foundation offers 3-year grants with annual installments of $10,000–$100,000 and, for prior recipients demonstrating strong performance, 10-year grants of up to $1,000,000. Eligibility is geographically restricted to nonprofits headquartered in Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties plus select Norfolk County municipalities (Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, Wellesley), with international activity limited to Rwanda-based partners.

Cummings Foundation Grants, Inc. operates as a separate IRS-approved grantmaking entity (since 2012), supplemented by the Cummings Community Giving program (over $4 million to 500+ nonprofits since 2012) and executive office suites operated by the sister commercial real estate company. The Foundation is governed by a board including the founders and family members; Bill and Joyce Cummings joined The Giving Pledge in 2011 as the first Massachusetts signatories, and the Foundation was recognized in 2025 by the Boston Business Journal as the largest corporate charitable contributor in Massachusetts.

Name

Cummings Foundation

Legal name

Cummings Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://cummingsfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cummings Foundation is a Woburn, MA-based 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation that funds eastern Massachusetts nonprofits and Rwanda-based global health programs through profits from its commercial real estate portfolio, awarding $50M+ annually across 150 multi-year grants and operating two New Horizons senior living communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation and Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Charitable grantmaking
• Nonprofit foundation
• Senior living communities
• Community grants program
• Educational philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Woburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Profits: All profits from Cummings Properties commercial real estate operations are donated to Cummings Foundation. Cummings Properties manages 11 million square feet of debt-free commercial real estate across eastern Massachusetts communities.
2. Property Ownership Model: The large majority of Cummings Properties commercial property is owned by Cummings Foundation. Businesses leasing space at these properties know their rent profits support local nonprofits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cummings Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation that awards multi-year grants to nonprofits primarily in eastern Massachusetts through its $30 Million Grant Program (150 grantees annually). It also operates not-for-profit senior living communities (New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough), supports a portfolio of affiliated colleges, and runs invitation-only international philanthropy programs in Rwanda. All operations are funded by profits from Cummings Properties commercial real estate, which is largely owned by the Foundation.

Product overview

Cummings Foundation is a philanthropic organization established in 1986 that operates several interconnected programs. The primary offering is the $30 Million Grant Program, which awards 150 annual multi-year grants to eastern Massachusetts nonprofits. Supporting this mission are New Horizons Communities (not-for-profit senior living in Woburn and Marlborough), Affiliated Colleges (educational partnerships with seven institutions), Cummings in Rwanda (international philanthropy), Cummings Community Giving (colleague-directed donations), and Cummings Executive Suites (commercial real estate services). The Foundation's unique model is powered by Cummings Properties, whose commercial real estate profits fund all nonprofit grants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• $30 Million Grant Program Annual grant program awarding 150 multi-year grants totaling $30 million to eastern Massachusetts nonprofits, including 125 three-year grants ($10,000-$300,000 total) and 25 ten-year grants (up to $1,000,000 each). For nonprofits, primarily those headquartered in Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk counties, plus Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley in Norfolk County.
• New Horizons Communities

Quantifiable outcome

• $600 million total grants awarded to Greater Boston nonprofits since 1986
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Massachusetts School of LawminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Co-presenting free seminar series in Andover, Massachusetts on 'Good Business Practices & Preventing Problem Employees' featuring law and management topics for local business owners.
• Salem State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022$11 million naming grant for James McKeown School of Education, reported as the largest cash gift ever recorded to any Massachusetts state university.
• Roger Williams UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022$20 million pledge for Cummings School of Architecture and Cummings Institute for Real Estate. The largest single donor contribution in the university's history.
• Franklin Cummings TechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021$12.5 million partnership supporting Boston's only technical college for workforce development and economic mobility. College rebranded after the gift and opened new $75M campus in Roxbury.
• Endicott CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021$20 million commitment to Cummings School of Nursing and Health Sciences, the largest gift in the college's history. Supports modern simulation lab and health-related disciplines education.
• Partners In Health (PIH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner in Rwanda healthcare initiatives. PIH led the establishment of University of Global Health Equity and operates Butaro Ambulatory Cancer Center, Rwanda's first outpatient infusion center. Also partnered on the founding of UGHE.
• Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration since 2002 with over $80 million contributed. School is internationally acclaimed and leads global health initiatives including the STOP Spillover program. Also helped found University of Global Health Equity.
• University of Global Health Equity (UGHE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner$25 million total commitment including $15 million founding gift (matched by Gates Foundation) and $10 million matching challenge for campus dedication. Bill and Joyce Cummings Institute of Global Health named in their honor.
• Harvard Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Paul Farmer Collaborative with UGHE. $50 million combined grant to fund research and teaching fellowships, faculty and student exchanges. Dr. Jim Yong Kim serves as UGHE chancellor.
• Tufts University School of Dental MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in global oral health initiatives. Rwanda has only 11 dentists for its population, making dental care access critically limited.
• Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResidential community in Rwanda serving highly vulnerable youth orphaned during and after the 1994 genocide. Foundation partners through relationships with Partners In Health, Tufts University, and Salem State University.
• Cummings PropertiescoreOthersRelated commercial real estate company that donates all profits to Cummings Foundation. Manages 11 million square feet of commercial real estate, largely owned by the Foundation. Provides in-house expertise in design, construction, and property management.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Klarman Family Foundation: Klarman Family Foundation is one of the largest Boston-area family foundations (Seth and Beth Klarman), making multi-year grants across education, science, and community causes — directly comparable to Cummings in being a Boston-area private foundation with substantial multi-year giving capacity.
• Yawkey Foundation: Yawkey Foundation is a Massachusetts private foundation focused on youth and family services in eastern Massachusetts — directly comparable to Cummings in operating geography (Boston-area), structure (private legacy foundation), and concentration on human services nonprofits.
• Highland Street Foundation: Highland Street Foundation is a Massachusetts family foundation supporting human services, education, and health — directly comparable to Cummings as a privately endowed Greater Boston grantmaker running an annual competitive grants program.
• Barr Foundation: Barr Foundation is a large Boston-area private foundation funding climate, arts, and education — directly comparable to Cummings in geography (eastern Massachusetts), structure (private foundation), and grant size/scope, with multi-year commitments and ~$50M+ annual giving.
• Hebrew SeniorLife: Hebrew SeniorLife is the largest not-for-profit senior housing and care provider in New England — directly comparable to the New Horizons at Choate and New Horizons at Marlborough subsidiaries, both of which are not-for-profit independent and assisted living communities serving 500+ seniors in the same Greater Boston geography.
• Ruderman Family Foundation: Ruderman Family Foundation is a Boston-based family foundation focused on disability inclusion and Jewish community causes — comparable as a high-profile, family-led Boston-area private foundation making concentrated multi-year grants in its priority areas.
• The Boston Foundation: The Boston Foundation is Greater Boston's community foundation, distributing tens of millions annually to nonprofits in the same eastern Massachusetts geography as Cummings — directly comparable as a Massachusetts-focused grantmaking institution, though structured as a community foundation.
• Bain Capital Foundation: Bain Capital Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Boston-based Bain Capital — directly comparable as a Boston-area corporate-affiliated grantmaking entity supporting workforce development and education in the same eastern Massachusetts geography.

Broad incumbents

• Mott Foundation: Mott Foundation is a large diversified private foundation making multi-year grants in civil society, education, and the environment — comparable as an incumbent foundation with multi-year grant programs, but operating nationally rather than being regionally concentrated like Cummings.
• Ford Foundation: Ford Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. — comparable as an incumbent foundation operating multi-year grants in education, economic opportunity, and global development, but at far greater scale and global scope than Cummings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cummingsdotcom
• Facebookfacebook.com/cummingsfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cummings Foundation