LYNN — The Latina Center Maria has been selected as one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program on June 1, which awarded $35 million this year. Chosen through a competitive review process that drew a record 959 applicants, the Lynn-based organization will receive $45,000 over three years.
The Latina Center Maria focuses on empowering Latina women through education. The Center’s English-language classes provide young mothers with the basic skills to monitor and support their children’s education while improving their own educational potential.
Magalie Torres-Rowe, founder and executive director, describes the grant award as transformational. “ We have been expanding to accommodate more occupational programs, such as a Home Health Aid training course. This grant allows us to continue building our offerings to provide job skills to a critical portion of the community.”
This year, the Woburn-based Cummings Foundation increased its annual grant program from $30 million to $35 million and shifted to fully unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to direct grant dollars where they are needed most.
Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes noted that the changes reflect growing concerns among Greater Boston nonprofits about rising costs, increased demand for services, and sustained uncertainty around public funding.
“Nonprofit professionals are closest to the challenges facing their communities, making them best positioned to determine where and how new funds will drive the greatest impact,” said Vyriotes. “By providing increased, flexible funding, we hope to strengthen organizations’ long-term stability and help them respond to evolving community needs.”
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide range of causes, including housing and food insecurity, education, workforce development, healthcare, mental health services, social justice, immigrant support, and youth programming.
The annual grant program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, as well as Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.
Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation reinvests in the areas where it owns commercial real estate. Its buildings are all managed at no cost to the Foundation by its affiliate, Cummings Properties, a Woburn-based commercial developer that leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space. All rental profits support the Foundation.
Since its founding, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $650 million to Greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s grant recipients, along with additional information about the Foundation and its grant programs, is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
Founded in 2016, Latina Center Maria was created by school teachers concerned with communication problems with the parents of their students. These women are deeply motivated to create strong educational environments at home, yet limited English proficiency often prevents meaningful engagement with their children’s schools and teachers. To address this gap, a focused and innovative approach was developed: a program that addresses the specific needs of Latina mothers of school-aged children.
By strengthening English language skills and broadening educational opportunities, Latina Center Maria empowers families to pursue improved employment prospects, access essential services, support their children’s academic success, and become more fully integrated into the Lynn community. Latina Center Maria’s ESOL program is intentionally designed to remove barriers to participation. The Children’s Book Club component allows mothers to attend with their children. A volunteer reads to the children while their parents focus on classwork. Additionally, evening and Saturday classes facilitate attendance by working parents.
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, Mass., and has grown to become one of the largest private foundations in New England. In addition to its annual grant program, the Foundation directly operates two not-for-profit retirement communities: New Horizons at Marlborough and New Horizons at Choate, in Woburn. Additional information is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
