Charles River Museum Of Industry And Innovation Gets $150K Grant

News release from Charles River Museum Of Industry And Innovation.

WALTHAM, MA — The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share in $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. The Waltham-based organization was selected from a total of 715 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $150,000 over three years.

The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation (CRMII) informs and educates about regional industrial history and seeks to inspire future innovation. The Charles River Collaboratory is a new CRMII project in collaboration with Boston College STEM educators that engages underserved youth and their families hands-on with emerging technologies and tools.

This Cummings Foundation grant creates a potentially transformative opportunity for the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation as we continue to grow and to expand our community outreach and engagement efforts in the City of Waltham through the Charles River Collaboratory. Executive Director Perry stated that Cummings Foundation funding “recognizes the role that museums can play in the larger educational ecosystem by serving as an active learning asset in the community that engages all residents in creative and innovative learning experiences.”

This Cummings Foundation grant award will enable the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in partnership with the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development (Dr. Mike Barnett and Dr. Helen Zhang) and the Boston College Department of Engineering (Dr. Avneet Hira) to enhance our support of youth over time at the Charles River Collaboratory. Utilizing a near-peer mentoring approach, more senior high school youth will be supporting their younger peers in transdisciplinary scientific investigations where they are applying artificial intelligence technologies, 3D printing, laser engraving, and physical computing to address problems in the community. We are grateful to the Schiller Institute at Boston College for providing catalyst funding that enabled the partnership to build the foundation that led to Cummings Foundation having the confidence to support our partnership.

The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, plus six communities in Norfolk County: Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.

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.

“Greater Boston is fortunate to have a robust, dedicated, and highly capable nonprofit sector that supports and enhances the community in myriad ways,” said Cummings Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes. “The entire Cummings organization is thankful for their daily work to help all our neighbors thrive.”

The majority of the grant decisions were made by nearly 100 community 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).

“We believe strongly that grant decisions will be more equitable when made by a diverse group of community members,” said Vyriotes. “We’re incredibly grateful to the dozens of individuals who participated in our democratized philanthropic process.”

The Foundation and volunteers first identified 150 organizations to receive three-year grants of up to $300,000 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 panel of community volunteers 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 49 different cities and towns.

Cummings Foundation has now awarded $500 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus nearly 2,000 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.