Woburn-Based Company to Donate Thousands to Charity

Through its Employee Directed Giving program, Cummings Properties is once again inviting its regular full-time staff members to each select a local charity to receive a $1,000 donation from the Company.

The three-year-old annual program will be open to more than 350 employees of the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm as well as its affiliated retirement communities, New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough. Thirty-three employees live in Beverly.

“Employee Directed Giving has become a popular benefit that colleagues look forward to each year,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ president and CEO. “We feel good about being able to honor staff members for their hard work and dedication while also supporting the local areas where our organization does business and where our employees live.”

Cummings Properties has a presence in 10 Greater Boston communities, including Beverly, which is home to the firm’s landmark Cummings Center business campus and its properties on Dunham Road.

Employees have until November 8 to select nonprofits, and the donation checks will be distributed the week of Thanksgiving. Knowing that the contribution comes at no cost to the employee, some local charities with connections to Cummings staff members have begun reaching out and asking to be considered.

Selected nonprofits must meet a few eligibility requirements. For example, funds may not be donated for religious, lobbying, or political purposes, and the Company’s focus on providing support locally means charities must be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town in which the employee lives.

Organizations can receive as much as $5,000 per program cycle, if multiple staff members choose the same nonprofit. Last year, several Beverly charities received multiple donations, including Beverly Bootstraps, Beverly High School Marine Jr. R.O.T.C., Change is Simple, Express Yourself, Beverly Little League, and Beverly Midget Football.

“With a few dozen Cummings staff members living in Beverly and 90 or so working at our properties there, we typically see a number of very worthy Beverly organizations on the list of recipients,” said Clarke.

He also noted that many colleagues involve the whole family in the decision, with some putting it to a vote.