{"id":162,"date":"2026-05-21T15:04:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=162"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:04:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:04:50","slug":"community-foundation-gives-grants-to-over-150-cambridge-nonprofits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=162","title":{"rendered":"Community foundation gives grants to over 150 Cambridge nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) recently made its Community Fund grants, awarding almost $1.4 million this year to 157 Cambridge-serving nonprofits. While the CCF is Cambridge-focused, this year\u2019s awards were influenced by national political trends. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Events in Cambridge and Somerville: Campfire fest, Memorial Day and Jesse Terry<\/a><\/p>\n

With the Trump Administration in its second year, many local nonprofits are struggling to fulfill their missions \u2014 government funds have dried up and corporations have turned against diversity, equity and identity-oriented initiatives, including those supporting women and girls, said Geeta Pradhan, CCF\u2019s executive director, and Christina Turner, its vice president of programs and grantmaking.<\/p>\n

One funding recipient is Science Club for Girls (SCFG), which received $24,500 in total this year and last, for afterschool education and mentoring programs that help \u201cgirls and gender-expansive youth from underrepresented communities\u201d develop knowledge in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are surprised that there are penalties being felt by women and girls,\u201d said Bonnie Bertolaet, SCFG\u2019s executive director. She said it was a \u201ctough time for STEM and for our funders,\u201d many of which are technology and biotechnology companies.<\/p>\n

Pradhan praised the nonprofit for continuing to fulfill its mission \u201cin the face of outright attacks on things that mention girls specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another woman-focused grant recipient, the Cambridge-based Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), had not applied for funding in about a decade, Pradhan said. But government funding for its work \u201chas dramatically changed.\u201d It received $8,500 this year.<\/p>\n

CCF also worked to help organizations responding to the federal government\u2019s more punitive approach to immigration. At least seven grant recipients are focused on that population, though Pradhan said there may be others, because many nonprofits serving immigrant populations now try to disguise the nature of their work and their clients\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

In addition, organizations can span multiple categories. One such organization is De Novo, which provides legal support on issues relating to immigration, but also housing, family law and disability, as well as counseling services.<\/p>\n

An intensive review<\/h2>\n

CCF aims to be a long-term, invested supporter that understands and responds to \u201cthe changing needs in the community,\u201d Pradhan said. Its grants involve a \u201clabor-intensive\u201d review process that took 14 separate 3-hour meetings, involving 44 local resident volunteer advisors.<\/p>\n

This year, Community Fund awards ranged from $1,500 to $25,000, with an average of just under $9,000; the median was $7,000. Most applicants got funded \u2014 199 organizations applied, with only 42 not receiving funding this cycle.<\/p>\n

While the grants are not large, Turner said CCF funding comes with ongoing follow-up and support. The goal is to \u201cdevelop a deeper understanding\u201d of the nonprofits it partners with and their work, she said. As they get to know nonprofits through this process, CCF, which has about $69 million in assets according to the nonprofit-focused news organization ProPublica, may end up giving grants of up to $150,000 to nonprofits working in the arts and food insecurity, its two primary areas of focus.<\/p>\n

Bertolaet of Science Club for Girls said Pradhan gave SCFG not just financial support but also valuable advice and contacts that helped them, for example, restructure in 2018 and grow in scope.<\/p>\n

Read more S&S owners hope to see a new \u201clegacy\u201d establishment take its place<\/a><\/p>\n

Controversial choices<\/h2>\n

Many recipients were in the CCF\u2019s core mission areas, such as arts, food insecurity, and homelessness. Some were more controversial, such as The Black Response, a nonprofit \u201cdedicated to defunding and abolishing the Cambridge Police Department.\u201d It received a $5,000 grant for a second straight year.<\/p>\n

Turner said that a core element of CCF\u2019s work is \u201cto understand how grassroot organizations serve their communities. We want to support them as they surface needs we might not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Black Response called the funds \u201ca vital recognition of our work promoting alternatives to the multiple harms perpetrated by the carceral state,\u201d in an email to Cambridge Day signed \u201cThe Black Response Team.\u201d<\/p>\n

CCF also gave $5,000 this year and last to CultureHouse\u2019s programming for the Harvard Square KiOSK. In April, City Council members questioned its effectiveness and approach, noting its low visitor turnout and lack of public engagement.<\/p>\n

Turner said CCF\u2019s grant reviewers said they wanted \u201cto see what comes next, and how they\u2019re able to evolve and pivot.\u201d The award reflects the Foundation\u2019s partnership model with the entities it funds \u2014 a longer-term vision which allows for cultivating and nurturing nonprofit partners, even those that may have had stumbles.<\/p>\n

CultureHouse in July will \u201cpilot a KiOSK Residency program\u201d to highlight an artist\u2019s work for a month, said Cleo Brigham, CultureHouse\u2019s KiOSK manager. She added the goal is to provide \u201cmore support for artists to create some really special moments at the KiOSK.\u201d<\/p>\n

CCF also gave $10,000 this year and last to HEART (Cambridge Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team), a stand-alone nonprofit that grew out of The Black Response. HEART currently operates a van used to give mobile crisis support, largely in the form of rides or accompaniment to court or other appointments. The van also makes rounds to provide aid to unhoused community members.<\/p>\n

But it could be viewed as yet a third kind of alternative to regular emergency response, in addition to alternative response team within the Police Department and the Community Safety Department\u2019s Community Assistance Response and Engagement team (CARE).<\/p>\n

HEART\u2019s mission \u201cis rooted in the community and grounded in abolitionist values,\u201d said its chair, Quinton Zondervan, a former city councillor. He said it has lost funding \u201cin part due to the national zeitgeist\u201d and has had to scale down operations.<\/p>\n

Zondervan added that the goal is to allow community residents to request via 911 calls that HEART, rather than a city-staffed department, respond to their needs. He said it was always the plan for HEART to contract with the Community Safety Department.<\/p>\n

For Pradhan, CCF\u2019s community grant program is about hope. \u201cThe positive thing is that people are contributing and joining with us,\u201d she said. When things feel out of control at the national level, she thinks, sometimes, \u201cthe only place you can really feel good about is when you\u2019re investing in your community: supporting local artists, lifting up your kids, providing food and basic necessities to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Residents ask tough questions at Memorial Drive debrief<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) recently made its Community Fund grants, awarding almost $1.4 million this year to 157 Cambridge-serving nonprofits. While the CCF is Cambridge-focused, this year\u2019s awards were influenced by national political trends. \u00a0 Read more Events in Cambridge and Somerville: Campfire fest, Memorial Day and Jesse Terry With the Trump Administration in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[97,23,98],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nonprofits","tag-cambridge-community-foundation","tag-economy","tag-nonprofits"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity foundation gives grants to over 150 Cambridge nonprofits - Cambridge Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community foundation gives grants to over 150 Cambridge nonprofits - Cambridge Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) recently made its Community Fund grants, awarding almost $1.4 million this year to 157 Cambridge-serving nonprofits. 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