Special Dialogue with the Cummings Foundation

Special Philanthropy Dialogue
A Conversation with Joyce Cummings of Cummings Foundation: Personal Reflections on a Journey of Philanthropy

Please join us for a light buffet lunch and conversation with Joyce Cummings of Cummings Foundation on her experience as a philanthropist. Cummings Properties is the principal funder of Cummings Foundation, which awards $10 million each year through its $100K for 100 grant program and, beginning this year, will award an additional $10 million annually through its new Sustaining Grants program, which provides long-term funding – a rarity in the non-profit sector. These place-based philanthropic initiatives primarily support non-profits in the Massachusetts counties where the Foundation and its founders originally built their wealth, and where staff and clients of the Cummings organization live – Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk County. Through $100K for 100 and its other grant programs, the Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in recent years, including to some TPC grantees. Topics for discussion could include:

• How does one reconcile “heart” v. “head” in the grant making process?

• What are some of the best practices employed by the Cummings organization for engaging and inculcating a culture of philanthropy?

• What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started the Foundation over two decades ago?

We hope you will join us for what promises to be an interesting and informative afternoon.

TPC is most grateful for our Lead Corporate Sponsor of Philanthropy Dialogues: