Silver Lining Mentoring is one of 33 local nonprofits awarded a total of $10 million from Cummings Foundation through its new Sustaining Grants program, which provides funding for up to 10 years.
“With the support of the Cummings Foundation, Silver Lining Mentoring will broaden the breadth and depth of our services for youth in foster care, offering mentoring, life skills development, clinical support, and resource brokering,” said Colby Swettberg, CEO of Silver Lining Mentoring. “This unprecedented investment will enable Silver Lining Mentoring to provide meaningful and cost effective mentoring and support services to the most underserved youth in foster care, enabling greater opportunities for a lifetime of self-sufficiency and social and economic mobility.”
Swettberg noted, “This long-term commitment from the Cummings Foundation mirrors Silver Lining’s long-term commitment to young people, providing what they need, when they need it, for as long as they need it. We are proud to be a part of this amazing program, and look forward to partnering with the Cummings Foundation as we provide youth in foster care with the long-term support they deserve in order to thrive.”
The Sustaining Grants program builds on the Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program. First offered in 2012, $100K for 100 annually awards $10 million through multi-year grants of $100,000 each to 100 nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties. Grant recipients that received their final grant disbursements in 2017 were automatically considered for the Sustaining Grants initiative in 2018.
“Long-term financial support is rare for nonprofits, making fundraising a constant and time consuming task for organizations like Silver Lining Mentoring,” said Joyce Vyriotes, deputy director of Cummings Foundation. “The Sustaining Grants are intended to provide some relief, allowing them to focus more of their time and energy on delivering and enhancing their important services.”
Sustaining Grants winners were selected primarily by a 40-member volunteer committee, which included former state legislators, CEOs of companies and organizations in Greater Boston, and a retired justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, among many others. Committee members conducted two site visits with each nonprofit to learn how the $100K for 100 funds helped to advance its mission, and how it might put a 10-year grant to use.
The complete list of 33 grant winners is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirements communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date has been to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org
