CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Possible Project, a non-profit organization that teaches high school students how to start and run their own businesses through a tailored curriculum and access to technology and mentors from the local business community, announced it is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program. The Cambridge-based organization was chosen from a total of 479 applicants during a competitive review process.
“Under-resourced high school students need opportunities to help them succeed at something they consider important and real. The Possible Project provides that opportunity through authentic entrepreneurship. In essence, we teach our students to become the CEOs of their own lives through the vehicle of starting and running their own business,” said Brenda Sanchez, vice president, development and communications at The Possible Project. “The incredible generosity of the Cummings Foundation will provide The Possible Project with the crucial resources needed to expand our reach into the Greater Boston area and continue to see the positive impact of our Entrepreneurship Program. We are enormously grateful for this transformative grant that will strengthen our efforts to address the opportunity gap.”
The Possible Project utilizes entrepreneurship to inspire young people who have untapped potential, empowering them with the skills required to achieve enduring personal and professional success. The Possible Project currently works with five high schools serving 220 students, and is on pace to serve 300 by the end of 2016. Grant funding by the Cummings Foundation will enable The Possible Project to hire a new Education Associate who will work directly with students at its Cambridge headquarters and in Boston. This individual will work with the rest of the Education Team to ensure students achieve positive youth outcomes and help amplify its impact over the coming years, eventually working directly with 1,000 students a year.
“We admire and very much appreciate the important work that nonprofit organizations like The Possible Project are doing in the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to support their efforts.”
About Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” Program
The$100K for 100 programs supports nonprofits that are not only based in but also primarily serves Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties. This year, the program is benefiting 41 different cities and towns within the Commonwealth. With the conclusion of this grant cycle, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $140 million to local nonprofits alone.
Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages more than 10 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including education, homelessness prevention, elder services, healthcare, and food insecurity. Most of the grants will be paid over two to five years.
The complete list of 100 grant winners is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
About The Possible Project
Based in Cambridge, Mass., The Possible Project (TPP) is a non-profit organization founded by Mark and Becky Levin in 2010. TPP teaches high school students with untapped potential how to create and run their own businesses while gaining important personal and professional skills. The Possible Project uses entrepreneurship as a vehicle to impart the characteristics and competencies that make enduring personal and professional success more likely for its students. During the course of the three-year program, students become proficient in leadership, resilience, professionalism, self-confidence, teamwork and a host of other vital skills. TPP is working to close the skills and opportunities gap facing its students by providing resources and support that make them more likely to finish high school, complete education and training beyond high school, and enter careers that will provide them with a living wage. For more information on TPP, please visit http://possibleproject.org/.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester. With assets exceeding $1 billion, it is one of the largest foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
