Boston nonprofit receives competitive grant from the Cummings Foundation
Boston, MA, June 17, 2026 – Boston Arts Academy Foundation (BAAF) has been selected as one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program, which awarded $35 million this year. Chosen through a competitive review process that drew a record 959 applicants, the Boston-based organization will receive $225,000 over three years.
Boston Arts Academy is the city and Commonwealth’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts, providing a diverse population of talented youth with a comprehensive academic and arts curriculum. The Foundation raises essential funds from private philanthropic sources to augment the Boston Arts Academy school budget. The Cummings Foundation is one of the biggest private foundations in New England, awarding millions of dollars in annual grants to local nonprofits across Greater Boston.
“This generous support from Cummings Foundation is a testament to the vital work our Foundation does and will directly strengthen our ability to provide essential resources and life-changing opportunities for Boston Arts Academy’s students,” says Denella J. Clark, President and CEO of BAAF. “We are deeply grateful for this investment in our young artists and in the transformative power of arts education. Together, we are ensuring that talented students have the support they need to learn, grow, and pursue their dreams.”
This year, the Woburn-based Cummings Foundation increased its annual grant program from $30 million to $35 million and shifted to fully unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to direct grant dollars where they are needed most.
Cummings Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes noted that the changes reflect growing concerns among Greater Boston nonprofits about rising costs, increased demand for services, and sustained uncertainty around public funding.
“Nonprofit professionals are closest to the challenges facing their communities, making them best positioned to determine where and how new funds will drive the greatest impact,” said Vyriotes. “By providing increased, flexible funding, we hope to strengthen organizations’ long-term stability and help them respond to evolving community needs.”
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide range of causes, including housing and food insecurity, education, workforce development, healthcare, mental health services, social justice, immigrant support, and youth programming.
The annual grant program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, as well as Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley.
Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation reinvests in the areas where it owns commercial real estate. Its buildings are all managed at no cost to the Foundation by its affiliate, Cummings Properties, a Woburn-based commercial developer that leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space. All rental profits support the Foundation.
Since its founding, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $650 million to Greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s grant recipients, along with additional information about the Foundation and its grant programs, is available at
CummingsFoundation.org.
About the Boston Arts Academy Foundation
Established in 1999, the Boston Arts Academy Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization that raises essential funds from private philanthropic sources to augment the Boston Arts Academy school budget. Construction of the new BAA school building in 2022 does not change BPS’s funding formula, which does not fully cover the cost of a college preparatory academic program and a competitive arts program. For more information, visit https://bostonartsacademy.org/foundation.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, Mass., and has grown to become one of the largest private foundations in New England. In addition to its annual grant program, the Foundation directly operates two not-for-profit retirement communities: New Horizons at Marlborough and New Horizons at Choate, in Woburn. Additional information is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
