ActiveAtlas Opportunity Score 92/100
Massachusetts Cummings Foundation $35 Million Grant Program — 2027 Cycle
Cummings Foundation will award $35 million to 150 greater-Boston-area nonprofits in the 2027 cycle. Letters of inquiry are open through September 16, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.; nearly all awards will be multi-year unrestricted general operating support, with healthcare, mental health, education and human services among the priority causes.
Funding$35 million total across 150 local-area nonprofits. Annual installments may range from $10,000 to $100,000; 125 awards will be paid over three years, while 25 selected prior Cummings grantees may receive 10-year awards.
DeadlineLetter of Inquiry due September 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM. The Foundation page does not separately label a time zone; the funder is based in Massachusetts. Invited full applications are due January 13, 2027 at 5:00 PM.
Last verifiedAugust 30, 2026
Required next actionConfirm the applicant is a qualifying local public charity or eligible public school headquartered in Essex, Middlesex or Suffolk County, or in Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy or Wellesley, and that the majority of services are delivered in the priority geography. Select a mission-aligned healthcare, mental-health, education or human-services case, size the annual request between $10,000 and $100,000, and submit one Letter of Inquiry through the Foundation portal by September 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM.
Broad Eligibility
Primarily Massachusetts 501(c)(3) public charities and eligible public schools headquartered in Essex, Middlesex or Suffolk County or the Norfolk County communities of Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy and Wellesley, with the majority of services delivered in the same priority area. The Foundation does not generally consider tuition-charging K-12 schools, national or regional organizations without a separate local EIN and board, private foundations, individuals, medical research, or very large organizations with robust endowments. Public schools are eligible; municipalities generally are not except in the 12 Cummings commercial-property communities.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score 92/100. This is a large, highly flexible local funding lane with healthcare, hospitals/clinics, mental health, education and human services explicitly included among priority causes. Nearly all awards are unrestricted general operating support, although public schools and large multi-department organizations such as hospitals are restricted to the specific school, department or unit that applies. N9+ Direct Vendor Fit is 58/100: an eligible grantee could use operating support for technology or a health-service department, but the Foundation is not procuring telehealth technology and proposals should be framed around the applicant's mission and capacity rather than a vendor-specific project.
From Funding to Implementation · School Health Solution
Turn school-health funding into a clinically capable care model.
Dr. Miltie N9+ can support clinician-directed remote exams in school settings, helping care teams move beyond video-only encounters when a funded program calls for stronger pediatric access.
Source verificationReferenced source · www.cummingsfoundation.orgAtlas last verified this record August 30, 2026. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗
