JP Nonprofit Boston Scores Awarded $100,000 Grant

Print More

Jamaica Plain-based Boston Scores is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive a grant of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation's "$100K for 100" program. Thanks to the grant Boston Scores will be able to provide more students sports-based youth development programming.

Six Boston Scores staff members the remaining eight were out at programs) celebrate the announcement of the Cummings Foundation $100K for 100 grant to support programming at two new middle schools in Boston. (Courtesy photo from Boston Scores)

Boston Scores delivers sports-based youth development programs to economically disadvantaged Boston Public School students from kindergarten through 12th grade, using nationally recognized curriculums to address the needs, abilities and interest levels of each age group and to develop the whole child. Boston Scores creates teams around soccer and preserves those teams in the classroom to engage students in academic enrichment and civic learning activities.

Boston Scores staff joined 300 other guests at a reception in Woburn on June 11th to celebrate the $10 million infusion into Greater Boston's nonprofit sector. With the conclusion of this grant cycle, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $220 million to Greater Boston nonprofits alone. Boston Scores was chosen from a total of 597 applicants during a competitive review process.

“Boston Scores is thrilled to receive this coveted award from the Cummings Foundation as we celebrate 20 years of serving Boston youth. We are looking forward to using this funding to fill the ever-increasing demand for our middle school programs,” said John Maconga, Boston Scores' executive director.

A grant from the Cummings Foundation will allow Boston Scores to grow their Middle School program, developing and building partnerships at two new school sites and reaching an average of an additional 75 new students per year with direct services.

The components of the middle school program include the One Hen social entrepreneurship and Soccer for Success curriculums. One Hen teaches students to create and run small businesses and to donate the proceeds from the businesses to a charity of the teams’ choice. The curriculum inspires students to financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back. Our students end the year equipped with the necessary skills in business math, personal financial literacy and social entrepreneurship.

The $100K for 100 program supports nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties in Massachusetts. 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 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

"We are indebted to nonprofit organizations like Boston Scores that have a meaningful positive impact on the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work," said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation's executive director. "We are delighted to invest in their important programs and services."

This year's diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention and affordable housing, education, violence prevention, 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 CummingsFoundation.org.

Cummings Foundation announced an additional $10 million in early May through its new Sustaining Grants, which extend "$100K for 100" funding for previous winners for 10 more years. Beginning in 2019, the Foundation will increase its total giving through these two programs from $20 million to $25 million.

2,503 Views