Found in Translation awarded $400,000 Cummings grant

Found in Translation is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. Our organization was chosen from a total of 590 applicants during a competitive review process, and will receive $400,000 over 10 years.

Found in Translation’s innovative Language Access Fellowship Medical Interpreter Certificate Training and Job Placement Program empowers talented low-income multilingual women with the skills, resources, and network they need to enter and thrive in the medical interpreting profession. As interpreters, alumnae become partners in our mission to reduce linguistic disparities in healthcare through providing language access to patients across the greater Boston area. Since 2011, Found in Translation has trained 291 interpreters in 37 languages, and alumnae currently earn on average $25/hr and provide language services to an estimated 40,000 limited English speakers each year.

“Operating at the intersection of workforce development and language access in healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic has made Found in Translation’s work more important than ever. The adaptations we made to bring our in-person programming online and continue our work uninterrupted in the past year have put us on a fast track towards growth and increased impact. Our work would not be possible without the support of our philanthropic partners, and we are thrilled to be a recipient of a 10-year funding commitment from the Cummings Foundation as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our organization this September.” 

Abigail Setterholm, Impact Director

Coming at a pivotal time for Found in Translation, long-term funding from the Cummings Foundation will be used to support program growth through increased training capacity and frequency, with the goal of growing the alumnae community to 800 by 2030. In the coming years, we also aim to further empower our community through expanded opportunities for alumnae to advance their skills, earn next-level credentials, engage in advocacy and organizing on issues such as language access and interpreter working conditions, and build their own businesses as entrepreneurs. As the pandemic recedes, we will leverage our technology-abled programming to collaborate with partner nonprofits to offer interpreter training and job placement to specific populations (ie. indigenous language interpreters), and to continue to elevate the quality of language access provided to limited English Speakers in Boston and beyond.

The Cummings $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. 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. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

“We aim to help meet the needs of people in all segments of our local community. It is the incredible organizations we fund, however, that do the actual daily work to empower our neighbors, educate our children, fight for equity, and so much more. [The Cummings Foundation has] adopted a democratic approach to philanthropy, which empowers an impressive roster of dedicated volunteers to decide more than half of all our grant winners each year. We benefit from their diverse backgrounds and perspectives; they benefit from a meaningful and fulfilling experience; and the nonprofits often benefit from increased exposure and new advocates.”

Joel Swets, Executive Director for the Cummings Foundation

With the help of about 80 volunteers, the Foundation first identified 140 organizations to receive grants of at least $100,000 each. Among the winners were first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings Foundation grants. Forty of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including social justice, homelessness prevention, affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. The nonprofits are spread across 43 different cities and towns. The complete list of 140 grant winners, plus more than 800 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org. 

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $300 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

About Cummings Foundation

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings and has grown to be one of the three largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn, and Veterinary School at Tufts, LLC in North Grafton. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.