A generous $100,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation makes it possible for The House of the Seven Gables to continue its settlement work despite steep revenue losses caused by the pandemic.
“We are extremely grateful for the receipt of this grant,” says Kara McLaughlin, executive director at The Gables. “The grant committee recognized the value of our work and these funds will allow us to continue with the rebuilding and strengthening we have begun.”
Since its start in 1910, The Gables has executed a dual mission—preserving the historic structures on site and creating programs that help immigrants establish themselves here on the North Shore. Operations depend on the revenue from the house tours and programming, all of which came to a halt last spring.
“The Cummings Foundation saw that the work we normally do with the immigrant community was impossible to continue because our revenue had disappeared,” says McLaughlin. The very good news is that the position of community liaison and programming manager can now be filled.
This summer, with the help of the new manager, work to reinstate or strengthen the settlement’s signature programs—Community Conversations, programs for children, and ESL and citizenship classes—will begin.
“The hope,” says McLaughlin, “is that after two years, we’ll be earning revenue and can fund this position out of our operations.”
This grant, from the Cummings $25 Million Grant Program, supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Cummings real estate business, based in Woburn, that manages 10 million square feet of commercial space.
“We aim to help meet the needs of people in all segments of our local community,” says the foundation executive director Joe Swets. “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 grant awarded to The Gables will be paid in two $50,000 installments over two years. The money will be used primarily to fund the new community liaison and programming manager position.
For more information, visit 7gables.org.