The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) 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 health and social services organization will receive $225,000 over three years to sustain and expand its many free community programs.
The new grant comes at a crucial time for MAPS, following a series of federal funding cuts. This funding ensures the organization can continue to assist thousands of community members each year with a wide range of needs, including housing and food security, healthcare access, mental health, job training, and citizenship assistance.
“We are profoundly honored and grateful to have been selected by the Cummings Foundation as one of just 150 organizations to receive this remarkable investment in our community,” said MAPS CEO Paulo Pinto, MPA. “The opportunity to partner with such a prestigious foundation that shares our commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind is both a privilege and a testament to the importance of our work over the past 55 years. At a time when families are facing rising costs for housing, fuel, groceries, and other daily necessities, this support will enable us to continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of immigrant community members each year, helping them overcome language and cultural barriers and build pathways to success.”
This year, the 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. 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.”
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. Since its founding, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $650 million to Greater Boston nonprofits. Additional information about their work is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
MAPS’ free community programs and services include immigrant integration services and citizenship assistance, elder services, support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, child and family clinical services, HIV/ sexually transmitted infections prevention and screening, short-term mental health support, and others. To learn more, please visit maps-inc.org.
The organization, which has served Portuguese speakers and other communities in Massachusetts since 1970, including almost 28,000 people in fiscal year 2025, offers free health and social services through its six offices in Dorchester, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Framingham, and Lowell.
