The Community Benefits Advisory Committee is pleased to announce the opening of a competitive round of grant funding. This funding will support community-based nonprofit organizations as they respond to the critical needs of Cambridge residents.
Overview
- Total funding available: Up to $1 million
- Grant amount: $10,000 to $25,000 per grant
- Grant use: Projects, programs, or services that meet the needs of underserved Cambridge residents (and/or operating or capital expenses related to such programs or services)
- To be eligible, an organization must:
- Serve Cambridge residents
- Address at least one need from the Citywide Needs Assessment
- Be a nonprofit organization (which may have 501(c)3 status or is otherwise an established nonprofit recognized by the Commonwealth of MA)
- Be able to use the funds within 12 months
- Application opens: July 21, 2026
- Submission deadline: August 21, 2026
- Link to application: CBAC 2026 Grant Application
- Funding decisions announced: Mid-October
For more information, including details on eligibility, timeline, the application, review process, and a list of frequently asked questions, please visit cambridgema.gov/nonprofitgrants.
Community Benefits Ordinance
The purpose of the Committee and its process is to identify the community benefits needs of the residents of Cambridge based on the priorities established by the City Council and to solicit and evaluate applications with proposals to address the community benefits needs by qualified applicants. Community benefits may include programs or services, or capital and/or operating expenses necessary for a nonprofit organization to provide programs or services that directly benefit Cambridge residents. The Committee will make recommendations to the City Manager for the allocation of Community Benefits Funds for the award of grant agreements or contracts. (Community Benefits Advisory Committee, City of Cambridge’s Code of Ordinances, Section 2.127)
Community Benefits Funds refer to monies offered to and received by the City, from developers from zoning amendments or agreements entered, to be expended for community benefits or related purposes. Since 2010, mitigation funds designated for community benefits purposes were pledged to the City through these amendments and agreements. While over $20 million has been pledged to this fund, approximately $8.6 million has been received by the City to date. Upon completion of various stages of development, additional monies will be deposited into the Community Benefits Fund to further assist in the expansion of services to better meets the needs of Cambridge residents.
Guiding Principles for Funding
The guiding principles for prioritizing needs and resources, and appropriating funds for community benefits purposes, were first established by the ordinance and later expanded by the Needs Assessment Advisory Committee. All guiding principles were incorporated into the ordinance through a 2026 amendment:
Frame Needs Thoughtfully
- Fund programs or services that directly benefit Cambridge residents.
- Emphasize funding priorities established by the City Council informed by the outcomes of the Needs Assessment.
- Prioritize support for vulnerable and undeserved populations.
- Consider neighborhood(s) impacted by development projects.
Build on Existing Assets and Programs
- Consider other public resources allocated to a neighborhood in order to better understand unmet needs.
- Foster awareness of and connection to existing programs and services.
- Prioritize approaches that leverage other private and public resources.
- Encourage an asset-based approach that recognizes and builds on the resilience of Cambridge residents and communities.
Promote Holistic Approaches, Innovation, and Collaboration
- Recognize the inter-connectedness among community needs.
- Emphasize holistic and creative ideas that promote prevention and coordination across systems and organizations.
- Remain open to bold and innovative approaches to challenging issues.
- Recognize that addressing community challenges takes time, and provide the latitude for longer term interventions.
- Prioritize funding for nonprofit applicants that promote collaboration, partnership, and collective impact.
- Encourage and incorporate program evaluation to identify which strategies work best.
Simplify the Application Process
- Establish a transparent, inclusive, and collaborative process.
- Provide support and technical assistance to nonprofits in the application process to ensure equal opportunity and access.
- Provide opportunities for renewable grants to returning nonprofit providers that have an excellent performance evaluation record and programmatic success.
Implementation Grants
In April 2024, the Committee completed 4 years of implementation grant awards to four nonprofit partnerships and drafted an Executive Summary to document the process, learnings, and recommendations from the Implementation Grants. Here is an outline of the implementation process.
March 2020
The City entered into Implementation Grant agreements with the following partnerships:
- Strengthening families Together Project: Cambridge Community Center (Lead Organization) – Agassiz Baldwin Community, East End House
- Port Arise Institute: Community Art Center (Lead Organization) – Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, Tutoring Plus
- Family Stability Project: De Novo, Inc. (Lead Organization) – Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc., Transition House, Inc.
- Families Moving Forward: Just-A-Start Corporation (Lead Organization) – Cambridge Family & Children’s Service, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Housing Authority, Institute for Health and Recovery
December 2019
Plans for Implementation
Each partnership submitted a Plan for Implementation describing how they intend to meet the needs of Cambridge residents over the three-year grant period.
Planning Grant Proposals
November 2019
The Community Benefits Partnerships submitted Planning Phase Progress Reports on Friday, November 1. The Committee checked in with each partnership to gain insight on their experience during the Planning Phase, and provided feedback intended to assist partnerships as they advanced towards successful Plans for Implementation. The check-ins were held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 and Thursday, November 14, 2019.
October 2019
The Committee hosted a second convening with Planning grant Awardees and Health Resources in Action to provide an update on key components of the Planning Phase of the Community Benefits Funding Process. The meeting was held on Thursday, October 10, 2019.
June 2019
Planning Grant Agreements
The City entered into Planning Grant agreements with the following partnerships:
- Cambridge Community Center (Lead Organization) – Agassiz Baldwin Community, East End House
- Community Art Center (Lead Organization) – Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, Tutoring Plus
- De Novo, Inc. (Lead Organization) – Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc., Transition House, Inc.
- Just-A-Start Corporation (Lead Organization) – Cambridge Family & Children’s Service, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Housing Authority, Institute for Health and Recovery
The Committee convened a Planning Grant Kickoff on June 20, 2019 with Planning Grant Awardees and Health Resources in Action to provide an overview and collectively articulate the vision and goals of the Planning Phase of the Community Benefits Funding Process.
April 2019
The Committee reviewed the Planning Grant Proposals and interviewed each partnership, followed by recommendations to the City Manager for the approval of grant awards with nonprofit organizations.
The following organizations submitted proposals to the Committee on behalf of their partnerships:
The submitted proposals for the Planning Phase were evaluated based on the Planning Grant RFP – Selection Criteria.
The Planning Grant Request for Proposals (RFP)
February 2019
The RFP closed on February 15, 2019. The Community Benefits Ordinance, the Committee solicited proposals from non-profit organizations to provide services consistent with the Guiding Principles for Community Benefits Funding, adopted by Cambridge City Council. The Committee evaluated the proposals and made recommendations to the City Manager for the approval of grant awards for nonprofit organizations to deliver services that benefit Cambridge residents and help address their unmet needs.
November 2018 to January 2019:
Informational Sessions for Potential Applicants
The Committee hosted a data presentation and Q&A session, followed by a networking opportunity for interested organizations:
- Wednesday, January 16 - 9-11am – City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room
- Wednesday, November 28 - 3-5pm – Cambridge Public Library, Main Branch, 449 Broadway, Lecture Hall
November 2018
Planning Grant Request for Proposals Opens
The committee announced the Planning Grant Request for Proposals. Applications were due on Friday, February 15, 2019.
Cambridge City Council - November 5, 2018
The Committee appeared before the Cambridge City Council on Monday, November 5, 2018 to request that funds in the Community Benefits Stabilization Fund be made available to be used for grant agreements with nonprofit organizations to address the city's most pressing needs, and to contract with a Project Evaluator to work with grantees and the Committee. Please visit the City Council's Open Meeting Portal for the agenda and supporting documents.
COVID-19 Emergency Grants
Winter/Spring 2021
Given the continuing impacts of the Covid pandemic, the Community Benefits Advisory Committee announced an additional round of emergency funding that included $10,000 grants for up to 100 eligible 501c3 nonprofit organizations.
Summer 2020
The Community Benefits Advisory Committee announced applications for $10,000 grants for up to 100 eligible 501c3 nonprofit organizations. Given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee intended the process to be as expedient and simple as possible.
The Cambridge Community Needs Assessment and its findings are essential to the work of the Community Benefits Advisory Committee. The report is provided below.
For more information on the process, please visit the Cambridge Needs Assessment webpage.
Tiered Needs
As part of the Community Needs Assessment, a framework was developed and refined to prioritize needs and inform future funding. This approach does not suggest that certain needs are more important than others, but recognizes that needs may vary based on breadth (the amount of individuals/neighborhoods affected), impact (the degree of challenges imposed on individuals/neighborhoods), and urgency (the combination of severity and time). This analysis resulted in the following:
Top Tier Needs
- Affordable Housing and Homelessness
- Financial Security
- Mental Health: Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse
Middle Tier Needs
- Food
- Civic Engagement and Social Capital
- Education
- Employment
Lower Tier Needs
- Safety
- Transportation
- Arts, Culture, and Recreation
- Health
- Built and Natural Environment
Additionally, according to the Community Needs Assessment, knowledge about the service context in the City can inform thinking about feasibility (the extent to which Cambridge nonprofits have the capacity to address the relevant needs with additional resources), and synergy (the extent to which directing resources to these needs has the potential to address other needs as well).
In April 2024, the Committee finished the fourth and final round of implementation grant awards to four groups of nonprofits that serve Cambridge residents.
- The Committee drafted an Executive Summary to document the process, learnings, and recommendations from the Implementation Grants.
- The Committee presented the Executive Summary to City Council at the City Council meeting on Monday, May 19, 2025.
Throughout the implementation grant process, the evaluator collected data on the key aspects of the process: and reported on family level and partnership level data. Here are the findings for each area:
Implementation Grants Funding Framework
August 2018
CNC/CCF Networking Event
On August 1, 2028, the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition and the Cambridge Community Foundation hosted a joint network event for nonprofit organizations interested in applying for Community Benefits Funds. This informal gathering was an opportunity to get an update on the City's process to release the Request for Proposals, and for nonprofit leaders to engage with their peers and build on existing partnerships or form new partnerships.
June 2018
The Committee has developed a framework for distributing Community Benefits Funds to address the unmet needs of Cambridge residents, and welcomes feedback from service providers and the nonprofit community on this approach:
May 2018
The Committee hosted listening sessions to solicit feedback on its Framework for Community Benefits Funding on May 15, 2018 and May 16 - 10am-12pm.
The following resources have helped frame the Committee's thinking and approach on how to best address the needs of Cambridge residents:
Research Papers
The Community Benefits Advisory Committee consists of the following members:
City Staff Appointed by the City Manager
- Sandra Clarke, Deputy Director/Chief of Administration, Community Development Department (Committee Chair)
- Taha Jennings, Budget Director, Finance Department
- Sue Walsh, Assistant Director of Adult & Family Service, Department Human Services Programs
Representatives of the Local Nonprofit Community
- Elizabeth Aguilo, Executive Director, Paine Senior Services
- Erin Muirhead McCarty, Executive Director, Community Art Center
- Elena Sokolow-Kaufman, Executive Director, Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition
Cambridge Community Foundation Representative
- Christina Turner, Vice president, Programs and Grantmaking, Cambridge Community Foundation
Business/Property Development Representative
- Michelle Lower, Vice President, Real Estate Development & Community Relations, Alexandria Real Estate
University Representative
- Anya Alexandra Bear, Community Engagement Administrator, MIT
Residents
- Sephany Alexis
- Sally Benbasset
- Rowan Murphy
- Anna Spier