The Tufts Community Grants program is currently fundraising for its 2026 grants. The fundraising effort, which ends on Feb. 28, is raising money to award grants to nonprofits in Medford and Somerville that are partnered with Tufts volunteers.
Grants are awarded to support a variety of projects and needs throughout Tufts’ host communities. The TCG board, which looks over the grant applications and makes the final decisions, seeks to support a diverse range of projects. Last year, grants were awarded to a range of organizations that included schools and educational programs, public gardens, accessibility initiatives and other community-facing proposals.
“The program is one of the most direct ways that Tufts demonstrates its commitment to being an engaged and responsible neighbor,” Leah Boudreau, the community programs specialist in the Government and Community Relations office at Tufts, wrote in a statement to the Daily. “It supports community-led work, complements volunteer and partnership efforts, and reflects the university’s broader goals around civic engagement and local impact.”
The 2026 submission period will be open for a month in the early spring of this year. The board typically receives around 100 applications. The board will meet to discuss the applications, and the final decisions will be made in April, while the grants will be dispensed in May.
The TCG was founded in 1995 as part of Tufts’ efforts to give back to its host communities and has supported over 150 different organizations in the years since. The program has largely been funded by donations gathered from faculty, staff and community members during the annual Tufts Community Appeal fundraising campaign. Historically, this has resulted in about 35 $3,000 grants per year for organizations in Boston, Medford, Somerville and Grafton.
“Sometimes grants fill immediate needs such as making a vital repair or upgrading aging equipment. Often grants provide funding to pilot new programs or services, paving the way for more sustained offerings,” Boudreau added.
“These are small nonprofits that often can really make a big difference with a small grant, and they’re doing great work in the community. I think it just fosters a lot of good community spirit between Tufts and the host communities,” Amy Goldstein, director of the Tufts Experimental College and TCG board member, said.
Besides community donations, the largest benefactor of the TCG program is the Cummings Foundation, a philanthropic group with a long-standing relationship with Tufts. The foundation contributed a one-to-one funding match of the amount fundraised for the TCG in 2021. The following year they increased their contribution to a two-to-one match, which they have maintained for the last four years.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the program’s founding, the Cummings Foundation has committed to a three-to-one match if the Tufts Community Appeal raises at least $50,000. If that goal is not reached, they will maintain the current two-to-one match.
Joyce Vyriotes, trustee and executive director of the Cummings Foundation, wrote in a statement to the Daily that “the goal of this new level of funding is to attract new donors and encourage previous donors to give a bit more to help unlock substantially more money for local nonprofits.”
According to Vyriotes, the Cummings Foundation appreciates that the TCG gets more people involved in philanthropy and hopes that their conditional commitment will encourage more donations.
“Cummings Foundation aims to help improve the lives of individuals and families in greater Boston and help ensure that no one is left behind. TCG helps facilitate that goal by introducing more people to philanthropy and to the needs right in their backyard,” Vyriotes wrote.
The potential $150,000 donation from the Cummings Foundation in the three-to-one funding commitment would create a total of $200,000, the largest funding pool in the TCG’s history.
“The resulting $200K would allow the program to increase the total pool of funding available, which can support either a greater number of grants or expanded grantmaking capacity, depending on overall fundraising results,” Boudreau wrote.
As the fundraising deadline approaches, the program’s organizers continue to encourage community members to donate in support of the TCG.
“Tufts Community Grants exists because of collective generosity and care from donors, volunteer reviewers, and community partners,” Boudreau wrote. “Even small contributions help make meaningful, local impact possible in the communities Tufts calls home.”
