Frances L. & Edwin L. Cummings Memorial Fund Grant

The Frances L. & Edwin L. Cummings Memorial Fund Grant supports organizations in New York City and Northeastern New Jersey focusing on social welfare, education, and health. The Fund prioritizes innovative youth programs and provides funding for new program development, staffing, and capacity building. However, it does not support cultural arts initiatives or programs outside the specified geographic area. Organizations must have 501(c)(3) status and typically only receive one-year grants.

The primary interest of the Frances L. & Edwin L. Cummings Memorial Fund is to support organizations operating in New York City and Northeastern New Jersey [view map] that provide programs and services in the areas of social welfare, education and health. The Fund has a special interest in youth programs located in these regions.
We are, however, unable to provide funding for programs within the cultural arts category.
We invite you to browse our site to determine if the work of your organization falls within our areas of interest, and, if so, to learn more about how to apply for a grant.
Areas of Interest
The Cummings Fund’s main interest is in the piloting or expansion of new, innovative programs of organizations primarily based in New York City and its more urbanized surrounding areas in Northeastern New Jersey (i.e., Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union Counties) [view map]. Exceptions to the geographic restriction are granted only when a Co-Trustee or Advisory Board Member has personal knowledge of an organization outside of this region.
The Co-Trustees generally endeavor to creatively fill existing community needs in areas particularly under-funded at present. The Cummings Fund has a particular interest in programs serving young people.
The Fund provides support for:

• New program development
• Staffing for new programs and program expansion
• Capacity building (technical/management assistance)
• Consulting services (e.g., to assist the Board’s development of a strategic plan)
• The major fields of interest are:

Social Welfare, especially programs addressing issues including child welfare, youth development, juvenile delinquency, housing/homelessness, and employment/job training.
Education, especially efforts to reform the public education system or programs that serve public school children from disadvantaged backgrounds including but not limited to in-school and afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and literacy initiatives, staff/teacher training and development, college guidance and success, and counseling services.
Health Care, especially institutions and programs that connect economically and socially disadvantaged populations to health care and mental health services.
On a less frequent basis, the Fund also provides funding for:

• Medical Research, which has been pre-screened, ranked and given high priority by an objective, national scientific advisory committee.

Eligibility

Organizations with tax exempt status under I.R.C. Section 501(c)(3).Except in unusual circumstances, The Cummings Fund approves grants for only one year at a time and will generally not consider more than two consecutive grants towards the same project. Additionally, organizations which have received a grant must typically wait until the completion of the term of that grant before submitting any other funding requests to the Fund. For example, charities which received grants stemming from their Fall of 2024 submissions are not generally eligible to request additional funding until the Spring of 2026’s submission period.The Cummings Fund only supports organizations operating in New York City and 5 counties in Northeastern New Jersey:The BronxBrooklynManhattanQueensStaten IslandBergen CountyEssex CountyHudson CountyPassaic CountyUnion County

Ineligibility

The Cummings Fund is legally restricted from contributing, in any manner, to the cultural arts. Further, as a matter of general practice, The Cummings Fund does NOT normally approve grant requests falling into the following categories:

Programs located outside of New York City and outside of the following Northeastern New Jersey Counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union [view map]Advocacy, Public PolicyAlcoholism and Drug Addiction Treatment Programs
Capital Campaigns
Capital Expenses including building, equipment and moving expensesCommunity Organizing Initiatives
Publications and Media Projects
Public Opinion Polls, Surveys, and Research StudiesScholarship Programs
Organizations without Audited Financial Statements
Organizations lacking tax exempt status under I.R.C. Section 501(c)(3)