History of the Community Foundation

The seeds for the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts were planted in 1991 by a group of concerned citizens who formed a steering committee to discuss the need for a public community foundation. Over the next four years, a feasibility study funded by the Island and the Polaroid foundations was conducted, the first Corporators meeting was held, and a board of directors was appointed in 1994.

The Foundation was officially launched in 1995 when CFSEMA incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, obtained nonprofit tax-exempt status from the IRS, and hired Anne M. Beaulieu as its first president. The Foundation’s first $100,000 gift was received that year, and in 1997 CFSEMA received a gift of one million dollars to establish the drug abuse prevention and education effort known as Youth Entitled to Success (Project YES).

Since then, area residents have been turning to the Community Foundation to make their philanthropic giving as effective as possible. CFSEMA is a public charity serving thousands of people who share a common concern – improving the quality of life in Southeastern Massachusetts .

Individuals, families, businesses and organizations create permanent charitable funds that help our region meet the challenges of changing times. The Foundation invests and administers their funds (there are currently 66), and uses the distributions to award grants each year to many of the humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in the region. The Community Foundation also administers nine scholarship funds.

To date, the Community Foundation has more than $15 million in assets and has distributed over $4.4 million in funding to improve the quality of life for residents of Southeastern Massachusetts.