Over $1,000,000 Granted!

The Metrowest Women's Fund (MWF) is proud to announce over $1,000,000 granted to local nonprofits in just seven years, making a difference in the lives of Metrowest women and girls.

We continue to expand MWF’s grant making and invest in programs that support women and girls from low-incomes throughout Metrowest.

• Educational Opportunity: Provide single mother students with emergency grants that enable them to continue their education, pursue job training, and build long-term family stability.

• Safety from Violence: Deliver crisis response, safety planning, and stabilization services for survivors of domestic violence.

• Girls: Our Next Generation: Offer STEM education and healthy-living initiatives for middle-school girls that strengthen self-esteem, confidence, and overall well-being.

  
  

  

  

Metrowest Women’s Fund Releases Needs Assessment on Supporting Single Mother Students in Metrowest

The Metrowest Women’s Fund (MWF) has released a new needs assessment (report) examining the barriers facing single mother students pursuing higher education in Metrowest and identifying ways the community can better support their success. The report finds that single mother students in Metrowest face urgent financial, academic and structural barriers to completing higher education.  These findings point to a clear opportunity: targeted, flexible support can help women stay enrolled, finish school and create lasting benefits for their families. The assessment reinforces MWF’s long-standing commitment to investing in women and girls and supporting educational opportunity.

The report focuses on the challenges facing single mothers who are balancing college with caregiving responsibilities, often while managing economic insecurity and limited access to coordinated support. It found that single mother students are especially vulnerable to unexpected expenses, rigid school policies and barriers to planning for education and career advancement.

“Single mother students are determined to build better futures for themselves and their children, but too often they are asked to do that without enough support,” said Rebecca Parkhill, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Metrowest Women’s Fund. “This needs assessment makes clear that timely, flexible and accessible resources in an emergency can make the difference between staying in school or having to leave." MWF created the Single Mother Student Emergency Fund in 2021 to help students meet non-tuition emergency costs that could otherwise force them out of school. The fund supports needs such as childcare, housing and other basic expenses when unexpected hardship threatens their educational progress.

According to the assessment, single mother students face three major challenges: basic-needs insecurity that can delay graduation or lead to unenrollment, limited guidance as first-generation college students and difficulty navigating traditional education environments with rigid administrative systems. The report also notes that only 8% of single mothers in the United States earn an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years of enrolling, compared with 49% of women in college who are not mothers. 

"MWF’s work through the Single Mother Student Emergency Fund reflects its broader mission to identify and address the needs of women and girls in Metrowest," said Rachel Sagan, Co-Founder and Co-Director. "The new assessment provides a roadmap for community members, donors and partners who want to help more single mother students succeed and complete their education."

Read the Executive Summary MWF Needs Assessment of Educational Opportunities for Single Mother Students

View the MWF Needs Assessment of Educational Opportunities for Single Mother Students

Learn more about the MWF Single Mother Student Emergency Fund initiative

The Metrowest Women's Fund Thanks the Cummings Foundation for Grant Award

The Metrowest Women’s Fund is deeply grateful to the Cummings Foundation for its generous $25,000 Cummings grant, subject to annual renewal up to a maximum of $75,000 over three years. This transformational investment will help remove barriers to education for women and girls from low incomes, amplify the critical and unique needs of girls including their mental health, and promote safety from violence.

“We are honored to receive this meaningful support from the Cummings Foundation,” said Rachel Sagan, Co-Founder and Co-Director. “This grant will strengthen our ability to identify and meet the challenges faced by women and girls in our community.”  “We are especially thankful for the confidence the Cummings Foundation has placed in our mission,” added Sagan. “Their support allows us to plan with stability and focus on delivering results.”

The Metrowest Women’s Fund invests in women and girls through community building, education, and grant making. Since its inception in 2019, the MWF has awarded $794,000 in grants to nonprofits providing critical services for women and girls in Metrowest Massachusetts.

The Cummings Foundation annual grant program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties, as well as Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Quincy, and Wellesley. 

Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation reinvests in the areas where it owns commercial real estate. Its buildings are all managed at no cost to the Foundation by its affiliate, Cummings Properties, a Woburn-based commercial developer that leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space. All rental profits support the Foundation.

Since its founding, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $650 million to Greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s grant recipients, along with additional information about the Foundation and its grant programs, is available at CummingsFoundation.org.