Haverhill, MA (June 16, 2026) — Northern Essex Community College Foundation, Inc. is one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program, which awarded $35 million this year. Northern Essex will receive $195,000 over the next three years to support the creation of the Family Learning Collaborative (FLC).
Northern Essex is partnering with Notre Dame Education Center, the Paul Nettle School, Methuen Adult Learning Center and Parenting Journey to launch FLC centers in Lawrence and Haverhill. The FLC will offer local parents a comprehensive, two-generation learning experience designed to strengthen both adult English language skills and children’s literacy development. Parents will attend English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes two evenings per week – six hours per week for 15 weeks. On a third evening each week, parents will join their children in a Family Literacy class, where they will explore engaging reading materials, learn how to select age-appropriate books, and practice strategies for supporting language and literacy development at home.
“The Family Learning Collaborative will fill a vital need for boosting child literacy rates in the Merrimack Valley,” says NECC Foundation, Inc. Executive Director and NECC Vice President of Institutional Advancement & Workforce and Academic Innovation Allison Dolan-Wilson. “In Lawrence, for example, approximately 25,000 residents are classified as Limited English Speakers, which can impact a parent’s ability to support their children’s learning. The FLC will create opportunities for parents to improve their literacy skills alongside their children. When families share strong literacy and language skills, children are more likely to succeed in school, graduate and thrive as adults.”
The grant funding from the Cummings Foundation will pay for child literacy and adult ESOL instruction, classroom materials, case managers, and incentives for participation. Management, coordination, administrative roles, classroom space, and equipment will be provided by existing resources from each of the partners.
More details about the FLC, including a target launch date, will be announced soon.
About Cummings Foundation
This year, the Woburn-based Cummings Foundation increased its annual grant program from $30 million to $35 million and shifted to fully unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to direct grant dollars where they are needed most. The 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. Since its founding, Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $650 million to Greater Boston nonprofits. A complete list of this year’s grant recipients, along with additional information about the Foundation and its grant programs, is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
About the NECC Foundation
The Northern Essex Community College Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in 1972. Its mission is to obtain resources to support the College, thereby enabling students with diverse educational, ethnic, economic, and cultural backgrounds to benefit from a high-quality, affordable, post-secondary education.
The Foundation has recently supported the creation of the Internship Stipend Program, provided numerous student scholarships and aided in the purchase of materials and resources for classrooms. Learn more on the webpage.
