Responsive Grantmaking
One of the lessons we learn early in life is: expect the unexpected. Life happens. Be prepared. The COVID pandemic certainly underscored the point for community foundations across the country. In 2020, we established The Cape Cod Foundation Strategic Emergency Response Fund with discretionary funding and began building and deploying resources to help the nonprofit sector meet immediate, critical needs and support rebuilding efforts.
Since then, we have responded to many other unexpected situations with discretionary resources, bolstered by gifts from community partners, private foundations, and individual donors who have entrusted us to identify needs and make responsive grants that will have the greatest impact in the community.
“To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.”
— Oscar Wilde
“Better to have, and not need, than to need and not have.”
—Franz Kafka
Community Support Grants:
Nearly $1 Million Awarded: January-June 2026
From January-June 2026, we awarded nearly $1 million in Community Support Grants to nonprofits navigating increased community needs.
These grants are designed to get immediate funding to those who need it the most. Families on the Cape are feeling the effects of the high cost of housing, recent Medicaid cuts, and increases in fuel prices. Food Insecurity is on the rise. Approximately 34%-40% of households on the Cape experience food insecurity. Since the pandemic, need has risen 53%. Nearly one in three children face hunger, and 47% of those in need do
not qualify for federal assistance, often relying on local pantries. We distributed $500,000 from this $1 million round of funding to 22 organizations strengthening the food safety net. Most grants will support infrastructure: the purchase of refrigerators, freezers, generators, and other equipment to help organizations build capacity to serve.
While we identified food insecurity and infrastructure as the key need, we also made grants that supported immigration, childcare affordability, and emergency/other needs.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
FOOD SECURITY/ INFRASTRUCTURE: $517,141
AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod
For epoxy flooring for kitchen
Brazilian Resource Center – Health Ministry Inc.
For costs involved in acquiring a van for delivery
Canaan Seventh Day Adventist Church
For a freezer, shelving, and pantry equipment
Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center
For refrigeration and freezer units
Cape Abilities
For replacement of a refrigeration and misting unit
Cape Cod Council of Churches, Inc.
For new freezer installation costs and an automatic generator
Cape Kid Meals
For equipment and upgrades that improve program delivery capacity and safety enhancement
Cape Wellness Collaborative
For a generator for the Wellness Eats Program
Christ The King Food Pantry
For food pantry renovation
Falmouth Service Center
For generator repair and/or upgrades
Farming Falmouth
For equipment to maintain the Farm, such as trailers, mowers, siding, etc.
Latinx in Action, Inc.
For upgrades to refrigeration and shelving
Lower Cape Outreach Council, Inc.
For a grocery-style produce table, commercial equipment for the pantry, and other improvements
Saint David’s Episcopal Church
For a freezer for the St. David’s Takeaway Meal Program
Sandwich Food Pantry
For a freezer, shelving, and laptop for the Pantry
St. Barnabas’s Memorial Episcopal Church
For new food-service counters
Sustainable CAPE
For upgrades to refrigeration and new storage and shelving units and a laptop
The Family Table Collaborative
For a mobile refrigeration unit and new Rational Oven
Truro Community Kitchen
For a generator, kitchen carts, and food scales
Wellfleet Food Pantry, Inc.
For a commercial freezer
SUPPORT FOR IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS: $75,000
Amplify POC
For emergency, wraparound support for immigrant families, language accessible programming, and a Youth Innovation Lab
B Free Wellness
For immigrant support groups and other culturally relevant programming to support immigrant families
Health Imperatives
For additional staff time to respond to emergency phone calls and direct financial support for clients experiencing immigration-related challenges
CHILD CARE: $80,000
Cape Cod Children’s Place
To offset summer tuition costs and other services for families with young children
Cape Cod Times Neighbor’s Fund
For short-term childcare stabilization for Barnstable County working families
Shannon Hubbard Fund – All Moms are Heroes
To offset direct childcare costs for eligible families
YMCA Cape Cod
To support classroom upgrades required for quality
OTHER 2026 GRANTS: $64,000
Cape and Islands United Way
For car seats
Cape Cod and Islands Transgender Resource Fund
For the transgender community – food, fuel, housing, etc.
Cape Cod Healthchare Foundation
Breast Cancer Reconstructive Surgery Fund
Food 4 Kids
For rental equipment to facilitate delivery of meals for children during summer 2026
Blizzard Grants:
$220,000 Awarded: February 2026
During February’s epic blizzard, nonprofit leaders, staff, and volunteers across the Cape and beyond rallied to deliver critical services and assistance to those in need. At the same time, we mobilized The Cape Cod Foundation team to learn what the needs were and rapidly deploy $220,000 in funding to 40 organizations (listed below) through our first-ever Blizzard Grants. Funding supported:
Food. The demand on food pantries and meal delivery services increased dramatically. Some had to discard food due to freezer failure; others had increased transportation costs to get provisions throughout the community.
Increased Staff Costs.
Some organizations extended their hours or stayed open overnight to continue services, incurring additional payroll, supply, and food costs for workers.
Generator Costs. Funding for fuel, maintenance, and repair costs was among the most cited needs.
Snow Removal. Many organizations exceeded their entire snow removal budget with this single storm, tapping into resources needed to provide direct services.
Tree Damage. Organizations needed to remove fallen trees to gain/increase access to properties and/or clear parking lots and common areas. Tree work estimates ranged from $10,000 to over $80,000 for wildlife trails and other public areas.
Lost Revenue. Organizations that receive funding for state services could not bill for 3-5 days. To meet payroll, they requested respite dollars. Other organizations, such as those in the arts, lost revenue due to cancelled performances.
The Snowball Effect. Many employees lost work during the blizzard and needed emergency assistance to pay their rent, utilities, or grocery bills.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Barnstable Land Trust
Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center
Cape Abilities
Cape Cod Council of Churches
Cape Cod Jr. Theater / Cape Cod Theater
Cape Cod Maritime Museum
Cape Cod Times Neighbors Fund, Inc.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of
Fall River
Champ Homes
Chatham Conservation Trust
Community Development Partnership
Community Health Center
Cultural Center of Cape Cod
Elder Services of Cape Cod & the
Islands, Inc.
Eventide Arts, Inc.
Falmouth Chamber Players
Falmouth Historical Society
Falmouth Service Center
Family Table Collaborative
Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod
Harbor Health Services, Inc.
Harwich Conservation Trust
Heritage Museums and Gardens
Homeless Prevention Council, Inc.
In the Herd
Independence House, Inc.
Kennedy-Donovan Center
LatinX in Action
Lower Cape Communications
Lower Cape Outreach Council
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
MSPCA
Monomoy Community Services
Orenda Wildlife Land Trust Inc.
Orleans Conservation Trust
South Dennis Free Public Library
The Lily House
Truro Community Kitchen
West Falmouth Library
YMCA Cape Cod
Flexible Funding Grants
$900,000 Awarded in 2025
In 2025, The Cape Cod Foundation distributed $973,000 in grants to 53 local organizations responding to policy changes, funding uncertainty, and increased demand through our newly created Flexible Funding Grant Program.
These grants were designed to get funding to organizations as quickly as possible in a year of rapid change. Although some organizations needed emergency or gap funding, we focused on funding capacity building initiatives that would strengthen the organization so that they would be in a better place in the future. Funding supported a variety of initiatives: from direct service to infrastructure and organizational resilience.
Many organizations were experiencing increased demand for services, while also dealing with their own budget cuts. For example, the SNAP crisis caused already-stretched organizations to scramble to respond. But, looking at the year as a whole, we also saw increased needs in housing, immigration services, health care, elder services, childcare, and even animal services, as clients experiencing economic hardship struggled to keep up with costs.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Alzheimer’s Family Support Center
Arts Foundation of Cape Cod
Barnstable Land Trust
Behavioral Health Innovators, Inc.
Belonging to Each Other, Inc.
Beyond the Bounds
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod
& the Islands, Inc.
Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center
Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod, Inc.
Brazilian Presbyterian Church
Brazilian Wellness Resource-Health
Ministry Inc.
Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center
Cape Cod Children’s Place, Inc.
Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s
Alliance
Cape Cod Community College
Educational Foundation, Inc.
Cape Cod Council of Churches
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension
Cape Cod Museum of Art
Care for Cape Cod and the Islands
Cape Cod Times Neighbor’s Fund
CHAMP Homes, Inc.
Chatham Conservation Foundation
Community Development Partnership
Community Health Center
Duffy Health Center
Falmouth Housing Trust
Falmouth Service Center
Family Pantry of Cape Cod
Farming Falmouth
Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown
Food 4 Kids
Friends of Bourne Council on Aging
Health Imperatives
Homeless Prevention Council, Inc.
Housing Assistance Corporation
Kennedy-Donovan Center
Lower Cape Outreach Council, Inc.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Education
Department
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals
Payomet Performing Arts Center
Sharing Kindness, Inc.
Soup Kitchen in Provincetown, Inc.
Sustainable CAPE
The Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich
Junior Theatre
The Cordial Eye
The Family Table Collaborative
The Sampson Fund for Veterinary
Care, Inc.
Truro Community Kitchen
Twenty Summers
Wellstrong, Inc.
Woods Hole Film Festival, Inc.
YMCA Cape Cod
Food Security Grants
$100,000 in Additional Funds Awarded in 2025
During the federal government shutdown in 2025, mounting pressure on local food systems in Barnstable County threatened to impact food security across Cape Cod. In response, The Cape Cod directed over $100,000 in additional funds to bolster regional efforts to ensure food remains accessible to those most affected.
With potential disruptions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, local food providers were experiencing a surge in need among residents already struggling to afford basic groceries. Although we anticipated a partial response at the government level, we wanted to bring attention to the current and ongoing need.
Food security is not a new issue, but the SNAP program pause in 2025 drew increased attention and much needed support. We
had already distributed over $160,000 in discretionary and donor-advised funding to food-related programs throughout the year.
While many Cape Cod individuals rely on SNAP benefits, Cape Cod food pantry clients are
often not eligible for SNAP. They may be experiencing challenges due to the high cost of
living on Cape Cod and/or other economic conditions or hardships. Local food banks, pantries,
and meal sites are seeing dramatic spikes in demand, both from existing families and new enrollments. Seniors, homebound adults, children, and families are among the hardest hit, and smaller food pantries, which may not have resources to purchase and store food at increased levels, are also being significantly impacted.
Together, we have invested more than $113 million in grants and scholarships in the Cape Cod Community. For good.
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Cape Cod Foundation
508.790.3040
261 Whites Path, Unit 2
South Yarmouth, MA 02664
info@capecodfoundation.org
