The Cape Cod Foundation Launches $3.5 Million Community Challenge to Build Additional Resources to Support Cape Cod

SOUTH YARMOUTH—As part of its 35th Anniversary Celebration, The Cape Cod Foundation has launched a $3.5 Million Community Challenge to raise additional flexible funds to support Cape Cod.

“Last year, the Foundation deployed approximately $5 million in funding to support nonprofit organizations doing critical work across the region,” said Foundation President and CEO Kristin O’Malley. “This fundraising campaign, our biggest ever, uses a collective giving model to enhance existing resources, enabling us to expand community impact through additional broadscale grantmaking investments every year.”

O’Malley said the fundraising initiative is off to a strong start. During the quiet phase of the challenge, the Foundation raised nearly $1 million from individual donors, private foundations, and corporate partners.

“The need in our community was great before the pandemic; it’s grown exponentially since then—especially since many sources of relief funding are no longer available,” O’Malley said. “We need to work together, pool our resources. The Foundation team is deeply invested in the community and experienced in identifying and supporting cross-sector solutions to our region’s greatest challenges.”

O’Malley said that an unrestricted gift to the Foundation has the greatest impact.

“It gives the Foundation flexibility to direct resources to the most pressing community needs as they change over time,” she said. “However, those who are passionate about a specific area can also direct their gifts to one of our existing field-of-interest funds which support all aspects of life on Cape Cod.”

Throughout the year, the Foundation will highlight six areas of community life where the need is great, but the resources are not: educational scholarships; environmental conservation and preservation; housing; health and human services; workforce and career development; and youth development.

“We have already allocated a total of $175,000 in Anniversary Grants to nonprofit organizations working in each of these areas to give them multi-year operational support and ultimately increase their impact throughout the community,” O’Malley said. “We will announce the recipients throughout the year beginning in May.”

For more information or to make a one-time or recurring donation or a multi-year promise to the Community Challenge, visit capecodchallenge.org or contact Kristin O’Malley at 508.790.3040.