Cambridge Community Foundation

Could social housing be a promising solution to the state's affordable housing crisis? And how could redevelopment authorities play a role?

A new research paper co-funded by CCF, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority, and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston explores these urgent questions at a time when complex housing challenges in cities like Cambridge require seeking creative solutions.

The paper, discussed in an April 14 public panel and issued by Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, defines social housing as “homes serving a broad range of household incomes in which the public sector has an active role in planning, financing, and ownership, and which are managed to ensure long term affordability.”

“How do you bring in new housing in a way that supports residents who have been there for a while and residents who are new to the area—and helps them create a web of connections that strengthens the community as a whole?” said Emily Keys Innes, an urban planner and president of Innes Land Strategies Group. “Redevelopment authorities can have that higher view of how to connect disparate pieces into the greater whole.”

CCF President Geeta Pradhan said over time Cambridge has lost much of its middle—with the housing market increasingly accessible to the wealthier, and the City’s commitment to affordable housing serving as an important source of stability for lower-income populations.

“But we also need housing for those who live and work in our communities—for municipal employees, nonprofit workers, teachers, and those who support our local economy and work in our labs and local industries," Geeta said. "Social housing holds that promise and the opportunity for greater social cohesion. We look forward to working with our partners to make it happen.”

Learn more or read the full paper:

Social housing and the middle-income squeeze in Cambridge - Cambridge Community Foundation CCF President Geeta Pradhan speaks at an April 14 event, "Beyond Urban Renewal" at Harvard Kennedy School. High-cost cities like Cambridge are losing middle-income families due to the lack of housing affordable to them. This pressing challenge is the subject of a new paper exploring how redevelopmen...

CCF's annual Community Fund is our broadest investment in Cambridge nonprofits, and our widest lens on the city. This spring, 157 organizations received a total of $1.37 million across child and youth development, arts and culture, education, housing, food security, health and wellbeing, economic security, community building, and the environment. That breadth is how we track what's changing in Cambridge and where the need is growing.

It's also a shared investment. Donor-advised fund holders and other local funders expanded what was possible this year by co-investing alongside CCF and contributing 46 percent of this year’s funding pool, allowing us to reach organizations we otherwise couldn't. We're grateful for every person who chose to be part of that.

We built renewal grants and consolidated the Community Fund into one cycle because we wanted the process to embody the values we hold around trust-based philanthropy. Trust runs through every part of this program. Reviewers give their time and knowledge. Nonprofits open their work to outside assessment. Donors invest without directing the outcome. We try to honor all of it—in how we design the application to minimize administrative burden, how we give feedback to applicants, and how we stay present as partners throughout the year.

Congratulations to this year's grantees and thank you to everyone who made this cycle possible. Learn more about our FY26 Community Fund partners in our press release: https://cambridgecf.org/community-fund-2026

LINES AROUND THE BLOCK are just one challenge in keeping all Cantabrigians fed. Another is that not everyone can get to the pantries.

Every Thursday afternoon, Paul Seabury, senior logistics manager at Food For Free, loads a truck with boxes of groceries at the organization’s warehouse in Somerville as part of the Just Eats program funded by CCF. When he pulls into the parking lot of Walden Square Apartments, an affordable housing development near Danehy Park, residents are already waiting. Boxes are opened on the spot. Neighbors trade vegetables, compare what they received that week, and swap dinner ideas. “It’s like a different kind of farm to table,” Paul says.

Through conversations with our Food Access and Security Initiative partners, we learned just how much strain the increased needs in the community were putting on food-delivery programs. In addition to funding Just Eats, we awarded an additional $50,000 to Food For Free in October 2025 to help stabilize the emergency food transportation pipeline and keep food moving to those who needed it most at a time of unprecedented demand.

📸 Maria Pierre at a Food For Free delivery to Walden Square Apartments. Photo by Mark Ostow.

Read more of the story at https://cambridgecf.org/2025-annual-report/

Our 2025 annual report, Good in the Making, focuses on the people who are stepping up to make good happen in Cambridge and our role in moving that optimism, creativity, and possibility forward for our city's well-being. The report brings this civic leadership to life through stories and stunning photography by Cambridge photographer Mark Ostow.

You’ll read about how we champion innovative thinkers and lead research to educate and advance solutions across the city, and learn about the little-known ways we bolster the nonprofit sector beyond grantmaking. The stories show our footprint in the community, the ripple effect thoughtful partnerships can have, and the magic that happens when Cambridge residents—from donors and community reviewers to neighbors who consistently turn up to help others—show their care for one another.

There has never been a more important moment for CCF to step up its efforts and do what community foundations are built to do. We’re incredibly grateful for the people whose generosity and commitment make it possible for us to be a resource the community can always call upon, a partner in developing new and innovative solutions, and an investor in positive change, today and for generations to come.

This story is all of ours. Explore our first-ever, interactive online annual report at https://cambridgecf.org/2025-annual-report

A special thanks to photographer Mark Ostow, and his studio manager Lily Feinberg-Eddy, for capturing the spirit of a city making good together.