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​About SomervilleCAN 
Mission & History
Staff & Advisory Committee 

SomervilleCAN

Our mission is to strengthen the collective impact of the Somerville nonprofit community by leveraging relationships, resources, and planning. 

​OUR MISSION

Somerville Community Agencies Network (SomervilleCAN) is a collective of nonprofit organizations located in and/or serving people in Somerville, MA.

MISSION 
Our mission is to strengthen the collective impact of the Somerville nonprofit community by leveraging relationships, resources, and planning.

PURPOSE 
Our purpose is to empower Somerville nonprofits to thrive and lead lasting change in our community.

VISION
Our vision is to empower Somerville nonprofits by becoming a trusted space for current and future leaders to come together, share resources, support each other, and amplify impact in creating a stronger, more vibrant community. 

VALUES
Collaboration, Commitment, Open-Mindedness, Innovation, Integrity, Impact

​With 38+ nonprofit organizations serving Somerville, the SomervilleCAN membership serves or supports thousands of Somerville residents ranging from children to seniors, affordable housing to homelessness, legal services to the arts, and free clothing to early education. The breadth of people supported by SomervilleCAN organizations engages every corner of the city’s diverse population. 
 
SomervilleCAN members collaborate to increase awareness of our community impact and of our member nonprofit organizations. Collaborative projects have included: raising funds, providing educational opportunities for members, advocacy, and sharing of resources.
 

​HISTORY

Building on variations stretching back to at least the 1990s, the group SomervilleCAN formally formed in 2015 to bring together members of the Somerville nonprofit sector. The group has been collaborating to increase awareness of nonprofit community impact and member organizations, provide educational opportunities for members, share resources, and do some joint fundraising events. 
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Some successes include raising more than $20,000 from two events (Taste of Somerville and two Giving Tuesday events that were both in-person and televised), building collaborations that resulted in several space-sharing situations, building greater connectedness and increasing nonprofit interaction with the city.

TAMMY HOPKINS

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​In January 2024,
SomervilleCAN announced the hiring of Tammy Hopkins as its ARPA-funded Consultant charged with launching the inaugural role of an Executive Director for SomervilleCAN through a pilot formalized nonprofit network.

​ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The 2025 SomervilleCAN Advisory Committee consist of local nonprofit leaders working in Somerville, MA.
Photo L to R: Tammy Hopkins, Colleen Morrissey, Andrea Shapiro, Jessica Eshleman, John Keegan, Stephanie Scherpf, Doug Kress, and Jessica Cantin.
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• Colleen Morrissey, Director of Operations & Community Support

            Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services 

• ​Andrea Shapiro, Founder & CEO Second Chances

• Jessica Eshleman, Executive Director Union Square Main Streets

• John Keegan, Executive Director SCM Community Transport, Inc.
• Stephanie Scherpf, Co-Director / CEO The Center for Arts at the Armory  
• ​Jessica Cantin, CEO of Food For Free​ 

Thank you to Doug Kress, Chief Community Officer at Cambridge Health Alliance for all of his support of the SomervilleCAN Advisory Committee. 

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