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The Roxbury-based firm’s donation will be used to create an endowed scholarship to help students from Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan who study construction management, HVAC, practical electricity or a related program area at BFIT.

John B. Cruz III presents attorney Denzil McKenzie with a commemorative plaque honoring his firm, McKenzie and Associates, as the oldest African American-owned law firm in Boston. His firm has represented clients including the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. McKenzie founded the firm in 1984, focusing on business litigation; finance, bankruptcy and creditors rights; corporate counseling and transactions; estate planning and probate; real estate and development; zoning and licensing; and faith-based organizations and nonprofits.

The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT) created the Walter Williams Endowed Scholarship Fund. The endowed scholarship fund is a result of a generous gift from Cruz Companies and will financially support students from Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan who pursue a course of study in construction management, HVAC&R, practical electricity, or a related program area at BFIT.

Most Massachusetts building trade union members are White, and most minority-owned contractors are non-union. Will Vineyard Wind’s commitment to union labor make it harder to meet workforce diversity targets?

Stephanie Myles (fellow classmate, rockstar activist, and now dear friend!) and I were teamed up to support Cruz Companies, the largest Black-owned business in Massachusetts, with developing a five-year strategic plan for their property management division. Over the course of six weeks, we met with various leaders and staff members to unpack the systemic barriers to their growth and create an actionable framework to support their expansion in the low-income and mixed affordable housing space.

A rising economy in Greater Boston over much of the past decade hasn’t only benefited companies’ bottom lines — it’s also been a boon for the area’s philanthropic needs through corporate cash donations, volunteering and in-kind giving. Here are the largest corporate givers in Massachusetts, with rankings based on the Business Journal’s exclusive research.