Community Foundation Awards Over $2.25 Million to Nonprofits, Opens 10 New Funds

The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties announced more than $2 million in grants during the third quarter of 2019 to organizations and initiatives primarily in the areas of education, economic development, health and wellness, and arts and culture. Of that, more than $820,000 was awarded to 12 nonprofits through the organization’s competitive grants process.

The following organizations were awarded competitive grants:

• Adirondack Experience – $25,000 to expand educational school programs
• Albany Law School – $25,000 to support the Rural Law Initiative in the Mohawk Valley
• Krajisnik Football Club – $8,000 to purchase a van for tournament travel
• Kristin’s Fund – $2,000 to support A Call to Men Football Camp at Utica College
• Mohawk Valley Community College – $65,000 for the College Community Connection project for low-income and underserved students
• On Point for College – $130,000 to expand outreach efforts
• Rome City School District – $40,000 to support the Tools for Future Reality program
• Sauquoit Valley Central School – $5,000 to fund an afterschool program that included leadership courses and volunteer experiences at Disney World
• The Salvation Army of Rome, NY – $15,000 to purchase an operations vehicle
• The Theater at Woodshill – $5,200 to purchase audience chairs
• Utica Events – $500 to help buy equipment for Christmas on Main Street
• Valley Health Services – $500,000 for construction of a new nursing home

In addition to competitive grants, The Community Foundation’s donor-advised funds awarded 184 grants in the third quarter of 2019 totaling more than $1.43 million to 127 organizations, including:

• 4PetSake Food Pantry
• Abraham House
• Adirondack Experience
• American Red Cross – Central Iowa Chapter
• American Red Cross – Mohawk Valley Chapter
• Americares
• Arc Herkimer
• Atlanta Habitat for Humanity
• Bethel Baptist Church
• Big Moose Fire Company
• Blue Mountain Lake Association
• Blue Mountain Lake Volunteer Fire Dept.
• Boonville Black River Canal Museum
• Boston College
• Boy Scouts of America Leatherstocking Council
• CAP-21
• Care Net Pregnancy Center of CNY
• Center for Family Life and Recovery
• Central Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired
• Central New York Conservancy
• Chabad at Hamilton
• Charles T. Sitrin Health Care Center
• Chenango County SPCA
• Children’s Dyslexia Center
• City of Utica
• Clinton Central School District Foundation
• Clinton Dollars for Scholars
• CNY Cat Coalition
• Community Transportation Services
• Cortland County SPCA
• CPV Rescue & Sanctuary
• Dodge Pratt Northam Art & Community Center
• Emmaus House
• Empowered Pathways
• Fenimore Art Museum
• First Presbyterian Church – Clinton
• Forestport Fire Department
• Frankfort Free Library
• Friends of Historic Herkimer County
• Friends of the Polar Bears
• Genesis Group
• HealthFriends
• Helping Animals Live Organization
• Herkimer County Humane Society
• Hillsdale College
• Home Aide Service of the Central Adirondacks
• Hope House
• Hospice & Palliative Care
• House of the Good Shepherd
• Humane Society of Rome
• ICAN
• Independent Baptist Church
• Inlet Historical Society
• Inlet Volunteer Emergency Services
• Issue One
• Jewish Community Federation of the Mohawk Valley
• Johnson Park Center
• Kirkland Town Library
• Kommunity Youth and Activity Center
• LightHawk
• Little Falls Historical Society
• Masonic Care Community of New York
• Mercy Flight Central
• Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation
• Mohawk Valley Frontiers Club
• Mohawk Valley Health System Foundation
• Mt. Markham Central School
• Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
• Nassau County SPCA
• Neighborhood Center
• Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church
• North Country Life Flight
• North Country Pet Adoption Services
• North Country Public Radio
• North Woods Community Center of Old Forge
• Notre Dame Jr./Sr. High School
• Old Forge Library
• Old Forge Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
• Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department
• On Point For College
• Oneida Community Mansion House
• Oneida County History Center
• Operation Sunshine
• Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson
• Presbyterian Homes & Services
• Presbyterian Homes Foundation
• Princeton University Class of 1955 Foundation
• Project Fibonacci Foundation
• Project HOPE – The People-to-People Health Foundation
• Reach Initiative International
• Rescue Dogs Rescue Soldiers
• Rescue Mission of Utica
• Rising Stars Soccer Club of CNY
• Rosemont College
• Rotary District 7150
• Sagamore Institute
• Salvation Army Utica Citadel Corps
• Sauquoit Valley Central School
• Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
• Stevens-Swan Humane Society
• Temple Beth El
• The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter
• The Heritage Foundation
• The Kinderwood Program
• The Nature Conservancy – Adirondack Chapter
• The Root Farm
• Thea Bowman House
• Town of Webb Health Center Fund
• Town of Webb Historical Association
• Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust
• U.S. Naval Academy Foundation
• Union College
• United Way of the Valley & Greater Utica Area
• Upstate Medical Alumni Foundation
• Uptown Theatre for Creative Arts
• Utica College
• Utica Dollars For Scholars
• Utica Monday Nite Corporation
• Utica Public Library
• Utica Zoological Society
• View Center for Arts & Culture
• Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association
• YMCA of the Greater Tri-Valley

Grants are made possible through the generosity of donors and organizations that create funds at The Community Foundation. The following new funds were recently created to benefit residents of Herkimer and Oneida counties for years to come:

• Bianca Michelle Devins Memorial Scholarship Fund – A scholarship fund created by the Devins and Williams families in memory of 17-year-old Bianca Devins. The fund will support students pursuing a degree in psychology to continue Bianca’s dream of helping adolescents with mental illnesses.
• Brave Street Kids Charitable Fund – An agency fund to benefit Brave Street Kids, a charity created out of an idea by a 7-year-old boy named Jackson, who was born with Total Colonic Hirschsprung Disease. The fund will assist with publishing a book to help other children like him find strength, bravery and positivity during hospital admissions.
• Bruce and Frances Bull Family Fund – A donor-advised fund established by Bruce A. and Frances M. Bull for general charitable purposes.
• Clark Family Fund – A donor-advised fund established by Richard K. and Diane K. Clark for general charitable purposes.
• Empowered Pathways Charitable Fund – An agency fund to benefit Empowered Pathways, a nonprofit organization with a focus on providing employment, mediation and advocacy services to women, youth and families in the area.
• Larry and Corky Bull Family Fund – A donor-advised fund established by Lauren E. and Cora L. Bull for general charitable purposes.
• Martin and Susan Bull Family Fund – A donor-advised fund established by Susan P. Bull for general charitable purposes.
• Owen R. Fortnam Memorial Fund – A donor-advised fund created by the Fortnam family in memory of 12-year-old Owen Fortnam who passed away in February 2019. The fund will support charitable causes in Owen’s memory for years to come.
• Real Men Get Tested Fund – A field-of-interest fund established for the charitable purpose of creating awareness, primarily among men in Herkimer and Oneida counties, of the importance of preventive testing for cancer.
• Stanley J. Wiater Fund for Responsible Hunting and Forestry Stewardship – A field-of-interest fund established by Julie and Jeff Rubenstein for the charitable purpose of supporting organizations in Herkimer and Oneida counties that promote safe and responsible hunting practices or encourage sustainable forest stewardship through land management, productive timber harvesting and conservation of the natural environment.