Community Foundation Awards Over $4.8 Million in Third Quarter, Opens 8 New Funds

In the third quarter of 2024, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties awarded more than $4.8 million, which is comprised of grants to nonprofits, scholarships to students, and support for those impacted by the July 2024 tornado in Rome. Grants were awarded primarily in the areas of education, human services, and community and economic development.
 
On the evening of July 16th, after a tornado ripped through Downtown Rome, the Community Foundation immediately established the Rome, NY Emergency Response Fund to collect and distribute donations to those impacted by the storm. The fund has raised roughly $2 million, with $1.5 million from Oneida County and more than $450,000 from individual and corporate donors. More than 650 applications for emergency funding were received.
 
As part of the Community Foundation’s grantmaking, over $72,000 was awarded to six nonprofits through the Education, Health, and Sciences Grant Round held this summer. The grant round is held three times a year in February, June, and October and supports nonprofit organizations that have outcomes-driven programs or projects with a focus on education, health, and/or sciences.
 
More than 150 students received scholarships totaling over $550,000 from 70 scholarship funds. Scholarships are made possible by donors and are awarded to students from Herkimer and Oneida counties pursuing degrees in various areas of study and at higher education institutions both locally and across the country.
 
The Community Foundation’s donor-advised funds awarded more than 300 grants in the third quarter of 2024, totaling over $1.67 million to the following nonprofits:

• 4 Elements Studio4PetSake Food Pantry
• 50 Forward Mohawk Valley
• Abigail's Athletes
• Abraham House
• Adirondack Experience
• Adirondack Foothills Trails Alliance
• ADKAction
• AHA Utica
• Albany Can Code
• All Saints in the Mountains Episcopal Church
• American Legion Post #1402
• American Red Cross - Central & Northern NY Chapter
• Anita's Stevens Swan Humane Society
• Big Moose Fire Company
• Bill Gavin Food Pantry
• Blacque Acres
• Boonville Youth Athletic Association
• Boston College
• Boy Scouts of America Leatherstocking Council
• Brigid Alliance
• Business & Professional Association of Herkimer
• CABVI
• Camden Life Center
• Catholic Charities of Herkimer County
• Catholic Charities of Oneida & Madison Counties
• Cazenovia Preservation Foundation
• Cedar Lake United Methodist Church
• Center for Family Life and Recovery
• Center for Leadership Excellence
• Charles T. Sitrin Health Care Center
• Clinton Central School District Foundation
• Clinton Dollars for Scholars
• CNY Cat Coalition
• Community Wellness Partners
• Congregation Zvi Jacob
• Connected Community Schools
• Cooperstown Food Pantry
• CPV Rescue & Sanctuary
• Crested Butte Land Trust
• Cure Sanfilippo Foundation
• Dodge Pratt Northam Art & Community Center
• Dunham Public Library
• Eagle Bay Volunteer Hose Company
• Empowered Pathways
• Erwin Library and Institute
• Evelyn's House
• Fixing to Help CNY Spay Neuter Incentive Program
• Foothills Rural Community Ministry
• Fort Schuyler Chapter, NSCAR
• Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind
• Friends Forever Animal Rescue
• Friends of the Polar Bears
• Fulton Chain of Lakes Performing Arts Council
• Grace Church
• GreenUtica
• Gunnison Country Food Pantry
• Helping Animals Live Organization
• Helping Hands Food Pantry
• Herkimer County Humane Society
• Hero Fund America
• Home Aide Service of the Central Adirondacks
• Hope in Action
• Hospice & Palliative Care
• House of the Good Shepherd
• ICAN
• Inlet Area Community Task Force
• Inlet Historical Society
• Inlet Volunteer Emergency Services
• Irish Cultural & Historical Society of the MV
• Israel Guide Dog Center
• Jervis Public Library
• Jewish Community Federation of the Mohawk Valley
• Jewish Women International
• Kelberman
• Kindred Spirits Greyhound Adoption
• Kirkland Town Library
• Kiwanis Club Foundation of Central Adirondacks
• Kuyahoora Community Hall
• Landmarks Society of Greater Utica
• Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York
• Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corp.
• LivingADK
• Masonic Care Community of New York
• Masonic Medical Research Institute
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
• Midtown Utica Community Center
• Mid-Utica Neighborhood Preservation Corp.
• Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts
• Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency
• Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation
• Mohawk Valley Frontiers Club
• Montclair State University Foundation
• Mother Marianne's West Side Kitchen
• Mothers and Children in Crisis
• Munson
• National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
• Next
• Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church
• 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
• Olmsted City of Greater Utica
• On Point for College
• Oneida County History Center
• Operation Healthy Pets 4 Clyde and Savannah
• Oriskany Public Library
• Pathfinder Village
• Project Fibonacci Foundation
• Project Hope of Gunnison Valley
• Purrs and Whiskers
• Recreation Connections of Old Forge
• Recycle-A-Bull Bully Breed Rescue
• Rescue Mission of Utica
• Resource Center for Independent Living
• Rome Art & Community Center
• Rome Community Foundation
• Rome Dollars for Scholars
• Rome Rescue Mission
• Rotary Club of Utica
• Rover's Do Over
• Sagamore Institute
• Seeds of Hope Food Pantry
• Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace - Utica, NY Chapter
• Spay and Neuter Syracuse
• Spring Farm CARES
• St. Joseph & St. Patrick Church
• St. Labre Indian School
• St. Peter's Episcopal Church
• St. Vincent De Paul Society, Naples District Council
• Stanley Center for the Arts
• STaR Volunteer Ambulance
• SUNY Polytechnic Institute Foundation
• Susquehanna SPCA
• Symphoria
• Temple Beth El
• The Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter
• The Center
• The Church on the Hill
• The KEYS Program
• The Kicks for Kids Foundation
• The Kinderwood Program
• The Salvation Army of Rome, NY
• Thea Bowman House
• Town of Webb Community Health & Wellness Fund
• Town of Webb Historical Association
• Tri-City Lacrosse
• Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust
• Ulster County Canines
• Unity Hall Foundation
• Upstate Caring Partners
• Utica Dollars For Scholars
• Utica Food Pantry
• Utica Public Library
• Utica University
• Utica Zoological Society
• View
• Wanderers' Rest Humane Association
• Waterville Area Food Pantry
• Waterville First
• West Side Campaign Against Hunger
• White Lake ADK Association
• Whitney's Legacy
• WHYY
• Women's Fund of Herkimer & Oneida Counties
• Woodgate Free Library
• Woodhaven Wildlife Center
• Young Scholars
• YWCA of the Mohawk 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:

• Chief Russell Brooks Memorial Fund – A memorial fund established by the friends and family of Chief Russell E. Brooks II, Ret. UFD.
• DiMeo Family Fund – A fund established in memory of Steve DiMeo for general charitable purposes.
• Griffiss Institute Fund – An agency fund established by Griffiss Institute to administer and invest its charitable assets.
• Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, Inc. Endowment Fund – An agency fund established by the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts to administer and invest its endowed charitable assets.
• Rome, NY Emergency Response Fund – An emergency response fund established to support the recovery efforts in Rome, NY from the damage caused during the massive storms that occurred on July 16, 2024.
• The Ride for Missing Children - Mohawk Valley Fund – An agency fund established by The Ride for Missing Children - Mohawk Valley to administer and invest its charitable assets.
• Utica Royalties, Inc. Fund – An agency fund established by Utica Royalties to administer and invest its charitable assets.
• WCNY Mohawk Valley Sustainability Fund – An agency fund established by WCNY to administer and invest charitable assets from the Mohawk Valley. – An agency fund established by WCNY to administer and invest charitable assets from the Mohawk Valley.