Community Foundation Awards Over $960,000 to Nonprofits, Opens Six New Funds

The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties announced awards totaling more than $340,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations through its competitive grants process for the third quarter of 2018. Competitive grants are awarded to area nonprofits primarily in support of The Community Foundation’s strategic investment areas of education, economic development, health and wellness, and arts and culture.

The following organizations were awarded competitive grants:

• Boy Scouts of America Leatherstocking Council – An $8,400 grant for renovations to a shower house.
• Community Wellness Partners – A $25,000 grant to fund training for management and staff.
• Compassion Coalition – A $60,400 grant for a delivery truck.
• Frankfort Free Library – A $50,000 grant to fund renovations to the main entrance and install a chair lift.
• Handshake.City – A $25,000 grant to create a recycled container marketplace and park in downtown Utica.
• HealthFriends – A $7,150 grant to update a server and computers, and automate systems.
• Herkimer County Historical Society – A $25,000 grant to support exterior building preservation and maintenance.
• Mohawk Homestead – A $25,000 grant for elevator upgrades.
• Sculpture Space – A $9,100 grant for the Art Herkimer book and website.
• Utica Yard Dogs – A $2,150 grant for game day field costs.
• Valley Health Services – A $100,000 grant to support pre-construction costs for a new nursing home.
• YWCA of the Mohawk Valley – A $6,900 grant for a feasibility study.

In addition to competitive grants, The Community Foundation’s donor-advised funds awarded 96 grants totaling more than $615,000 to 73 organizations, including:

• Abraham House
• Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
• Arc Herkimer
• Big Moose Fire Company
• Boston College
• CAP-21
• Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Central New York Community Foundation
• Central New York Conservancy
• City of Utica
• Clinton Central School District Foundation
• Clinton Dollars for Scholars
• Eagle Bay Volunteer Hose Company
• Forestport Fire Department
• Fulton Chain of Lakes Performing Arts Council
• Grace Episcopal Church
• Hamilton College
• Harmony Foundation International
• Helping Animals Live Organization
• Herkimer County College Foundation
• Herkimer County Humane Society
• Home Aide Service of the Central Adirondacks
• HomeOwnershipCenter
• Horned Dorset Colony Foundation
• Humane Society of Rome
• Inlet Historical Society
• Inlet Volunteer Emergency Services
• International Thyroid Cancer Study Group
• Jewish Community Federation of the Mohawk Valley
• Kirkland Town Library
• Kommunity Youth and Activity Center (KYAC)
• LightHawk
• Martha’s Vineyard Theatre Foundation
• Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation
• Mohawk Valley Health System Foundation
• Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees
• Mt. Markham Central School
• Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
• New Hartford Volunteer Fire Department
• Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church
• North Country Public Radio
• Old Forge Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
• Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department
• On Point For College
• Oneida Community Mansion House
• Oneida County Office of Workforce Development
• Otter Lake Fire Company
• Parkway Center
• Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson
• Project Fibonacci Foundation
• Prospect Ambulance
• Rescue Mission of Utica
• Schenectady Light Opera Company
• Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
• Sisters of St. Joseph
• Sitrin Health Care Center
• Stanley Center for the Arts
• Stevens-Swan Humane Society
• Symphoria
• The House of the Good Shepherd
• The Root Farm
• Thea Bowman House
• Town of Inlet
• Town of Webb Historical Association
• United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area
• Upstate Medical University Alumni Foundation
• Uptown Theatre for Creative Arts
• Utica College
• Utica Public Library
• Utica Zoological Society
• VIEW Arts Center
• Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association
• Woodgate Volunteer Fire Department

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

• Clinton Arena Improvement Fund – An agency fund established by the Town
  of Kirkland to benefit Clinton Arena.
• Dicks Family Fund – A donor-advised fund established to provide support for charitable purposes.
• Jack and Trudy Owens Fund – A field-of-interest fund created to support the arts, as well as the Utica Public Library.
• Kevin “Bing” Crossley Memorial Foundation – A donor-advised fund established in honor of Kevin “Bing” Crossley, a Village of Whitesboro police officer who lost his life in a motor vehicle accident while on patrol in April 2018.
• Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association Charitable and Investment Funds – Agency funds established by Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association to administer giving programs and invest charitable assets to support the mission of providing better lives for animals.