Blog

One Opportunity After Another

In the earliest days of COVID-19, James Mullen would sit in his office at the Norwich Family YMCA and hear near-silence. Like all “non-essential” organizations in New York at that time, the Y had halted its programs in mid-March and shut its doors.  One service stayed open, though. “We offered child care for emergency and Read more

Black Business Owners Get a Double Boost

Black entrepreneurship was a major theme in the 2021 grant cycle of the Community Foundation’s Racial Justice and Equity Fund. Support Black Business 607 (SBB607) received $10,000 from the fund, primarily to help it sponsor events that promote and empower Black-owned businesses. Another $10,000 grant will help the Southern Tier High Technology Incubator (STHTI) offer Read more

21st Century Animal Care

The world of animal rescue has made big strides in the past ten years. “An incredible amount of research and information has come out about animal shelters and ways we can better care for animals,” said Stacie Haynes, executive director at the Susquehanna SPCA.  Putting some of that knowledge to work, in 2021 the Susquehanna Read more

Camp Reinvents Itself for Pandemic Times

Boy standing outside holding a fish he caught

Once they heard that New York State would allow overnight summer camping in 2021, staff at 4-H Camp Shankitunk in Delhi started thinking about Swiss cheese. The cheese was a metaphor for steps the camp would take to protect campers and staff from COVID-19, said Corrine Tompkins, 4-H camp director at Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Read more

Housing as a Matter of Justice

For people of modest or moderate means, it’s often hard to find safe, healthy, affordable housing. One group trying to right that wrong is the Southern Door Community Land Trust (SDCLT), a nonprofit organization devoted to housing justice and community engagement. Formed in 2019 as the Broome County Land Trust, SDCLT changed its name in Read more

Back Home and Making a Difference

In her career as a financial advisor and manager, Jill Packard helped many people open funds to meet their charitable goals. She has also devoted herself as a volunteer to nonprofit organizations. Given her insider’s view of the mechanics and impact of philanthropy, it was natural that Packard would find her own way to support Read more

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Looking inward and outward in 2020, the Community Foundation expanded its work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), both in our practices and in the region we serve.  Those efforts build on work we started more than two years ago, when we conducted a preliminary assessment of our Board and staff and updated language Read more

Help Her Run

In 2020, women held 26 percent of the seats in the U.S. Senate and 23.2 percent of seats in the House. Across the nation, 29.3 percent of state legislators were women, according to the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.  Those numbers are better than they used to be. (In 1981, just 12.1 percent Read more

Our Space, Reborn

The first message came at 1 in the morning: “Jen, it’s all gone.” Next thing Jennifer O’Brien knew, her phone was blowing up with texts. The news was heartbreaking. Our Space Park, a playground in Binghamton’s Recreation Park, designed as an accessible place of joy for people of all ages and abilities, had burned to Read more

Restart the Arts

While other nonprofits struggled to provide essential services during the pandemic, many arts organizations—theaters, museums, orchestras, dance schools, galleries, and more—simply had to close. That shutdown spurred a financial emergency.  In Broome County, for example, arts organizations lost about $1 million in revenues and missed fundraising opportunities, said Nancy Barno Reynolds, executive director of the Read more

New Tools for Schools

School districts invent new ways to serve their students and the broader community. The services that schools provide these days go way beyond the traditional “three Rs”. They also reach deep into our communities. One example is the Whitney Point Central School District’s Early Eagles initiative, a pre-literacy program for families of infants and toddlers.  Read more

Safe on the Farm

Photo of professional test fitting breathing mask.

Mini-grants help agricultural businesses root out conditions that cause sickness and injury. A few years ago, experts at the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) identified a flaw in their efforts to keep people who work on farms healthy and safe. NYCAMH would send a specialist to walk through a farm and Read more

Good Food

Several recent grants support programs based on a simple principle: no one should go hungry. Too many people lack reliable access to nutritious food. Luckily, many community groups are working hard to meet this essential need.  Take the Unatego Central School District’s backpack program, which gives students in need healthy food to take home. The Read more

To the Rescue

Grant helps rural ambulance service attract more first responders with advanced skills. With a staff of just 18, the Hancock Ambulance Service stands ready to save lives every day, around the clock, across 164 square miles of Delaware County plus a sliver of Pennsylvania. This extremely rural region is many miles from the nearest trauma Read more

Great Music, Close Up and Personal

Photos shows performer, Greg Greenway, on stage and the audience applauding.

A small town can play a big role in a region’s cultural life. That’s surely true of Norwich, Oxford and Oneonta, each of which hosts a musical series or venue that draws fans from miles around. Recent grants from the Community Foundation have helped small, volunteer-powered organizations in these places enrich the local arts scene Read more

Tackling Rural Housing Issues

Otsego Rural Housing Assistance (ORHA) helps homeowners of modest means stay in their homes and keep those dwellings comfortable and safe. Although Otsego County is small—with only about 60,000 people—the need for housing assistance there seems almost limitless, says Timothy Peters, executive director of ORHA, in Cooperstown.  Beyond Cooperstown and Oneonta, Otsego is largely an Read more

Chobani Creates a Fund to Bring Big Ideas to Life

Since its Greek yogurt first went on sale in 2007, Chobani has become a powerful force in the economy of Central New York. The company’s philanthropic arm, the Chobani Foundation, has grown along with the brand, supporting efforts to strengthen communities and improve wellness and childhood nutrition. One of the Chobani Foundation’s newest programs is Read more

ACA Memorial Fund

The intent of the Park Committee was to establish a fund for the long term preservation of the park, and as we approach the 10th anniversary we have acted on this intent in partnership with the Community Foundation.

Robert Clarke Bassett Youth Lacrosse Fund

The Edward L. Rose Conservancy was founded in 1986 to protect land, preserve natural habitat and increase public awareness through education, research and outreach programs. Your donations support priority land conservation projects as well as environmental programs for youth and families in the Southern Tier.

Ah-Wa-Ga Center Fund

The Edward L. Rose Conservancy was founded in 1986 to protect land, preserve natural habitat and increase public awareness through education, research and outreach programs. Your donations support priority land conservation projects as well as environmental programs for youth and families in the Southern Tier.

How Love Fuels Philanthropy

David Emerson, Tom Emerson and Neil Bartle grew up together in Oxford, where their families have lived for generations. “All three of us love our little community,” says David. Two years ago they put some formal philanthropic power behind that love, working with the Community Foundation to form the Greater Oxford Community Fund. David and Read more

David P. Beere Family Fund

The mission of the David P. Beere Family Fund is to provide scholarship support for one Owego Free Academy graduating senior entering the armed services or a service academy. This fund is one of a number of sub-funds within the Selrahc Ah-Wa-Ga Legacy Fund. For more details about this family of funds please visit the Selrahc Ah-Wa_Ga Read more

Black Knight Funds

Created in 2009, to enhance the educational experience of students in the Windsor Central School District Community, the Black Knight Funds allow donors to make a lasting impact on the Windsor Central School educational experience.

Charles Hibberd Bassett Senior Citizen Fund

The Charles Hibberd Bassett Senior Citizen Fund was established in 2014 by James Thomas (Tom) Bassett and his wife Silvia de la Garza. Their intent was to recognize the special interest of Charles Hibberd Bassett in the welfare of senior citizens of the Village of Owego and surrounding Tioga County communities.

Binghamton Police K-9 Fund

The Binghamton Police K-9 Fund allows donors to direct gifts for the support and operation of the current canine unit (as well as retired dogs) for purchase of food, medication, veterinary bills, training, equipment, and new service dogs.

Black Knight Scholarship Fund

The Black Knight Legacy Fund is dedicated to providing as many scholarships as possible to graduating seniors of Windsor Central High School, and to to help with their pursuit of college or trade-school education.

Sally Brooks Legacy Scholarship Fund

This fund, established in loving memory of Sally Brooks, will assist a junior or senior high school student with financial need obtain a bachelor’s degree in an English related major from a public or private university in New York state.

Lillian Briggs Fund

The Lillian Briggs Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation. For more information on all our funds please refer to our full funds list.

The Barbara H. Chaffee, MD, MPH Educational Fund

The Barbara H. Chaffee, MD, MPH Educational Fund was created in 2010 to honor and recognize over two decades of Dr. Chaffee’s service to people with HIV/AIDS and the health care professionals who care for them. It allows donors to make a lasting impact on the delivery of health care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Binghamton area and honors the work and life of Dr. Chaffee.

Cibo Fund

The Cibo Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation. For more information on all our funds please refer to our full funds list.

One Great Gift Deserves Another

An artist’s grant from the Community Foundation changed Glenda Blake’s life. That gift inspired Glenda and her husband to give back, establishing the Glenda Blake and Leo Cotnoir Fund in 2016, to support artists and community arts activities. Sadly, Glenda passed away in May of 2020, but her legacy will live on with her fund Read more

A Lifelong Commitment to Service

As young professionals raising a family, Gene and Judy Peckham couldn’t devote much money to community causes. But that didn’t stop them from devoting themselves. The Peckhams discovered the pleasure of public service as Peace Corps volunteers in Peru in the 1960s. “We learned more there than we ever taught anybody,” Judy says. Back in Read more

Emergency Animal Care Response Fund

Couple at home with their pet dog sitting on their laps

The Emergency Animal Care Response Fund was created by concerned animal welfare organizations in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis. It was clear at the time that animal companions would be affected by the disruption caused by the pandemic, and emergency funding would be needed to support the shelters and foster families that would be caring for them immediately and under similar emergency circumstances in the future.

Kirkwood Inspiration Park Fund

The Friends of Kirkwood Parks committee is asking for the community’s support to build Kirkwood Inspiration Playground, an all-inclusive playground project, by the summer of 2019, a fun, safe, and inclusive play space where children of all abilities can grow and learn through physical, emotional, sensory and social experiences.

Lukensmith Fund

The Lukensmith Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation. For more information on all our funds please refer to our full funds list.

Mighty Max “Just Because” Fund

The Mighty Max “Just Because” Fund is established in celebration of the life of Max Gabriel Edell Kranbuhl, known to many of his family and friends as “Mighty Max”. Although challenged by a developmental disability and moderate autism, Max was enthusiastically involved in areas that held his interest. His humor, honesty and grit attracted many to him especially during the last years of his young life spent in treatment for a rare cancer. This Fund is dedicated to bringing simple joys and opportunities to children dealing with challenges, and to assisting parents who need support and guidance during heart-wrenching times.

Greene Community Scholarship Fund

The Greene Community Scholarship Fund was established to provide scholarships to graduating seniors of Greene Central High School, assist in their pursuit of college or trade-school education, and to offer non-traditional scholarship opportunities to adults seeking continuing education.

Paul G. and Miriam B. Mattern Fund

The Paul G. and Miriam B. Mattern Fund supports projects that enrich the cultural life and/or the social well-being in its broadest sense, of the residents of the village and township of Walton, New York and welcomes proposals from non-profit organizations.

Mack Family Scholarship Fund

Owego Apalachin School District logo

This scholarship fund was established by Dale and Mary Mack, long-time Owego residents. Their children, Kelly and Christopher, graduated from Owego Free Academy, where they received an excellent educational foundation. Dale and Mary believe that education not only helps individuals achieve life goals, but also provides society with better citizens.