Blog

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

A Better Start for Preschoolers with Special Needs

Children with special needs often can’t get appropriate support when they enter preschool. That’s part of the reason why a child in preschool is three times more likely to be expelled than a child in a K-12 school, says Deborah Fitzgerald, a professional development specialist and coach for early childhood teachers.  Even when a school Read more

Mini-Grants, Maximum Impact

Librarians are champs at squeezing optimal value out of every dollar in a budget. Their ingenuity makes it a special pleasure to support local libraries through the Community Foundation Library Fund.  The fund was born in 2008, on the dissolution of the Broome Library Foundation. That group’s board asked the Community Foundation to take over Read more

Moving Along, Standing Strong

While working on a small scale, some organizations make a deep impact on individual lives. That’s the case with two nonprofits we funded in 2018, both with a focus on empowerment.  The first, Move Along, Inc., gives people with physical limitations a chance to enjoy a variety of sports. One of its programs provides adaptive 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

For the Good of the Earth

Many small organizations in our region are working to preserve the environment and teach the public about conservation. We supported those efforts with several grants in 2018.  For instance, we awarded $3,259 to the Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve in Stamford. Named to honor Dr. Michael Kudish, who has been researching the natural history of 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.

Safe Haven for Pets Gives Women Peace of Mind

Victims of domestic violence face many obstacles that keep them from escaping danger. There’s one challenge that might not have occurred to you, but Karen Matson knows it well. “We often hear about people who won’t leave bad situations because they don’t want their animals to be left behind,” says Matson, executive director at the Read more

Where Sparks Fly

To you, the Harris Memorial Library might be simply a building full of books. Library director Anne Ohman sees things differently: to her, it’s “a place full of sparks.” People come to the library, in the Village of Otego, because of the sparks they have inside—a question someone wants answered, a book someone wants to Read more

Festival Lights up Hancock’s Summer Nights

Summer in the Village of Hancock has gained a new source of excitement since 2015, when the nonprofit Hancock Partners launched “Summer Nights on the Square,” a series of Friday night performances running from June to September. Locals and tourists, plus day-trippers from as far away as Binghamton, flock to the Hancock Town Square to Read more

Planting the Seeds

Something new is sprouting at Tioga Central Schools, and it’s not just the vegetables on five acres west of the football field. It’s a new program, based on the notion that when kids learn to eat healthy food, everyone benefits. “We’re planting the seeds to grow stronger kids and stronger families, and thereby a stronger Read more

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

Preserving Otsego History

Otsego was the last of the five counties to join the Community Foundation’s service area. We added it in 2007 because a potential donor there wanted to start a fund, and Otsego had no community foundation to serve that need. Since then, we’ve supported a broad range of projects in Otsego County, focused on history, Read more

Promoting Small-scale Agriculture

The largest of our counties geographically, Delaware County is made up of small towns and villages mostly linked by rural roads, with no dominant population center. But far-flung though they may be, the people of Delaware County keep us busy with terrific grant proposals. In Walton, for example, the Paul G. and Miriam B. Mattern Read more

Creative Solutions for Career Education

When the Community Foundation decided to tackle workforce development, Chenango County emerged as the perfect venue for that effort. A mostly rural county, Chenango is home to many low-income households. But it’s also home to some strong employers, such as the Raymond Corporation, Chobani and UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital. Chenango County suffers from a disconnect Read more

Tackling Community Issues

The Community Foundation was born in Broome County, but we’ve always pursued a multi-county mission. In 1997, the board of directors of the Hoyt Foundation and its executive director, Judith Peckham, conceived the Community Foundation as a way to expand Hoyt’s reach into counties around Broome that had no community foundations of their own. Challenged Read more

Community Spirit and Hometown Pride

In Tioga County, community spirit goes a long way. For a prime illustration, consider how some of the county’s human services agencies interweave their separate social safety nets to make a bigger, stronger one. “People come to us for food and then they tell us they need a furnace. We’re able to make that happen 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. Now Glenda and her husband are giving back, establishing the Glenda Blake and Leo Cotnoir Fund to support artists and community arts activities. A graduate of SUNY Oswego, Glenda was born in the North Country of New York but raised mostly in the Southern 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.