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Cayuga County Community Fund
Before any grants have been awarded, the community demand for the Cayuga Community Fund, a start-up grant foundation for Cayuga County, has already been demonstrated.
"The Cayuga Fund is such a positive step toward funding the needs of residents of our county. I look forward to seeing the fund grow over the years to support special projects in our communities," said Alice Hoatland, Leadership Council Member for the Cayuga Branch.
More than 100 representatives from local non-profit organizations attended a presentation at Springside Inn about the fund and the application process for the $25,000 that will be awarded its first year. Cayuga Community Fund, established in 2008, will give away 5 percent of its value to non-profit organizations in Cayuga County with clear goals to improve the community.
“It's going to be a very challenging grantmaking,” said Ken Entenmann, who chairs the fund's leadership council. More than 100 non-profits call Cayuga County home. Entenmann estimated that between 40 and 50 were represented at the event. The fund will not be able to accommodate all applications, he said, but encouraged applicants to contact the fund or its parent organization, the Central New York Community Foundation, with questions.
“This is not a high school essay contest,” Entenmann said. “We want to do what is right for the community.” The fund will award grants in two cycles, giving $12,500 in the spring and fall, with a maximum individual award of $5,000.
The fund is intended to benefit an array of community interests and issues. Grant categories include the arts, education, environment and health and human services.
Though vastly different than most, an organization like the Cavalry Food Pantry, which provides consistent assistance within the Auburn community year-round, could also qualify for a grant.
The organization must purchase most of the food it needs, despite the community's generous donations, said Don Harvey, who serves on the pantry's board of directors.
“Donations are a big part of it, but it doesn't come close to covering it,” Harvey said.
Since its start in 2008, the fund has raised about $287,000, which was matched by $250,000 from the Stardust Foundation. Worth more than $500,000, the community fund is small compared to some of the area's larger, longer-established grant foundations, said John G. Eberle, vice president of grants and community initiatives for Central New York Community Foundation. But organizers said they are confident the fund will grow over time. “It is a humble beginning,” Eberle said. “But it is a beginning.”
Contributions may be sent to Cayuga Community Fund, c/o CNY Community Foundation, 500 South Salina Street, Suite 428, Syracuse, NY 13202, or sent on-line at www.cnycf.org/cayuga. To arrange gifts of appreciated securities or other assets, please contact the Community Foundation president, Peter Dunn, at 315-422-9538 or by email to peter@cnycf.org.
One doesn't need to be a Rockefeller or a Carnegie to be a philanthropist! All gifts, large and small, will help build the Cayuga Community Fund, a permanent charitable endowment that will serve our community for generations to come.
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