OVERVIEW: The Rochester Area Community Foundation supports a wide variety of local nonprofits in Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties in upstate New York.
IP TAKE: This is a major regional grantmaker with multiple points of entry for Rochester-area nonprofits, ranging from substantial education grants to small neighborhood awards and affinity-based giving circles. Start with RACF’s current grant search rather than approach the foundation with a generic request. Eligibility, geography, award size, and deadlines vary considerably by program, and several opportunities target specific counties or communities. RACF encourages applicants to contact the staff member listed for an opportunity with questions about fit.
An additional angle of approach is RACF’s donor-advised fund network. The foundation reported 542 donor-advised funds in September 2026 and recently launched a Grant Catalog that showcases vetted nonprofit proposals already under consideration for foundation funding. Donor-advised fundholders receive updates about these opportunities and may add their own support. For organizations seeking exposure to RACF donors, submitting a strong proposal through an appropriate competitive cycle may therefore produce benefits beyond the initial grant opportunity.
PROFILE: Established in 1972, the Rochester Area Community Foundation (RACF) is a community foundation based in Rochester, New York with a mission to “empower donors and community partners to strengthen our region through philanthropy.” Originally known as the Greater Rochester Community Foundation of the Genesee Valley, RACF works in the upstate New York eight-county region. Its two overarching goals are to create an equitable community and strengthen the region’s vitality through more than 1,500 funds and giving circles. RACF funds local efforts related to racial equity, arts and culture, education, the environment, aging, and historic preservation.
Grants for Racial Equity and Work Opportunity
The Rochester Area Community Foundation aims to create an “equitable community” in its region and names racial equity and ethnic understanding and upward mobility as key components of its grantmaking. Through the Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, the Foundation supports “projects, programs, and initiatives that address and remedy inequities and injustices and build common ground.”
- Racial equity grantmaking from RACF focuses on policy examination and change, dismantling racial inequities, supporting connections between employment opportunities and job seekers, and promoting inclusive economic prosperity.
- Recent grant recipients include Friends of Acadia, Goodwill Vision Enterprises, and Pathstone Corporation.
Grants for Early Childhood, K-12 Education, and College Readiness
RACF’s education grantmaking makes up the largest portion of annual giving and names “making a significant and sustainable reduction in academic achievement and opportunity gaps” as its top grantmaking priority. Funding priorities focus on “social and emotional learning” to improve student outcomes and “ensure consistent quality of programs across schools and provide technology and digital access to urban and rural students alike.”
- Recently funded organizations include the Children’s Institute, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester, and the PathStone Foundation.
- The Rochester Education Foundation supports college readiness with college application support and FAFSA Fests, which assist students with financial aid applications.
- Previous grantees include Nazareth University, Start the Adventure in Reading, Scholarship America, and Rochester School for the Deaf.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Grants for arts and culture comprise the third-largest portion of RACF’s annual giving. The foundation names arts and culture and historical preservation as important areas of giving.
- Grantmaking in these areas appears to prioritize programs with broad appeal and high accessibility. The foundation has funded many low-cost or free arts events, festivals and participatory programs with an aim to make the area a “hub of creativity and inclusion.”
- Grantees include Blackfriars Theatre, the Finger Lakes Opera, Rochester’s Gateways Music Festival and the Cobblestone Society.
Grants for the Environment, Climate Change and Clean Energy
Environmental justice and sustainability serve as key components of this funder’s giving for regional vitality. Although it represents a smaller area of giving, giving exceeds $5 million over the last five years.
- One recent grant supported the area’s Climate Solutions Accelerator, which supports local stakeholders in their efforts to reduce emissions in accordance with New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
- Grants have also supported the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association, Inclusive Woods & Us — an outdoor programming and education program, — Taproot Collective, Inc to support and enhance community gardens and Rochester ENergy Efficiency and Weatherization, which helps low- and middle-income residents make their homes “more energy-efficient and safe from hazards like lead paint.”
Grants for Housing and Community Development
Though a smaller area for giving, RACF made more than $1 million in contributions in a recent year. The foundation makes grants for housing and homelessness via its equitable communities grantmaking program, as well as some of its donor-advised funds and giving circles.
- The foundation does not name specific priorities for its housing grants, but recent recipients include the Keuka Housing Council and Connected Communities, a Rochester-based organization that has worked to revitalize the struggling neighborhoods of Beechwood and EMMA.
- RACF prioritizes grants for “successful aging” by “helping to create more age-friendly communities.”
- Grant sizes tend to range from $10,000 to $100,000. Recent grant recipients include Connected Communities, Flower City Habitat for Humanity, and One Valley Community Foundation.
Grants for Women and LGBTQ+
Rather than naming women and LGBTQ+ as distinct focus areas, RACF does include two giving circles that focus these two areas.
- The Rochester Women’s Giving Circle aims to “help women and girls gain the necessary education, training, and skills that lead to economic independence.” It has recently made grants to organizations including the Willow Domestic Violence Center of Greater Rochester and Calvary Women’s Services.
- The LGBT+ Giving Circle supports “organizations that serve, are inclusive of, or are allied with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to enhance and strengthen our region.” This circle has recently supported the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
- Recent grants have gone to the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, Friends of Women’s Rights National Historical Park, and Jazz Network.
Important Grant Details:
This funder made awards around $30 million in total grants each year, with typical ranges from $5,000 to $25,000, though some funding exceeds $100,000.
- Overall, this community foundation gives broadly to support education, equity, opportunity and community vitality through grants to a broad range of community-based organizations.
- This funder streamlines its application process through a single grant portal.
- However, with hundreds of funds and giving circles, the foundation advises grantseekers to read the opportunities page carefully to determine eligibility and fit. Guidelines and due dates vary by program. Questions about grant opportunities and the grantmaking process may be submitted to the appropriate staff via email.
- Reach out to foundation staff at 585.271.4100.
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