Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region
/OVERVIEW: The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region supports a broad range of causes in an eleven-county region around Albany, New York.
IP TAKE: This an accessible and responsive funder for a broad range of organizations serving the counties of New York’s Capital Region. With over 400 funds under management, there is likely something for everyone here. Prominent areas of interest in recent years include housing, health, education and economic opportunity. CFGCR recently streamlined its grant and scholarship application process into a single online portal, making it simpler than ever to secure funding throughout the year.
PROFILE: Established in 1968, the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region (CFGCR) is a community foundation based in Albany, New York. This funder manages over 400 charitable funds and foundations and is governed by a board of directors and a team of local experts from diverse backgrounds. Its grantmaking spans multiple giving areas, including health, housing, education, economic opportunity, arts and culture and LGBTQ causes. With only a few exceptions, grantmaking is limited to the capital region of New York.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
In recent years, housing and homelessness has been a major area of giving for CFGCR. Grants stemming from the Impact Grants program support programs for the area’s homeless populations, while the B’nai B’rith Gideon Foundation supports affordable rental opportunities for low-income, elderly and disabled residents. Other specific funds that have given to housing initiatives in the Albany area include the Niskayuna Community Foundation and the Review Foundation, which has also given to organizations in Seattle and San Diego. Recent grantees include Shelters of Saratoga, Albany’s Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless, the Bluelight Development Group and Bethesda House of Schenectady, which helps vulnerable individuals and families find emergency, transitional and permanent housing.
Grants for the Environment, Animal Welfare and Wildlife
Several of CFGCR’s funds and foundation’s name environmental and wildlife conservation as priority giving areas. The protection of lands and ecosystems are a main goal of the foundation’s Impact Grants program, the Bender Family Foundation and the Niskayuna Community Foundation. Grants in these areas tend to go to small, local organizations, including the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne, the Schoharie River Center and the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, which protects animal victims of “factory farming” and advocates for the humane treatment of all farm animals.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
CFGCR manages the Albany County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Fund, which supports “Albany County’s hospitality industry by funding programs that will help build and sustain Albany County tourism destinations, attractions, events and other tourism-related activities.” This grantmaking program prioritizes collaborations among nonprofit groups and programs or events that would require overnight stays in the region. The fund awards grants in amounts of up to $5,000 and considers multi-year support. Many grants stemming from this fund have supported historical and cultural sites in the area, including Schuylerville’s Hudson Crossing Park, Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy and the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation.
Grants for Science Research and STEM Education
Grantmaking for scientific research and STEM education stems mainly from the Bender Scientific Fund, which names as its priorities “research in medicine, biotechnology and life science” and “educational and information-sciences projects related to medicine, biotechnology and life sciences.” Grants stemming from this program are not intended for “institutional overhead,” conferences or research that involves human or vertebrate subjects and are awarded in amounts up to $12,5000. Grants are occasionally awarded to organizations and schools outside of the capital region. Recent recipients include the College of Medicine Development at University of Vermont, the Albany Medical Center Foundation and the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Studies.
Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education
Many of CFCGR’s 400 funds support local initiatives for early childhood and K-12 education. Funds that name early childhood education and care as priorities include the the Review Foundation, the Barry Alan Gold Memorial Fund and the Bender Family Foundation. These funders have made grants to the Capital District Child Care Council, the Baby Institute of Albany, the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs and Unity House of Troy. Major K-12 funders of CFCGR include the Bethlehem Central Community Foundation and the Niskayuna Community Foundation. Recent recipients of K-12 support include the South Kortright Central School District, Maimonides Hebrew Day School, Albany’s Academy of the Holy Names and Girls Incorporated of the Greater Capital Region.
Grants for Higher Education
Higher education receives a significant portion of funding from CFCGR’s funds and foundations, with grants serving colleges and universities in New York state most of the time. Recent grants and gifts have gone to Skidmore College, SUNY Albany, Clinton Community College, St. Lawrence University and Empire State College, among others. CFCGR also runs a robust scholarship program, for which it accepts applications via its grant application portal.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
CFCGR supports public health broadly, and many of its grantmaking funds name health as an area. Many grants stem from the Hortense and Louis Ruben Community Health Fund, which prioritizes disease prevention and health equity for vulnerable populations. The focus of health grantmaking foundation-wide appears to public access to quality care throughout the region. In recent years, sums have gone to the Community Hospice Foundation of Albany, Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, Birthnet, the Northeast Kidney Foundation and the Albany Medical Center.
Grants for Arts and Culture
CFCGR funds that focus on arts and culture include the Bender Family Foundation and the Barry Alan Gold Memorial Fund. Grantmaking from the Albany County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Fund also overlaps with this area. In recent years, grants have supported a broad range of arts and cultural organizations including the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Caffe Lena, the North House Folk School, the Albany Institute of History and Art and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
Grants for LGBTQ Causes
CFCGR supports LGBTQ causes through the Ernest O. Reaugh Advised Fund for LGBTQAI+ Advocacy. This grant program focuses exclusively on advocacy for LGBTQAI+ residents of Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and/or Rensselaer Counties and does not fund general operating support or other organizational expenses. Grants are awraded in amounts of up to $2,500.
Important Grant Details
CFCGR gave away just over $1 million in a recent year, with most of its funding serving organizations in the Capital Region of New York, which is generally considered to include Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington Counties. Within this geographic area, giving is broad, as grantmaking stems from a broad range of foundation, donor-advised and area-of-interest funds. For additional information on past grantmaking, see this funder’s recent financial reports.
This funder accepts applications for many of its grantmaking opportunities and links application guidelines, materials and due dates to its current grant deadlines page. The grant application process was recently simplified, and all grant applications are now submitted through a single application portal. Questions about grants should be directed to Shelly Connolly via email.
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