Community Foundation of Tompkins County
/OVERVIEW: The Community Foundation of Tompkins County supports community building, health and human services, education, arts and culture, and environmental sustainability in Tompkins County, New York.
IP TAKE: This community foundation gives broadly in Tomkins County. Recent giving for environmental concerns, mental health and community development are on the uptick. This is an accessible funder, but application guidelines and due dates vary by program, so be sure to check its grant cycles page before submitting materials.
PROFILE: Established in 2000, the Community Foundation of Tompkins County (CFTC) is a community foundation based in Ithaca, New York. This funder establishes partnerships between residents, donors, and service providers to benefit local causes. CFTC aims to “bring people and resources together to build a more equitable Tompkins County by inspiring diverse philanthropy, catalyzing collaborations and championing inclusion and justice.” It funds local efforts for community building, health and human services, education, arts and culture, and the environment.
Grants for Public Health, Mental Health and Food Systems
CFCT gives to local efforts for health, mental health and hunger via its Resilient Communities grantmaking program. This program mainly provides unrestricted support to organizations “meeting community needs, some longstanding, some new, or revealed in the aftermath of the pandemic.” Beyond these broad goals, the foundation does not outline specific goals for its giving in these. Recent grants for public health have supported the Cayuga Medical Center, the Doula Access Initiative, the Ithaca Health Alliance and Hospicare and Palliative Care Services of Tomkins County. Mental health grantees have included the Alcohol and Drug Council of Tomkins county, the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service of Tomkins County and the Child Development Council of Central New York. The foundation’s grants for food systems and hunger have supported organizations including the Black Farmer Fund, the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and local Meals on Wheels programs.
Grants for Community Development, Work and Opportunity, Civic and Democracy
CFCT’s grantmaking for community building extends beyond community development to support local efforts for civic engagement and economic development. Grants mainly stem from the foundation’s Resilient Communities grantmaking program which aims to work responsively to meet “community needs.” One recent grant went to Alternative Impact, a nonprofit that runs financial education, credit repair services and small business development programs. Another recent grant supported the Tomkins County Department of Administration’s Summer Youth Employment Program. Other grantees working in the areas of community, civic engagement and economic development include the Tomkins County Workers’ Center, the United Way of Tomkins County and Ithaca Community Recovery.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Education is one of this funder’s largest giving areas, with grants stemming from both the Resilient Communities and Library Grants programs. Education grants stemming from the Resilient Communities program have supported public and private schools, as well as out-of-school and summer learning and enrichment programs. Grants have gone to the the Family Reading Partnership, the Ithaca City School District, the Opus Ithaca School of Music and Girls on the Run Upstate NY.
While Resilient Communities grants work broadly to address community needs, library grants focus on youth programming that fosters “genuine intellectual curiosity and a lifelong love of reading and learning, by promoting greater and easier access by youth to local libraries.” Library grants also have a broader geographic reach, serving the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins. Recent grantees of this grantmaking program include the Aurora Free Library, the Lodi Whittier Library and the Phillips Free Library, among others.
Grants for the Environment, Climate Change and Clean Energy
Grantmaking for the environment has increased significantly at CFCT in recent years. Grants stem from the foundation’s Resilient Communities program, which does not articulate specific areas of focus for its environmental funding. However, most grants have supported efforts for conservation and preservation of natural resources in the area. Recent grantees include the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, the Finger Lakes Land Trust, the New York Forest Owners Association and Sustainable Tomkins.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts and culture grants stem from this funder’s Resilient Communities program and have supported a broad range of arts organizations, libraries and public programs serving the Tomkins County community. In recent years, CFTC has given to the Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca, the Community Arts Partnership of Tomkins County, the Community School of Music and Art and Historic Ithaca, Inc.
Important Grant Details
This funder’s annual grantmaking totaled about $2.3 million recently. Grants mostly range from $5,000 to $50,000, with few exceptions. Its average grants size is about $12,000. This funder gives broadly to organizations in Tomkins County. For additional information about past grantmaking, see its grant history page.
CFTC accepts applications for two annual cycles of Resilient Communities grants and once a year for its Library Grants. Guidelines and due dates for each program are linked to the foundation’s grant cylces page. Questions about the grantmaking process may be directed to Gloria Coicou via email.
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