2025 Year in Review

AFFILIATE FUNDS

Our affiliate funds had an outstanding year of fundraising and grantmaking to support nonprofits across the region. In partnership with the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, the Greater Pulaski Community Endowment Fund distributed $37,381 in grants; in addition, the Cayuga Community Fund distributed $87,725 in grants, the Oswego County Community Foundation distributed $35,825 in grants and the Women’s Fund of Central New York distributed $57,100 in grants.

$400,000 GRANT RECEIVED FOR LEADSAFECNY EFFORTS

In January, we received a $400,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to support the LeadSafeCNY Coalition’s outreach and community engagement over the next two years. The coalition is a collaboration of stakeholders from the healthcare, housing, education, philanthropy and government sectors, as well as affected residents, who are working to decrease lead poisoning rates in Central New York. leadsafecny.org

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

To date, we have reached more than 6,000 people within Onondaga County through our community engagement efforts. Over the past year, our staff tabled at more than 15 community events across Central New York, connecting and engaging with more than 1,400 community members and countless organizations.

INTERMEDIARY FOR MICRON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT NAMED

In December, Micron named the Community Foundation as the lead intermediary to help steward the investment of $65 million in federal dollars awarded by the Department of Commerce as part of its overall CHIPS Act incentive package. Our primary role will be to manage national grantmaking under the direction of Micron. CenterState CEO and the Idaho Workforce Development Council (WDC) were named sub-intermediaries.

PARTNER IN PHILANTHROPY AWARD RECOGNITION PROGRAM

Last July, we named our first inaugural Partner in Philanthropy Award recipient, Caragh Fahy, CFP.® This new recognition honors estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, tax accountants and life insurance professionals who prioritize philanthropy in their service to clients. Each individual is committed to the community and their work to support philanthropy and encourage charitable giving across Central New York. This year we named William T. Kriesel, CPA/PFS, CFP,® AEP,® as our 2025 recipient.
cnycf.org/partnerinphilanthropy

RECOMMITMENT TO LEADSAFECNY

In 2018, we committed to invest $2 million through our LeadSafeCNY initiative to help decrease childhood lead poisoning rates in Syracuse. Since then, more than $3.2 million has been distributed, nearly 2,190 windows and 210 doors have been replaced and more than 253 safe and affordable rental units have been either newly constructed or renovated. This year, we announced our commitment of an additional $1 million toward this effort. leadsafecny.org

RECOMMITMENT TO BLACK EQUITY & EXCELLENCE FUND

This year, we announced our commitment of an additional $1 million to our Black Equity & Excellence Fund (BE&E). BE&E is designed to fund community-based projects that center, uplift and serve Black communities in Central New York by addressing economic and social disparities caused by historic marginalization. Since its inception in 2020, BE&E has distributed more than $1.8 million and welcomed 228 first-time applicants to the Community Foundation. cnycf.org/equity

SOFTWARE TRANSITION & NEW SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION SYSTEM

Over the past year our staff worked diligently to facilitate the migration of our databases to a newly integrated software. Our new online MyGiving portal for fundholders and our new grants portal for grant applicants provide exciting new features to better serve our community. We also implemented a new cloud-based scholarship software system, designed to simplify and streamline the application process to better serve students and scholarship committees.

SAY YES SYRACUSE CELEBRATES 15 YEARS

Say Yes Syracuse celebrated 15 years of impact. Since 2009, Say Yes Syracuse has distributed 6,550 scholarships totaling $15.7 million to eligible students, making college more accessible and affordable by addressing the primary barrier to education — cost. Say Yes graduates have gone on to work in a variety of fields and places across the world. sayyessyracuse.org

TLC CELEBRATES 30 YEARS

In celebration of The Leadership Classroom (TLC)’s 30th anniversary, we hosted an awards dinner to honor organizations and individuals creating impactful change in our region. Over the past 30 years, nearly 600 individuals have graduated from TLC and more than $305,000 in grants have been awarded towards the graduates’ community projects.

cnycf.org/tlc

VOICES RISING DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE

Last September, nearly 300 attendees joined us on the outdoor plaza of the Everson Museum of Art for our premiere of Voices Rising: Syracuse’s Fight Against Lead Poisoning. The documentary, produced by Black Cub Productions, highlights the transformative power of community engagement through participatory budgeting to address the injustice of childhood lead poisoning in Syracuse. cnycf.org/voicesrising