Community Insights Forum

Community members identified the following priority areas during the November Community Insights Forum, in preparation for the Spring 2026 grant round.

Education: Increase literacy rates & wrap around services for student success

• Do the youth in your life have access to programs and services that support success in the classroom, including access to basic needs?

Arts & Culture: Increase free arts & culture programs for all

• Do you have access to free arts and culture programs in your community?

Environment & Animals: Need safe drinking water, and need to protect natural resources. (Remove the lead pipes in Syracuse)

• Have you checked to see if your home contains lead pipes?
  • Has your home been tested for lead paint?
  • Has your child been tested for lead?
  • Do you have access to green spaces (parks, fields, gardens, etc…) that you can enjoy?

Civic Engagement: Increase youth civic engagement and education

• Do you have the information you need to vote during elections?

Community members identified the following priority areas during the April Community Insights Forum, in preparation for the Fall 2026 grant round.

Health: Increase city-wide wellness programs that educate residents on medical insurance, including costs, and ensure accessibility for English and non-English speakers

• Do you have public or private health insurance for you and your family?
  • In the past six months has your mental health or the mental health of a loved one negatively affected your job or your family?

Human Services: Provide high-quality, community-centered programs, especially for youth, while ensuring staff are compensated fairly

• Do you feel connected to your neighborhood community?
  • Do you know where to go in your community to learn about programs that can help your family (such as food, transportation, shelter, recreation, etc.)?

Workforce & Economic Development: Provide and expand existing wraparound support for all ages in job training and job readiness across sectors including trades.

• Do you have a stable full-time job?
  • Do you have the skills you need to get the kind of jobs you want?
  • Do you have dependable and safe transportation when you need it?

Please note that we also incorporated these top priorities identified during that Community Insights Forum event into our Life Needs Assessment (LNA) data system which we offer free of charge to nonprofits in our community. This data system allows community organizations to:

1. Assess whether the people you serve have the needs identified by these questions,
2. Reach out to your clients that do have these needs to learn more about how it affects them and what can be done to help
3. Keep track of outcomes for your clients in these priority areas
4. Partner with other organizations to better address these priority areas