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Women’s Fund Distributes $50,000 in Grants

$50,000 in grants will assist nonprofits serving Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties

August 30, 2022 (Syracuse, NY) – Ten nonprofit organizations from Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties received grants from the Women’s Fund of Central New York. The grants, totaling $50,000, will fund projects that support the advancement and full participation of women and girls.

The Women’s Fund of Central New York is a volunteer-led fund which supports, empowers and recognizes the advancement and full participation of women and girls in Central New York through an endowment fund, grants and initiatives. Since its inception in 1998, the Women’s Fund has awarded nearly $500,000 in grants, and has grown its endowment to more than $1 million.

Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative (Cayuga) received $5,000 to support the Affirmed Melanated Princess Project, which serves Black girls who are local to Central New York and attend elementary schools in the Syracuse City and Auburn City school districts.

Black Girls Don’t Get Love received $5,000 to convert its popular book “Black Girls Don’t Get Love” into a short film, which will be used as proof of concept to seek funding for an eventual television show or feature film.

BLOOM of CNY received $5,000 to facilitate the Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise workshop for girls and young women. The workshop was developed to educate, empower, and encourage girls and young women in the city of Syracuse and surrounding areas in health and wellness, financial literacy, and building healthy habits.

The Desens House (Oswego) received $5,000 to purchase supplies in order to continue running Canning for Hope, a program that provides women in recovery, recovery allies, and community members with canned ingredients for easy baking or cooking.

Half Hood Half Holistic received $5,000 in support of “Girl, Get Connected,” a series of social wellness events and group spaces to reduce isolation, increase connection, and enhance life skills for Black women.

Layla’s Got You received $5,000 to train and deploy 20 additional young women ambassadors to develop and implement right-sized engagements for local young women.

Light A Candle for Literacy received $5,000 to provide food, activities, supplies, and field trips for girls participating in the monthly Empowering Girls Roundtable.

Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation received $5,000 to equip Gage Ambassadors for Human Rights with the skills needed to conduct and share interviews with local women leaders and make them available to schools.

Partners for Education and Business received $5,000 to support a marketing campaign for the Future Women in STEM pilot series, which seeks to feature speakers local companies and hands-on activities intended to spark interest and empower young girls in grades 6-8 to explore engineering, manufacturing, and skilled trade careers.

Syracuse University/WISE Women’s Business Center received $5,000 to fund a curriculum for the WISE WBC Learning & Accountability Groups, which are specialized cohorts, ranging from four to eight weeks in length and led by skilled facilitators on leading small business topics. Topics are then selected by community members and prioritized based on the challenges of today’s changing small business landscape and their impacts on women small business owners.

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For more information on the Women’s Fund or to make a donation, visit: womensfundofcny.org. The Women’s Fund of Central New York is an affiliate fund of the Central New York Community Foundation, cnycf.org.

About the Central New York Community Foundation

The Central New York Community Foundation is a public charity established in 1927 that receives contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time and then distributes funding to local charities to help them thrive. It is the largest charitable foundation in Central New York with assets of nearly $400 million and has invested more than $250 million in community improvement projects since its inception. As a grantmaker, civic leader, convener and sponsor of strategic initiatives, the Community Foundation strives to strengthen local nonprofits, encourage better understanding of the region and address the most critical issues of our time.

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