News & Events

Rochester Area Community Foundation Awards $389,336 in Grants for Local Projects

Rochester, NY — Rochester Area Community Foundation is awarding 54 grants totaling $389,336 to organizations and programs in the areas of arts and culture, environment, health, historical preservation, women and girls, and more.

Grant amounts range from $769 to enhance visual arts opportunities at School of the Arts to $28,500 to design an urban agricultural plan in southwest Rochester.

This round of competitive grants, one of the Community Foundation’s largest, drew 98 proposals seeking more than $1 million in funding.

“Local philanthropists have made possible every one of these grants, which are especially needed by organizations in today’s still-difficult climate,” says Jennifer Leonard, president and executive director of the Community Foundation.

Community Foundation and Partners Launch Boomer Mentors Project

Rochester Area Community Foundation, Lifespan and Rochester Mentors on February 4 launched a three-year initiative to recruit at least 200 boomer mentors for Rochester City School District Students. The goal of the Boomer Mentors project is to tap the knowledge and experience of this generation to help improve the district’s graduation rate, which is among the lowest in New York state. Research shows that mentoring improves academic performance because mentors become influential role models in the lives of youth.

The project was inspired by the 2005 Call to Arms report by a blue-ribbon task force, led by former Rochester Institute of Technology President Al Simone. That report called for 10,000 volunteer mentors to work with City School District students. To fund the initiative, the Community Foundation qualified for a $500,000 challenge grant from Atlantic Philanthropies, a multi-national foundation that is focused on unleashing the potential of the boomer generation to solve social issues. The challenge grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match. To date, $300,570 has been raised, and additional funders are being sought.

Community Foundation Joins Coalition to Promote After-School Funding

Rochester Area Community Foundation is a member of the Rochester Community Coalition, which unveiled its "2010 Top Priorities for State Investment" at a January 14 press conference.

The Coalition announced five community initiatives that it will lobby for in Albany. One is a $5 million, four-year funding investment in the Rochester After-School Plan, developed jointly by the Community Foundation, the city of Rochester, the Rochester City School District and United Way of Greater Rochester. Community Foundation President and Executive Director Jennifer Leonard spoke about the importance of after-school programs in curbing violence and improving graduation rates.

Lobbying Helps Get More Child-Care Funding

The hard work and lobbying by a coalition of community groups, nonprofits and local governments to restore child-care subsidy funding has paid off.

New York state increased Monroe County’s share of Child Care Block Grant funding. That $4.8 million, plus $2.9 million in federal stimulus money, will allow the county to restore the subsidized child-care eligibility threshold to 165 percent of the poverty level. Making this change will make it possible for almost 1,000 families to qualify for funds to help with child-care expenses.