2025 Year End
Everyone can take action to make our world a more equitable and vital place. Since 1972, Rochester Area Community Foundation has connected donors to the critical needs of our eight-county region, leveraging financial expertise and community knowledge to maximize impact. At the Foundation, donors are partners and every gift is an investment in a better future.
The RBJ recognizes Community Foundation staff on its 2025 Power List for Environmental Leaders. Congratulations to Simeon Banister, Community Foundation president & CEO, and Elizabeth McDade, RENEW director, for being included in this list for its second year, and thank you both for leading in our community.
Check out the Power List to hear from Elizabeth about RENEW's 10 years of climate action rbj.net/2025/12/19/elizabeth-mcdade-2/. ... See MoreSee Less
Our needs shape the work.
Our community fuels the mission.
Our generosity creates the change.
When you give through Rochester Area Community Foundation, our impact reaches further — guided in research, grounded in data, and built for systematic change.
This giving season, let’s move the needle together. Visit racf.org/give.
#rochesterny #givingseason #celebrationofgiving #communityimpact #nonprofit #philanthropyinaction #philanthropy ... See MoreSee Less
We asked some of you at this year’s Celebration of Giving what you love about the Community Foundation.
We witnessed how the power of philanthropy is a story we write together.
As we close out 2025, we invite you to join us this giving season to make a year-end gift to Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Together, we will strengthen our community and make deep-rooted impact. Thank you for being part of the Community Foundation and giving today!
racf.org/giving/give-now/ ... See MoreSee Less
Every day, we see the truth that our CEO, Simeon Banister, shared:
Our community’s nonprofits are the scaffolding that supports a stronger future for all of us.
To everyone who gave, volunteered their time, partnered with us, or entrusted us with their hopes—thank you.
Your generosity has strengthened this region in meaningful, lasting ways, and the impact will carry well into 2026 and beyond. ... See MoreSee Less
Learn More
Meet Victoria Kleehammer, our final Advisor Spotlight of 2025!
- Partner at EFPR Advisory, LLC
- President of the the board of the Estate Planning Council
- Shares how to bring heart and clarity to a client’s difficult life transition
#AdvisorSpotlight #ProfessionalAdvisors #CPA #Philanthropy #estateplanning
Read more about Vicki at racf.org/Kleehammer. ... See MoreSee Less
Scholarship Alert! Are you ready to take the next step in your academic journey? Scholarships can help with tuition, supplies, and more, whether your plans include higher education, vocational programs, or enrichment opportunities. Applications are open now.
- You can apply for 55+ scholarships with ONE application
- We have more than 130 scholarship opportunities
- There are scholarships for all ages and interests
The Community Foundation awarded more than $1.5 M to scholars in 2025.
Apply now at www.racf.org/scholarships. ... See MoreSee Less
✨ A night we will never forget. ✨
We look back on Celebration of Giving with so much gratitude. It was a special evening full of inspiration, heartwarming stories, and honorees that are incredible catalysts for the change we hope to see in our world.
Thank you to everyone in our network who continues to do good, and invites others to join you. We celebrate our collective efforts with hope, compassion, and commitment to keep giving back.
📸 | Erich Camping LLC ... See MoreSee Less
✨What a memorable evening we had together at Celebration of Giving. ✨
💖 Thank you to our 425 guests (with over 50 organizations and partners) who attended this year’s Celebration of Giving. Together, we celebrated philanthropy in action, inspiring each other to keep doing good in our community.
💖 Thank you to our inspiring honorees (Rich & Laurie Riedman, Philip Burke, Esq., Jerry Fisher, PhD & Jonathan Rosenfeld) for your heartwarming words and actions, encouraging us all to be the difference we wish to see in our world.
💖 Thank you Simeon Banister for reminding us that “transformation begins with who we choose to lift up — especially in uncertain times”. We were able to take a tour, witnessing that “resilience, innovation, and transformation is underway right here in our community” through the work our partners FoodLink, WXXI, and the Medina Triennial Hub are doing every day.
💖 Thank you The String Queens for sharing your gifts with us Thursday evening, and bringing your heart for teaching and music to the students at School No. 19 (RCSD) through a special workshop you hosted earlier in the day.
💖 And thank you to everyone that partners with us, supports us, and connects with us to #TransformTomorrow.
Help us continue this work by donating to the Community Impact Fund at racf.org/CommunityImpact.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. - Margaret Mead
#rochesterny #communityimpact #celebrationofgiving #nonprofit #philanthropyinaction #givingseason #philanthropy ... See MoreSee Less