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2012 Grant Awards
ART MISSION AND THEATER $3,694
Housed in a 100-year old building in Binghamton, the Art Mission and
Theater includes two art galleries and a duplex theater that shows
independent films. Following a mini-assessment through the Southern Tier
Capacity Building Program, the theater’s staff and board decided to
develop a strategic plan, to help ensure that the organization can
continue to serve the community for years to come. The goals of this
effort are to create a fundraising infrastructure, increase earned
revenue, and improve marketing in order to draw a bigger audience to the
complex. A $3,694 grant from the Hoyt Foundation will allow the Art
Mission to develop that strategic plan.
ASSOCIATION FOR VISION REHABILITATION AND EMPLOYMENT, INC. $100,000
The Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment (AVRE) runs
several enterprises that provide employment to individuals with vision
disabilities. One of these is a business that manufactures paper office
products such as file folders and copy paper. Thanks to a $100,000 grant
from the Hoyt Foundation, AVRE has been able to replace a piece of
outdated equipment in this operation with a Pemco Mid-Capacity Ream
Wrapper. Used to package copy paper, this new machine will make the
business more efficient, improve safety, protect five employee
positions, create up to five new jobs, and help to improve operating
margins.
BROOME COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION $25,000
The main mission of the Broome Community College (BCC) Foundation is to
raise money from the local community so that Broome County residents who
cannot afford to pay full tuition can continue to pursue educational
opportunities. Besides helping individuals, the Foundation’s
Grants-in-Aid Program also helps to ensure a pool of well-trained
workers for local employers. In 2012, the Hoyt Foundation supported the
BCC Foundation with $25,000 toward those goals.
BROOME COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL $8,899
These are paradoxical times for arts organizations. Demand for the arts
continues to grow, and that’s a good thing. But available funding for
the arts has been on the decline. Looking for ways to sustain its good
work far into the future, the Broome County Arts Council will conduct an
assessment of its organizational capacity, with help from a grant of
$8,899 from the Hoyt Foundation. The primary goal is to learn how BCAC
must manage differently in today’s difficult environment, to sustain its
program operations and provide services that the community needs.
BROOME COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL $100,000
Through its United Cultural Fund, the Broome County Arts Council (BCAC)
provides a centralized, accountable mechanism for distributing support
from local donors to a variety of non-profit arts organizations in the
community. Each of these institutions makes a vital contribution to the
cultural life and identity of Broome County. In 2012, the Hoyt
Foundation contributed $100,000 to the United Cultural Fund. This
support is especially important today, when the recession and the recent
floods have imposed special fundraising challenges on arts organizations
in our area.
BROOME COUNTY COUNCIL OF CHURCHES $10,000
Since 2006, the Broome County Council of Churches’ Faith in Action
Volunteers Program has been building an average of 15 wheelchair ramps
per year for elderly and disabled residents in our community. Through
the RAMP IT UP program, people who use wheelchairs gain greater mobility
and freedom, and young volunteers gain valuable knowledge, skills, and
experience. A $10,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation in 2012 helped
participants purchase construction materials for new ramps.
CITY OF BINGHAMTON $50,000
Through its Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP), the City of
Binghamton is working to limit climate change by reducing emissions of
greenhouse gases. With a $50,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation, plus
another $50,000 from the Funders’ Network Local Sustainability Matching
Fund, Binghamton will help more city residents upgrade their homes to
become more energy efficient. This program will cut resident’s utility
bills, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Binghamton will
also use the money to implement other environmental initiatives, such as
promoting alternative modes of transportation and diverting organic
wastes from the county landfill, among other possibilities.
GREATER BINGHAMTON EDUCATION OUTREACH PROGRAM $30,000
Nonprofit organizations in Broome County will succeed in the future only
if they can attract both younger and older members to their boards
today. Unfortunately, local nonprofits find it difficult to create
boards that are generationally diverse. To help cultivate a new
generation of non-profit board members, the Hoyt Foundation has granted
$30,000 to the Greater Binghamton Education Outreach Program for a pilot
training program. Board Source, a respected national organization
focused on board development, will work with twenty business
professionals from different age groups—all drawn from the Broome
Leadership Institute (BLI) program—to prepare them to serve effectively
on non-profit boards.
HAVEN AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM $8,500
Haven After-School Program, held in Binghamton’s Trinity Memorial
Church, gives junior and senior high school students a safe place to
learn and enjoy themselves when classes let out for the day. Many of the
students who attend this drop-in program come from low-income families,
with no one available at home to supervise them after school. Aided by
an $8,500 grant from the Hoyt Foundation, Haven is implementing the
Wellness Program, a curriculum developed by the Health and Wellness
Department at Binghamton University. This program will encourage
students at Haven to adopt healthy behaviors, with a focus on topics
such as nutrition, cooking, health and wellness, media literacy, sex
education, and self-respect.
MOM’S HOUSE OF JOHNSON CITY $20,000
The flood of 2011 brought catastrophic damage to Mom’s House, the
Johnson City facility that offers free child care to low-income single
parents while they continue their educations. With help from a $20,000
grant from the Hoyt Foundation, Mom’s House has rebuilt and expanded its
property on Harry L Drive, while also taking new steps to protect the
building and its contents from future floods. In addition, the project
yielded a happy bonus: it provided a cost-effective chance to fulfill
longstanding plans at Mom’s House to develop an indoor play area.
NEW YORK COUNCIL ON NONPROFITS, INC. $10,000
Working with the Hoyt Foundation and four other local funding partners,
the New York Council on Nonprofits (NYCON) has been conducting the
Southern Tier Capacity-Building Program. This initiative provides
guidance and support to nonprofit organizations in Broome County,
assisting with efforts to strengthen their management and governance
operations. A $10,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation helped NYCON to
continue its workshops, mini-grant program and mini-assessment program
for local nonprofits in 2012.
ROBERSON MEMORIAL, INC. Up to $8,000
When Roberson Museum and Science Center completed a comprehensive
organizational assessment in 2010, one of the major concerns that
emerged was a need to more systematically address building maintenance.
Roberson’s buildings require at least $2 million in capital
improvements. To address those needs responsibly, Roberson plans to
develop a comprehensive and professionally-designed Facilities Master
Plan. The Museum has applied for a state grant to cover 75 percent of
the cost of developing that plan. If Roberson receives this funding, the
Hoyt Foundation will meet the 25 percent matching requirement with a
grant of $8,000.
SOUTHERN TIER ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. Up to $7,964
After a long period of administrative and financial trouble, the
Southern Tier Zoological Society is seeking a new beginning. To set the
organization on the road to stability and sustainability, its leaders
have decided to conduct an organizational capacity assessment. This
process will allow the staff and Board to identify the organization’s
strengths and weaknesses and create a blueprint for success in the
future. One of the Zoo’s partners in the capacity assessment will be a
mentor from the American Zoological Association (AZA), who has been
helping staff get ready to apply for AZA reaccredidation in 2013. The
Hoyt Foundation will support the Zoo’s capacity assessment with a grant
of $7,964.
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