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 Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation, AVRE has been able to replace a piece of outdated equipment in this operation with a Pemco Mid-Capacity Ream Wrapper.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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