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2014 Grant Awards
ASSOCIATION FOR VISION REHABILITATION AND EMPLOYMENT, INC.
$150,000
The Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment (AVRE) is
the only organization in the Southern Tier that provides specialized
employment for people who are blind or visually impaired. At its
Binghamton facility, employees make file folders and copy paper and
perform packaging and assembly. With help from a $150,000 grant from the
Hoyt Foundation, AVRE will replace a 50-year old sheet cutter with a
modern Digicut Sheeter. The new equipment will help AVRE operate more
efficiently and safely. The Digicut Sheeter will also helps AVRE to
increase its business and employ more people, and it will give workers
the chance to acquire up-to-date manufacturing skills..
BINGHAMTON AMBUCS
$30,000
A volunteer organization, Binghamton AMBUCS helps people with
disabilities to acquire custom-adapted AmTrykes. An AmTryke is a
therapeutic tricycle that offers mobility and independence to people who
cannot operate regular bicycles. The Hoyt Foundation has granted
Binghamton AMBUCS a total of $30,000 to help it introduce the Trykes to
local families. The money allows Binghamton AMBUCS to: buy 13 different
models of AmTryke for demonstration and training; buy a trailer to store
and transport the Trykes; train professionals in the area on how to use
AmTrykes and fit them properly for individuals; and offer subsidies to
families that can’t afford the full cost of a Tryke.
BROOME COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
$25,000
Community college foundations face special challenges in their
efforts to raise money for student financial. Current students who
commute to school, and alumni who go on to four-year colleges that
ultimately claim their loyalties, can be difficult targets for
fundraising campaigns. Nevertheless, the BCC Foundation conducts a
successful giving program each year and administers several significant
donor funds, all of which help students pursue higher education and
career training. In 2014, the Hoyt Foundation provided $25,000 toward
the BCC Foundation’s Grants-in-Aid program.
BROOME COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL
$100,000
Since 2013, the Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) has been working
toward a series of goals designed to make it a stronger and more
effective organization, better able to raise funds to support Broome
County’s signature arts organizations. Some of those goals are to:
develop the BCAC Board’s fundraising skills; raise the profile of BCAC
and its United Cultural Fund (UCF) through better branding and
marketing; and join in collaborations and partnerships that make the
community more familiar with BCAC and highlight the impact the UCF makes
on the arts organizations that residents enjoy. In 2014, the Hoyt
Foundation made a $100,000 program grant to BCAC’s 2015 UCF campaign.
BROOME COUNTY WATER SENTINELS
$4,100
The Water Sentinels is a stream water monitoring program affiliated
with the Sierra Club. Broome County Water Sentinels work with local
volunteer citizen groups, university labs, and other water testing
programs to recruit, train, support and coordinate ongoing monitoring.
In 2014, the Hoyt Foundation provided $4,100 toward water sample lab
testing and volunteer education programs.
DEPOSIT COMMUNITY THEATRE & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, INC.
$13,000
The Deposit Community Theatre & Performing Arts Center serves the
people of Deposit in several ways, offering live entertainment,
opportunities to take part in productions and a local outlet for
first-run movies. Using a $13,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation, staff
will upgrade the audio equipment at the Theatre from analog to digital
technology, allowing the audience to enjoy high definition audio. The
grant also allows the Theatre to buy materials to a build a storage
area. This will permit staff to keep theatrical props at the facility
for easy access, rather than off site
EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE
$30,000
Empire State College (ESC), part of the State University of New York
(SUNY), provides an alternative route to a college degree for adult
students. In 2013, the college’s Binghamton site served 115 students,
many of whom juggle family, job and community responsibilities while
pursuing higher education. Nearly 80 percent of ESC’s students from
Broome County qualify for financial aid. A recent SUNY tuition increase
makes it even harder for many students to afford a degree. In 2014, the
Hoyt Foundation granted ESC $30,000 for scholarships to Broome County
students over five years. In a typical year, this money will support
four grants of $1,500 each.
GOODWILL THEATRE
$125,000
Since 2002, the Goodwill Theatre Inc. (GWT) has been working to
develop a major arts complex in Johnson City. The initiative focuses on
three historic buildings, with the restored Goodwill Theatre as its
centerpiece. One part of the project calls for developing the 1899
Firehouse Building to house four performance spaces, classrooms,
dressing rooms and other facilities. In 2012, GWT received a $325,000
grant from the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council to
support architectural plans for Phase One of this project. Hoyt has
provided $110,000 in matching funds for that grant. An additional
$15,000 from Hoyt will go toward a mini-business plan to govern these
Phase One activities.
KOPERNIK OBSERVATORY & SCIENCE CENTER
$16,350
The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center (KOSC) has offered programs
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM subjects)
for young people for 40 years. Hosting field trips and offering
in-school programs, KOSC has forged productive relationships with many
teachers in our area. Now, with help from a $16,350 program grant from
the Hoyt Foundation, KOSC will launch a new initiative, a continuing
education and professional development program in science for elementary
school teacher in Broome County. The program will offer resources,
information and activities to enrich classroom instruction. It will also
help prepare teachers for the advent of New York State’s Next Generation
Science Standards in 2016
NEW YORK COUNCIL OF NONPROFITS, INC.
$10,000
Each year since 2006, the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) has
partnered with five local foundations, including the Hoyt Foundation,
plus the United Way of Broome County, to conduct the Southern Tier
Capacity-Building Program. This initiative includes a series of
capacity-building training workshops for nonprofit organizations in
Broome County, designed to help those organizations improve their
operations, governance and management. Organizations that participate in
any of those workshops may then apply for two other forms of
capacity-building assistance, a mini-grant program and a mini-assessment
program. Hoyt is supporting the 2014 Southern Tier Capacity-Building
Program with a grant of $10,000.
SAMARITAN COUNSELING CENTER OF THE SOUTHERN TIER, INC.
$25,000
The Samaritan Counseling Center (SCC) of the Southern Tier has
provided counseling to individuals, couples and families since 1983.
With offices in Endicott, Owego and Windsor, SCC takes a
spiritually-sensitive approach, designed to empower the whole person.
SCC recently completed an organizational assessment through the New York
Council of Nonprofits. One insight that emerged is that SCC needs to do
a better job of marketing its services. With part of a $25,000 grant
from the Hoyt Foundation, SCC will develop, plan and launch a
comprehensive marketing initiative. It will use the rest of the money to
implement an electronic health records system, as required by the
Affordable Care Act.
TRINITY COMMUNITY CANTEEN
$18,500
Based at Trinity Memorial Church in Binghamton, the Trinity Community
Canteen serves a hot lunch to people in need every Sunday, plus a bagged
meal for later in the day. An average of 85 to 100 guests benefit from
this service each week. In 2014, the Hoyt Foundation granted the Trinity
Community Canteen $18,500 for upgrades to its kitchen area. That money
allows the Canteen to replace a dishwasher so old that it was becoming
impossible to repair. The grant will also pay for a new sink, dish
tables and pre-rinse faucet, providing a chance to reorganize the
kitchen area in a more efficient manner.
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
$5,000
The United Presbyterian Church, located in downtown Binghamton, has a
history of providing social services to people in need in the local
community. In 2014, the Hoyt Foundation provided $5,000 for the Care &
Share Project and the Single Mother’s Support Group.
VILLAGE OF ENDICOTT/ENDICOTT VISITOR CENTER
$50,000
The Village of Endicott created the Endicott Visitor Center as a
place where residents and visitors can learn about the histories of
Endicott and Johnson City. Housed in the historic Old Colonial
Hall/Mansion, the Visitor Center offers tours, educational programs and
a research room. It also hosts public events. Permanent exhibits tell
the stories of George F. Johnson, Thomas J. Watson and their workers at
the Endicott Johnson Corporation and IBM. Rotating exhibits feature
antique toys, Union-Endicott Central School District sports and the
region’s ethnic groups. The Village will soon launch a major renovation
and restoration project at the center, with help from a $50,000 Hoyt
Foundation capital grant.
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