January is the time of year that we set personal goals for ourselves and align our yearly plans for making our aspirations come to fruition. Common New Year's resolutions focus on our personal heath, spending time with friends and family, and learning new things.
This year, we challenge you to add a resolution that focuses on your philanthropic goals. By opening a donor-advised fund you have enabled yourself to make community grants, so why not get the maximum use of your Community Foundation's service? The Foundation sees donor advisors at a variety of philanthropic levels. Many of you are fully engaged philanthropists and know just what causes or organizations you want your charitable dollars to benefit. Some donor advisors know they want to make a difference but still need guidance on how to get there. There are others who have ideas on where they would like to make an impact, but need assistance deciding which organization is their optimal partner to achieve it.
We are here to serve all levels of donor advisors and all of your philanthropic interests. To that end, we will be continuing the Learning Series by offering you more educational opportunities in 2011, and look forward to guiding you toward your goals. You will also be hearing from us about scheduling meetings to discuss your personal philanthropic goals and how to attain them.
In the meantime, here are a few grant ideas that have recently come across our desks:
DonorsChoose is a micro-granting website that allows donors to 
browse local classroom teachers' needs. A donor may then choose to fund any monetary portion of the request, but as a donor-advised fund we remind you that our grant minimum is $200.
For those who attended November's panel discussion, you will be pleased to know that John Bosco House is close to opening their doors and is interviewing young men for their housing program. With all the recent snow, they have identified that a snowblower is a need, as well as general operating support to defray housing costs.
Peacemaker Program offers inclusive, innovative approaches to resolve conflict and achieve positive outcomes for children, families and the community. Their Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program provides advocacy for children who have been abused or neglected.
Sculpture Space selects twenty artists each year for two-month residencies to live and work in Utica. The Artist-in-Residency program is looking for fellowship donations in the range of $1,000- $2,000 to support artist stipends.
The Women's Fund of Herkimer & Oneida Counties makes grants to local nonprofits to create opportunities for economic, educational and personal growth for women of all ages. A specific program of The Women's Fund is Annie's Fund, which offers small monetary intervention to women in a temporary, but immediate crisis. The goal of Annie's Fund is to assist women striving to overcome obstacles and transform their lives.
Please contact Lara Sepanski at lsepanski@foundationhoc.org or 315-735-8212 for more information on any of the above grant opportunities, or to discuss your donor-advised fund giving strategy.
