Thank you for your support, your encouragement, your wisdom and your participation in making 2013 the best year ever for the Community Foundation. Even before the official year end we can anticipate that 2013 will see the most grant making in our history with 230 grants totaling over $973,000, an increase or more than 130% thanks to your generosity. 

Please keep your Community Foundation in mind as you prepare your giving plan for the end of 2013. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Donate to the Operational Endowment Fund which helps us provide services to our community
• Contribute to the growing endowments of our Women's Fund or our Children & Youth Fund
• Make a multi-year pledge to support the operations of the Community Foundation
• Start your own fund
• Give to any existing fund

CLICK HERE for more information

Thank you for your support and for your generosity. Please contact us so that we may be of assistance.

Gift Deadlines

Gifts delivered by US Mail must be postmarked by December 31, 2013 in order to receive a 2013 gift date. Hand delivered gifts must be received in person in our office by 1 pm on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 in order to receive a 2013 gift date.

In 2008, Sally McMillin made a designated gift to the Community Foundation in memory of her husband, Scott McMillin, to address literacy throughout our community.  Scott McMillin was a member of the Cornell Department of English for more than four decades, teaching mostly in the field of Renaissance drama.  Among his books are "The Musical as Drama",  "The Queen's Men and Their Plays, 1583-1603," "Shakespeare in Performance: Henry IV, Part One" and "The Elizabethan Theatre and 'The Book of Sir Thomas More.'"

This gift resulted in 5 grants, each for $1,000 made over five years to the following organizations:

• 2009 - Family Reading Partnership for their DVD Literacy Project (http://www.familyreading.org/ )
• 2010 - Tompkins Learning Partners for their volunteer recruitment, training and support (http://www.tlpartners.org/)
• 2011 - Tompkins Learning Partners Capital Campaign (http://www.tlpartners.org/)
• 2012 - Golden Opportunities for a Literacy Tutor for an elementary school student (http://www.gotutors.org/)
• 2013 - Golden Opportunities for a Literacy Tutor for an elementary school student (http://www.gotutors.org/)

Check out the links to these organizations and find out how they are addressing literacy in our county.  

New members are:

Paula Davis, Assistant Director, Ithaca College Gerontology Institute

Sandy Dhimitri, Director of Human Resources for Cornell's College of Human Ecology and Libraries

Philip McPheron, retired from Cornell University administration.

Lucia Tyler, college admissions consultant

Baruch Whitehead, Associate Professor, Ithaca College

Stephanie Wiles, the Richard J. Schwartz Director, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.

Outgoing members completing their terms in 2013 with the thanks and appreciation of the Community Foundation are Mariette Geldenhuys and Amy Yale-Loehr.

The following members were elected to a second three year term from 2014-2016: Mary Berens, Tom Colbert, Robin Masson, Alan Mathios and Carol Travis.

Officers for 2014 were also elected and include:

Robin Masson, Chairperson, Alan Mathios, Vice-Chairperson, Diane McDonough, Treasurer, and Mary Berens, Secretary.

Continuing members for 2014 include: Richard Banks, Susan Brown, Randy Ehrenberg, Ross Feldman, Marcie Finlay, Bob Jewell, Sara Knobel, Tim Little, Diane McDonough, Bill Murphy, Nancy Potter, Mickie Sanders-Jauquet, David Squires, Linda Wagenet, and Julie Waters.

Mickie Sanders-Jauquet