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A Message from our CEO, George Ferrari
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After 15 years of working with this community, which includes so many talented, compassionate, and committed people, we are celebrating the deep impact and rich relationships, which come from the generosity of the residents of Tompkins County. We have commissioned a short video, which we encourage you to view and to share with others. In it, three donors, two professional advisors, and two grantees share their experiences with the Community Foundation. You will hear your neighbors and friends speak of the desire to share a family's unique philanthropic values, the variety of favorite organizations to support, the power of careful planning, and the healing approach of memorializing a dear family member. You will learn of the diversity of Community Foundation grants and the potential for everyone who lives in, works in, or loves Tompkins County to participate in the joy of making voluntary contribution of talent, treasure, and time to make our marvelous home even better. Thank you for making our first 15 years of achievements: $14 million in assets and 1,963 grants of more than $6.6 million, possible.
As always, keep connected by visiting our website at www.cftompkins.org
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Donor Spotlight: Paula Younger
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By Amy LeViere, Donor Services Officer
Helping Community Realize Its Full Potential
"Focusing on grassroots issues and the totality of our community concerns, our Community Foundation provides an efficient and flexible grant-making mechanism for directing donor resources to address ongoing and emerging needs. As a CFTC grant reviewer, I am an essential part of this unique system, with the responsibility of ensuring high-quality grant awards that support successful local programming while continuing to stimulate local philanthropy. It is a role that enhances my ability to serve and helps me stay in touch with things. It also provides for a memorable opportunity to join other talented reviewers from a variety of professions, work settings, and cultural backgrounds, all working together to help community realize its full potential... today and tomorrow."
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Paula E.F. Younger
Grant Reviewer, Grant Recipient, and CFTC Donor
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| Community Foundation Celebrates 15th Anniversary at Chamber After Hours at TC3's Coltivare |
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By Janet Cotraccia, Program Officer
Since 1961, Ithaca Ballet has trained over 2,000 young people in the art of dance and enriched the lives of thousands more through quality dance productions. Ithaca Ballet serves an ethnically diverse population of boys and girls in Tompkins and surrounding counties. They believe that children, who express an interest in dance and the motivation to learn, should be given the opportunity to learn to dance. They strive to keep the cost of their programming affordable and accessible to families of modest means. The Ithaca Ballet Summer Camp is an opportunity for new young people to try out dance, as well as to allow current dancers to advance their skills. Last year, Ithaca Ballet applied in the Community Foundation's Spring Grant Cycle and was awarded a $3,000 grant from our Kathy Yoselson Fierce Determination Fund to support scholarships for Summer Camp participants. Five children were supported with this scholarship funding and the teachers reported that camp participants made "astonishing progress". One scholarship student advanced from Level 1 to Level 6 during the summer camp season! Bravo to Ithaca Ballet for continuing a tradition of access to exceptional ballet training and performance in Tompkins County.
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Atlas of Giving Says Charitable Donations Grew 9% Last Year, to $457-Billion
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Title: Atlas of Giving Says Charitable Donations Grew 9% Last Year, to $457-Billion
Credit: Holly Hall, Chronicle of Philanthropy
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Charitable giving will fall by more than 3 percent this year, to $442.1-billion, after growing by more than 9 percent in 2014, to $456.7-billion, a new survey estimates.
Giving in 2014 was bolstered by a healthy surge in year-end donations.
But the gains in 2014 are unlikely to hold this year when giving will be "bleak at best," the researchers speculate.
The Atlas of Giving says its findings are produced by a team of 25 mathematicians using 65 economic algorithms, but the organization doesn't provide specifics on how it compiles its figures.
Researchers, who acknowledged that their "forecast will change as events unfold throughout the year," cite several factors that could cause charitable giving to fall in 2015. Among them: possible declines in the stock market following it's lengthy rally, a likely increase in interest rates, weakening economies in Europe, and low compensation levels among workers that are still beneath pre-recession levels.
Some fundraisers have been skeptical of the survey's validity and its value to charities. "Giving was healthy in 2014, and 2015 is looking strong," said Barlow Mann, a Memphis planned-giving consultant. "It's too early to predict. You might as well predict the weather a year in advance."
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Women's Fund Luncheon and Grants Award Ceremony
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Registration is now open for the 2015 Women's Fund Luncheon and Grants Award Ceremony!
We look forward to you joining the most amazing gathering of passionate philanthropists dedicated to making a difference in the lives of women in Tompkins County.
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| Karen Baer of the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights will be sharing her keynote address "Stepping Out of the Shadows: An Embracing of New Leaders, New Voices". |
We will celebrate the 2015 Laura Holmberg awardee Joan Barber of Danby, long time volunteer with the Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard food pantry system.
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For more information and for registration, visit the event page on our website.
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The Community Foundation now has access to GrantStation and we would like to share it with you!
GrantStation is a tool for non-profits, educational institutions, and government agencies that helps these groups find both private and federal grantmakers in their local area, for a specific area of interest, or for a specific project.
GrantStation is very user-friendly and operates using both simple and advanced search features. As a grant seeker, you can simply search within an area of interest or for a specific keyword, or do a more intricate search and find exactly what you are seeking.
There are also many resources provided by GrantStation to aid in the grant seeking process. GrantStation is divided into four sections: Search, Write, Learn, and Read. Each of these sections will help you in different ways and guide you toward writing better grants to the right people.
To give GrantStation a try in our offices or to conduct more thorough research, reserve a one-hour GrantStation time slot by contacting our Administrative Assistant, Matthew Fisher:
(607) 272-9333
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A Night On the Town Arts Showcase
- June 6, 2015
- 7pm
- Ford Hall, Ithaca College
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Gala Banquet
- November 7, 2015
- Saturday evening
- Celebrations
2331 Slaterville Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850
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2015 Philanthropy Learning Exchanges
(continuing education credits available pending content approval)
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Power of Attorney [POA] and their Role in Gifting
- March 4, 2015
- 12pm for professional advisors
- 5pm for donors
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Are You Ready to Make a Major Gift?
- April 29, 2015
- 12pm for professional advisors
- 5pm for donors
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Using Charitable Assets in a Socially Responsible Way
- June 17, 2015
- 12pm for professional advisors
- 5pm for donors
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Financial Planning 101 for Young Professionals
- Sept. 22, 2015
- 12pm for professional advisors
- 5pm for donors
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Learning to Give, Giving to Learn.
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What Are Community Foundations?
Community Foundations are not-for-profit organizations founded and staffed by people who are dedicated to seeking out what is needed in our community and what is valuable about Tompkins County and to helping those valuable assets grow important results. We understand our community's needs and help you to turn your charitable passions into results-oriented philanthropy. We show donors how to make gifts go further and accomplish more.
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New Board Member Spotlight: Fabina Colon
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Fabina Colon
Community Impact Committee
Fabina is the Director of the Multicultural Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing a diverse and inclusive culture and eliminating all forms of systemic oppressions in our communities through education, community organizing and collaborations. She is a native of Peru and moved to Tompkins County along with her family in 1991. She is passionate about multicultural education, sustaining indigenous knowledge and values, and employing arts and culture as vehicles for community building and social change. In addition to her work with MRC, she has founded SoLuna, a grassroots initiative working with local youth around cultural identity awareness, cultural competency and unity through the arts. In spring of 2013, Fabina launched Tompkins County's first youth-led annual International Youth Arts and Culture Festival (IYAC Fest) and also co-founded Creative Community Designs (CCD); a grassroots organization working towards positive social change through action planning, civic engagement and participation. Fabina is a longtime community advocate and has served as a volunteer and Board member for a number of Tompkins County organizations.
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Meet the Board and Staff
Board of Directors
Chair
Alan Mathios
Vice Chair
Randy Ehrenberg
Secretary
Sandra Dhimitri
Treasurer
Diane McDonough
Immediate Past Chair
Robin Masson
Richard Banks
Mary Berens
Susan Brown
Tom Colbert
Fabina Colon
Paula Davis
Ross Feldman
Marcie Finlay
Bob Jewell
Sara Knobel
Robin Masson
Philip McPheron
Alice Moore
Bill Murphy
Susan Murphy
Stephen Pope
Ron Poole
Nancy Potter
Kevin Shreve
Carol Travis
Lucia Tyler
Baruch Whitehead
Stephanie Wiles
Incorporating Board
Jeff Furman
Howard Hartnett
Bill Myers
John Semmler
Diane Shafer
Robert Swieringa
Staff
Click on a name to send an email.
Chief Executive Officer
George Ferrari, Jr.
Program Officer
Janet Cotraccia
Donor Services Officer
Amy LeViere
Administrative Assistant
Matthew Fisher
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