2025 Grants

Ambassador Grants:

Cincinnati Black Theatre Company (Tessa Rothwell)- $7,500 to support the quarterly program “Shoot with a Camera,” teaching youth how to make films and address issues of gun violence in a creative medium.

Clarissa Street Legacy (Rohan Parikh)- $5,000 to strengthen the Clarissa Street Reunion and Clarissa Uprooted exhibit at the Rochester Public Library, which focus on telling the story of Rochester’s oldest Black community, lost to urban renewal.

Common Good City Farms (Fiona Dwyer-McNulty)- $7,000 to support Preservation workshops at Common Good City Farm in Washington D.C. Workshops include a series of adult education classes focused on reducing waste and maximizing dollars through practices of food preservation and mending.

Fleur de Lis Circle Camp (Betsy Kirtland)- $7,500 to sponsor five girls for a week at Circle Camp, a tuition-free, week-long residential summer camp for girls ages 8-15 who have lost a parent.

Hit the Books (Kaitlin McGovern)- $7,500 for educational programming for students in Harlmen, New York, that takes a sports-based development approach that combines tutoring, mentorship, and mixed-martial arts.

Jefferson County Greenways (Brita Brudvig)- $7,500 to support its free Environmental Education Programs, which are designed to increase access to nature-based learning for youth and families who have been historically excluded from green spaces due to systemic barriers.

Literacy Pittsburgh (Nick Fiorellini)- $7,500 for free home-based tutoring sessions focused on improving adult literacy across Allegheny County.

Maine TransNet (Andy Ricci)- $7,500 to support the Safe Combinations Thrift Store, a safe, affirming, and affordable thrift store serving Portland’s trans and queer community.

Minds Matter (Erica Mansfield)- $7,500 for the College Coaching Program, which extends Minds Matter’s high school mentoring program, which focuses on supporting low-income high school students of color, into participants’ first years into college.

Spark Dance (Emily Mauch)- $7,200 for inclusive and adaptive dance programming across five elementary schools in South Portland, programming which seeks to destigmatize disability, empower choice and expression, ensure equitable access, and build inclusive communities.

Sportsmens (Alex Parks)- $7,500 for their Cooking & Culture program, an after-school program for elementary students that provides cooking classes that incorporate lessons on cultures, chemistry, math, family traditions, and more.

Volunteer Ventures (Cassidy Blundell)- $7,500 for desk and accessible picnic table building events, which provide the furniture to community partners (including schools and disability rights organizations).

We Share Solar (Aminy Ostfeld)- $7,500 for solar suitcase development and installation, which involves training and development and Newark, New Jersey middle schools and Rutgers Newark University’s Center for Pre-College Program, and deployment of the suitcase to Kenya or Uganda.

Women’s Money Matters (Kyla Gabriel)- $7,500 for financial wellness programs, including workshops, one-to-one coaching, and small peer groups, for low-income women and girls in Massachusetts.

Local Grants:

Backpack Program (part of the Northeast Regional Foodbank)- $17,625 to staple foods and hygiene products to students in the Red Hook Central School District.

Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse- $7,500 to expand programming into more high schools in the Hudson Valley.

Columbia County Pathways to Recovery- $7,500 to reinvigorate prevention programming across seven schools in Columbia County, focused on evidence-based and age-appropriate presentations that address the risks of substance use and strategies for resilience.

Culture Connect- $7,500 to support programming, including tutoring and outdoor and social activities, for ENL students in elementary schools in the Hudson Valley.

Dutchess Outreach- $7,500 to support local food procurement for the Dutchess Outreach Food Pantry, which receives 2,000 households visits a month.

Fly the COOP- $7,500 for a unique vocational training program that offers job training, mentoring, and a supportive peer community to young people of underserved backgrounds in and around Kingston.

Garden Classroom- $5,000 for the Red Hook Central School District’s Garden Classroom project which provides garden education programming for approximately 650 students across elementary, middle, and high school.

Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood- $7,500 for the TeamTam After-School program, which provides critical support to students in Hudson City School District throughout the school year and summer.

Hudson Valley Hospice House- $5,000 to support the purchase of portable ultrasound machines and relevant training for nursing staff.

InFlight- $5,000 to assist in installation of accessible pathways throughout I-SAIL at the Lonely Worm Farm in Hyde Park.

Kingston Emergency Food Collaborative- $7,500 to support healthy food delivery to low-income families who experience barriers in accessing other social safety net services.

Land to Learn- $7,500 for garden-based educational programming in Beacon and Newburgh elementary schools.

Long Table Harvest- $7,500 to support the Gleaning Program, which distributes produce to 35 food pantries and community organizations in Columbia, Dutchess, and Greene counties.

Poughkeepsie Farm Project- $7,500 for the Food Share program, which aims to uplift community health and social justice through strengthening food security and providing access to safe and nutritious food through food donations to emergency food partners, procedure distribution by PFP educators, and through a sponsored CSA shares program.

Ramapo- $7,500 to provide scholarships for Ramapo’s camp for youth with developmental disabilities.

Reizod Foundation- $3,000 for new backpacks and shoes for low-income children in Red Hook.

Red Hook Public Library- $7,500 to support a Kindergarten Readiness Initiative, which seeks to provide children with programs and services so that they can enter school ready to learn, read, write, and listen.

Red Hook Responds- $7,500 for the Dinner Delivery Program, which served close to 7,000 meals to those in need in Red Hook and Rhinebeck in 2025.

Reher Center for Immigrant Culture & History- $3,000 to fund immersive school field trips for Dutchess and Ulster county students, field trips that deepen students’ understanding of immigration, labor, and American identity.

Rotary Backpack Program- $3,000 for the annual Backpack Initiative, which provides a full set of school materials to students in need in Red Hook schools.

Sister2Sister- $7,500 to support a mentorship program dedicated to empowering young women of color in Kingston schools through sisterhood, leadership development, and creative self-expression.

Sky High Farm- $7,500 to support food access operations and further connections between the farm and pantry sites.

Summer Academy- $7,500 for unique learning experiences for Red Hook students during the summer, including classes on cooking, zine making, crochet, and the college essay.

The Art Effect- $7,500 for the ArtsBridge program, a no-cost, pre-college arts pathway aimed at providing equitable access to visual arts instruction, college prep, and holistic support for first-generation and low-income youth in the Hudson Valley.

Tivoli Public Library- $2,500 to support a StoryWalk on the Kaatsban field in Tivoli.

Town of Esopus Library- $7,500 to expand and improve capacity for outdoor programming.

Wild Earth- $7,500 to continue and deepen the Nature Connection & Experiential Education program in Kingston schools, with goals of: fostering social-emotional growth, resilience, and leadership through immersive, nature-based programming; strengthening the school climate by providing structured and engaging recess and afterschool experiences; and building the foundation for long-term sustainability and evaluation.

Worker Justice Center of New York- $7,500 to support outreach, education, and access to legal services for low-wage workers in Dutchess, Columbia, and Ulster counties.

Directors’ Grants:

Boys and Girls Club (Fran)- $10,000 to increase teen programming, including teen parties and social activities, college visits, and workforce development.

Island Autism Center (Sophie)- $10,000 to support high-quality, individualized afterschool and summer programming for children nd teens with special needs on Martha’s Vineyard.

Historic Red Hook (Nick)- $10,000 to support the development of curriculum-aligned field trips to the Elmendorph Inn.

Learn Serve (Ali)- $10,000 to support scholarships for high schools to participate in LearnServe programming, as well as support the launch of a Spanish-Speaking Fellows Cohort.