2011 Grant Awards

A Message from the Executive Director

There is a time for some things,
And a time for all things;
A time for great things,
And a time for small things.
-- Don Quixote

As Executive Director of the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, I am honored to play an integral role in Hoyt’s stewardship. I believe that the Hoyt Foundation’s responsible management and thoughtful grant making practices are intimately linked to the preservation and successful revitalization of Broome County.

Throughout its funding history, Hoyt’s grants have had an exponential impact on the City of Binghamton and Broome County and they continue to do so today. In most instances, where Hoyt provides support, change occurs. In each of the fields where it concentrates—arts, humanities, education, health, and human services—Hoyt can point to myriad examples of success and transformation. The Foundation has funded large and small organizations—neighborhood-based and countywide, urban and rural—and all these grants have made a difference. The programs described in this report illustrate the kind of growth and achievement that Hoyt funding stimulates. I am privileged to be a part of these efforts.

In 2011, the Hoyt Foundation awarded $365,050 in grants to nonprofit organizations. As changes and challenges inevitably arise, the Hoyt Foundation will continue to address critical needs and support community enrichment. Often, a project needs only a few thousand well-placed dollars to succeed. In other cases, an organization may require significant donations from many sources to launch a new program or construct a building. The Hoyt Foundation provides grants to organizations that show potential for making a real difference in the community.

As the following pages illustrate, Hoyt’s grants, large and small, continue to sustain Willma Hoyt’s vision. Guided by our mission, the Hoyt Foundation is committed to “use its resources to enhance the quality of life of the people of Broome County…” The grants the Foundation made to the community in 2011 represent a significant contribution toward that end. This report highlights those grants and demonstrates that our mission statement guides our grant making decisions.

I am grateful to our highly committed Hoyt staff. I salute the community organizations that labor tirelessly to help make our community a better place. Most importantly, I appreciate the support of the Hoyt Foundation Board of Directors, who give so freely of their time and thoughtful deliberation. I look forward to continuing my work as part of the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation’s grant making history, and in turn, the continuing revitalization of this community.

Catherine A. Schwoeffermann, Executive Director
 

Hoyt Foundation 2011 Grant Awards

Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth
$1,725

Life House is a Binghamton-based program run by Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth, a leading child welfare agency in New York State. Life House provides emergency shelter to homeless youths and also operates programs to help young people at risk of running away or being turned away from their homes. The Hoyt Foundation has made a $1,725 grant to Life House to cover its annual membership in the Homeless Information Management System. This information system collects data on consumers of services for the homeless in Broome County, helping agencies to provide better services and track client outcomes.

Binghamton University Foundation
$27,000

The Partnership Program in Aging Education, based in Binghamton University’s Department of Social Work, was developed to help ensure that our community will have enough geriatric social workers to meet the needs of its growing population of elderly residents. With aid from a $27,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation to the Binghamton University Foundation, the Partnership Program will give selected social work graduate students field experience with local organizations that serve the elderly. The goal is to inspire the interns to stay in Broome County and specialize in geriatric social work when they graduate.

Broome Community College Foundation
$25,000

As state and local governments reduce their support to public colleges, those schools are forced to increase tuition. That places an extra burden on students who already struggle to cover their costs for classes, books, transportation and other necessities. The Broome Community College (BCC) Foundation uses its grants-in-aid program to give scholarships to students who still have unmet needs after the financial aid office has distributed all the aid available from state and federal programs. A Hoyt Foundation grant to the BCC Foundation supported 50 scholarships of $500 each in the 2010-2011 academic year. Through a $25,000 grant awarded in 2011, Hoyt is providing similar assistance for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Broome County Arts Council
$100,000

Each year, through its United Cultural Fund (UCF) campaign, the Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) raises money to re-grant to nonprofit arts organizations and community groups, and to projects by individual artists that benefit the community. Recipients of BCAC grants help to keep Broome County’s cultural life vibrant and exciting. They also promote public engagement by recruiting volunteers; they serve as partners in the education of thousands of local students; and they spark millions of dollars worth of economic activity. The Hoyt Foundation provided $100,000 toward this year’s UCF campaign.

Broome County Arts Council
$5,000

To kick off its 2012 United Cultural Fund (UCF) Campaign, in November 2011 The Broome County Arts Council (BCAC) will host a talk in Binghamton by celebrated National Public Radio special correspondent Susan Stamberg. BCAC’s board of directors expects that this visit by a well-known radio personality will make a major splash in the community, helping to draw attention at a time when the economy makes fundraising for the arts especially challenging. The Hoyt Foundation is supporting this event with a $5,000 discretionary grant to cover Ms. Stamberg’s speaking fee

Broome County Gang Prevention
$5,000

Since 2005, Broome County Gang Prevention (BCGP) has sponsored The Growing Connection, a program that teaches young people in Binghamton’s urban core about gardening and nutrition. The program also helps participants develop job skills as they run a produce business, and it gives the neighborhood access to fresh, locally-grown vegetables. A special project grant of $5,000 from the Hoyt Foundation helped BCGP operate this successful program during the summer of 2011 in the Carlisle and Saratoga Community Centers and at a downtown site that serves youth from Binghamton’s West Side.

Family Enrichment Network
$10,700

The Family Enrichment Network (FEN) offers a broad range of support services for children and families, including Head Start programs, health and wellness programs and services, child care and services for at-risk youth, and numerous programs to help families and individuals improve their lives. Before the summer of 2011, the parking area at FEN’s building in Johnson City was too small to accommodate all the families, community members and staff who used the facility. With help from a $10,700 special project grant from Hoyt, FEN has renovated and landscaped the parking lot, adding 15 new spaces and bringing an attractive touch to a blighted section of the village.

Liberty Partnerships Program
$5,000

Binghamton University’s Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) helps at-risk middle and senior high school students grow into leaders and prepare for further success after graduation. One of LPP’s programs is the Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project, developed locally by Cornell Cooperative Extension. Teens in this program identify challenges facing their community, develop projects to address those challenges and then, in the summer, earn money and polish their job skills as they carry out those plans. A $5,000 grant from the Hoyt Foundation will help support summer employment for nine LPP CITY leaders from Binghamton High School.

New York Council of Nonprofits
$5,000

Hoyt is providing a $5,000 grant to the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) to support an organizational assessment of Ken Johnson Broadcasting, a not-for-profit broadcasting organization in Broome County. The assessment will focus on: board capacity development and functioning; personnel policies; accounting systems, finance policies and budgeting; partnerships; proposals for funding; and sustainability.

New York Council of Nonprofits
$10,000

In partnership with Hoyt and several other foundations, the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) has offered a capacity building program for nonprofit organizations in the Southern Tier since 2008. The program includes workshops, a set of mini-grants and an opportunity for in-depth assessment, all designed to help nonprofits govern themselves more effectively. With a $10,000 special project grant, the Hoyt Foundation is helping NYCON maintain and expand the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program in 2012. Plans for the coming year include two professional development workshops. Organizations that attend those sessions may seek further assistance by applying for a mini-grant program or to participate in the assessment program.

Southern Tier Independence Center
$15,000

When the Southern Tier Independence Center (STIC) moved into a newly-renovated building in 2008, it installed a new heating system on the second floor. But due to financial considerations, it left the old heating system on the first floor in place. That 20-year old system started to fail in 2009. A survey by an engineering firm found that the system was neither clean, green or economical to operate. In 2011, Hoyt granted STIC $15,000 toward the cost of installing a new heating system that will integrate with the one on the second floor. Through this upgrade, STIC will reduce both its carbon footprint and its operating costs, allowing it to direct more money toward its programs and services.

Tri-Cities Opera
$10,000

Like opera companies throughout the U.S., Binghamton’s Tri-Cities Opera (TCO) has seen revenues decline in recent years due to the recession. With an eye toward boosting revenues from ticket sales in 2011-12, the TCO has booked two of its most illustrious alumni, Jake and Jill Gardner, to perform in a production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in the coming season. A $10,000 special project grant from Hoyt will help to cover the fees for these distinguished artists.

Tri-Cities Opera
$10,000

Using a grant of up to $10,000 from the Hoyt Foundation, the TCO will conduct an organizational and operational assessment, with a focus on: mission, vision and strategy; governance and leadership; service delivery and impact; and strategic relationships. The goal is to spur systemic change, transforming TCO in a sustained and meaningful way into a more effective organization with improved operations.

United Health Services
$125,000

United Health Services (UHS) Wilson Medical Center is the major trauma center for Broome County and surrounding communities. While demand for Wilson’s 12-bed intensive care unit (ICU) has grown significantly, UHS hasn’t given that facility a major renovation since the 1970s. Aiming to accommodate more patients, provide more space for life support equipment, and otherwise enhance patient-centered care, UHS has launched a $5 million initiative to relocate, expand, and renovate the ICU. The Hoyt Foundation’s $125,000 capital grant will help UHS complete the new unit, which is due to open by October 2012.

WSKG Public Broadcasting
$10,650

Plans to drill in the Marcellus Shale for natural gas, using the technique called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” have polarized our region. Passions run high among proponents and opponents of drilling, making it nearly impossible to hold reasonable discussions on this complex issue. To address this challenge, WSKG Public Broadcasting is producing “FRACK YOU!”—an original film that uses humor and facts to present both sides of the fracking debate in a human context. Through a series of public screenings, the film’s producers hope to stimulate a more constructive debate so communities can reach informed decisions on Marcellus Shale drilling. A $10,650 special project grant from the Hoyt Foundation will help to support this production.

 

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