Our Library Grant Cycle, made grants from the Bernard Carl and Shirley Rosen Fund and from additional Community Foundation Funds: Myrtle Dee Nash Memorial and Tompkins Today and Tomorrow Fund as well as from designated gifts from generous donors. Record number of grant awards were made this year. This cycle seeks to promote genuine intellectual curiosity and a lifelong love of reading and learning by encouraging youth to develop habits of regular library use. Eligible applicants are the 33 public libraries in Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties, the 5 counties of the Finger Lakes Library System.
A special grant was made this year directly to the system to benefit all member libraries for Museum Pass Project: an Intellectual Curiosity Collaboration.
So many wonderful business owners and leaders continue to support our work. We thank you for making our impact possible. If you are a business owner and would like to make a gift to sponsor our work, please contact Chief Development Officer,
We are now able to accept your gifts of cryptocurrency in a safe, easy and expedited manner. You gifts can be processed by Cocatalyst Impact, Inc. and Crypto for Charity for our benefit. The net proceeds are promptly sold and transferred to the Community Foundation in U.S. dollars. We do not maintain a reserve of cryptocurrency as part of our investment strategy.
We bring people and resources together to build a more equitable Tompkins County by inspiring diverse philanthropy, catalyzing collaborations and championing inclusion and justice.
Our Values
Community-driven
Engagement
Integrity
Racial Equity
Relationships
Social Justice
Our Goals
Goal 1: Assess and improve organization practices and culture continuously through a diversity, equity, inclusion and justice lens
Goal 2: Foster community-driven strategies to enhance the quality of life of the communities we serve
Goal 3: Grow and diversify our funds and assets to serve Tompkins County and the region
Goal 4: Expand awareness of Community Foundation and our impact on positive change
Goal 5: Catalyze conversations, information-sharing , and actions that enrich our community
Goal 6: Increase operational effectiveness and capacity
A donor advisor, who donor who knows the area and wants to preserve its integrity as an affordable neighborhood, has recommended a major grant to INHS to help re-establish an increased residential presence on Sears Street. We are honored to work with donors and local mission driven organizations to create the conditions and resources which build community.
Board Member Spotlight
Marybeth Tarzian
Marybeth has dedicated nearly 30 years of her career to fundraising and constituent engagement across the higher education spectrum. She has held various leadership roles, specializing in results-oriented collaboration that lead to meeting strategic objectives.
Marybeth joined the Cornell University Division of Alumni Affairs and Development in 1998, after having worked in fundraising capacities at Ithaca College and Philadelphia University. Her career at Cornell began as the director of the annual fund for the Cornell Law School and later the Johnson Graduate School of Management. In 2005 Marybeth became the assistant dean for alumni affairs and development in the College of Human Ecology (CHE). During her 12 year tenure at CHE, Marybeth led a successful comprehensive campaign to raise $95 million for the College. More recently Marybeth served as Associate Vice President for College and Units, overseeing 9 fundraising teams. In 2021 Marybeth reestablished her focus on working directly with donors and is now serving as a philanthropic liaison to Cornell supporters as a Major Gifts Officer.
Marybeth has lived in Ithaca for 33 years. She has been an active community volunteer serving as a board member for the Ithaca Voice, Child Development Council, Bryant Park Civic Association, the Belle Sherman PTA as well as serving as a committee member for the Planned Parenthood Development Committee and most recently, the Community Foundation Development Committee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Alfred University and her master’s degree from Ithaca College (both in communications). Marybeth and her husband, Rob Gearhart, live in the Belle Sherman neighborhood when they aren’t visiting their son, Wilson, in NYC (or spending a precious two weeks fulfilling their need to be near the ocean on Block Island).
