WE RISE! Mobilizing Assets,
Supporting Communities
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Whether you are here at this moment or here in heart, the spirit of the Adirondacks is in all of us. Please join us in supporting our communities during the coronavirus outbreak.
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Dear Friends,
Just seven days ago we announced our partnership with the Cloudsplitter Foundation, United Way of the Adirondack Region, and other generous donors and businesses to activate the Special and Urgent Needs Fund to mobilize philanthropic dollars to help Adirondack communities with local COVID-19 response efforts. While it’s impossible to know what the full ramifications of coronavirus spread and related closures are going to be in our area, it’s clear that there are already urgent needs in our communities and people are stepping up to help their neighbors.
Today, we are announcing the first grants from the Fund. As this crisis grows, we remain committed to leading with our values and focusing on local nonprofits serving the hardest hit by the pandemic’s social, economic, and health impacts.
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Our first grantees are rapidly responding by providing new methods of getting food across our rural area to low-income residents, providing child care under challenging circumstances, alleviating economic burdens for people out of work, and more:
- AdkAction | Implementing a prototype for emergency food packages to get fresh, local food to residents with limited food access
- Adirondack Health | Financial assistance to frontline healthcare workers caring for patients with confirmed or possible infection to help with emergency housing costs, transportation, general staff/family relief, and child care
- Adirondack North Country Association partnership with Hub on the Hill | Mobile market and emergency food package delivery to meet economic and health objectives to reduce COVID-19 transmission, provide nutritious food to vulnerable families, and employ essential workers
- Champlain Children’s Learning Center | Essential funding for child care services for parents working on the frontlines or mandated to work from home and in need of high-quality services
- Ecumenical Council of Saranac Lake | Emergency heating assistance for families struggling to make ends meet but do not qualify for federal or state heating assistance programs
- Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties | “Ultra rural” food pantry assistance to help families living in poverty or out of work
- Lake Placid Central School | Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cleaning supply and basic household needs assistance for families whose main source of income has been disrupted or lost
- Little Peaks | Operating support for the preschool program to continue to provide innovative curriculum and activities through Zoom while families and children are staying at home
- Kids R Us | Continuing to provide child care for essential workers
- Mental Health Association of Franklin County | Helping to meet basic needs for the most vulnerable residents through food and other types of assistance
- North Country Public Radio | COVID-19 radio response to keep the public informed about timely public health alerts and connections to resources
- Salvation Army | Economic rental and utility assistance for low-income individuals and families, including seniors and disabled
- Saranac Lake Central School | Essential child care assistance and family needs for people struggling to pay bills, put food on the table, or purchase personal hygiene products
- Ticonderoga Central School | Home delivery of meals to help upwards of 600 students and their families continue to have access to food while the school is temporarily closed
- YMCA of Plattsburgh/Malone | to provide child care services for parents working essential jobs and do not have access to care
The outpouring of generosity that we are seeing from people who are here now and those whose hearts are always here is a deeply inspiring reflection of Adirondack communities coming together in times of need. Like the landscape from which we carve our lives, we are indeed resilient. That’s why we believe in the promise of tomorrow and brighter days ahead as we urgently mobilize resources to help meet critical needs.
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Wishing you the very best,
Cali Brooks
President & CEO
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Giving and Granting in Uncertain Times
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Even though our staff is working remotely, we are in touch every day with generous donors, nonprofits and local leaders. And, while we are primarily focused on gifts to and grants from the
Special + Urgent Needs Fund for COVID-19 response
, we are also issuing grants from donor advised funds to local nonprofits and an initial round from Generous Acts, which pools individual donations for greater impact. In fact, we are sending out nearly $400,000 in grants to support Adirondack communities this week alone. (
If you applied to Generous Acts and haven’t yet heard from us, we are delaying some of our decisions until the COVID-19 threat dissipates and we have a better understanding of where things stand.)
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Community Foundations Provide
Leverage and Support
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- Trust placed in them by their donors enables them to raise and mobilize funds quickly
- Local expertise and close relationships with nonprofits enables them to identify and direct resources to efficiently address pressing needs
- Community connections, position them to address both short- and long-term needs
Adirondack Foundation is
your
community foundation. Please help us support local communities.
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