ARPA Aid to Nonprofits Grant

The Women’s Fund of Central New York, an affiliate fund of the Central New York Community Foundation, supports and empowers women and girls in Central New York through an endowment fund, grants, and initiatives. Founded in 1998 and led by volunteers, its primary focus is to address key issues affecting this demographic. The fund's mission aligns with the broader Central New York Community Foundation's goal to foster community well-being by specifically targeting the advancement and full participation of women and girls. The target beneficiaries of this grant program are women and girls residing in Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison, or Oswego counties. The program aims to achieve significant impact by seeking innovative programs that address problems or seize opportunities for the benefit of these individuals. While specific measurable results are not explicitly detailed, the expectation is for proposals to demonstrate practical approaches to community problems and strengthen agency effectiveness, implying outcomes such as improved community conditions and enhanced organizational capacity. The Leadership Council prioritizes capacity-building activities and new projects within organizations over ongoing projects. They look for proposals that suggest practical approaches to community problems, promote cooperation among agencies without duplicating services, generate community support (professional and volunteer), strengthen an agency’s effectiveness or stability, and address both prevention and remediation. This strategic focus indicates a preference for impactful, sustainable, and collaborative initiatives. Grant requests should not exceed $5,000, and eligibility is extended to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, publicly supported organizations (like schools and municipalities), and organizations using a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Preference is given to organizations with annual operating budgets of $5 million or less, indicating a strategic priority to support smaller, community-focused entities. The foundation explicitly does not fund recurring grants to previously supported programs, annual operating budgets (unless "seed" or "bridge" funding), endowments, religious purposes, loans to individuals, medical or academic research (unless donor-requested), or activities predating the Women's Fund's decision date, thereby defining its theory of change as one that fosters new, impactful, and strategically aligned initiatives.