Neighborhood Revitalization Grant

The Neighborhood Revitalization Grant, offered by the Schenectady Foundation, aims to enhance community well-being by funding transformative projects in Schenectady County. With an annual budget of $2 million, the Foundation prioritizes initiatives that improve food security, neighborhood safety, and responsiveness to emergent needs. Grants typically range from $1,000 to $500,000, encouraging innovative proposals that demonstrate measurable impact and leverage additional funding sources.

Schenectady Foundation Grants
During this year, The Schenectady Foundation anticipates investing $2 million into programs that have promise to contribute to significant impacts in the community. This will include projects that address the goals of the Equitable Access to Healthy Food (EAT Healthy Food) Initiative, Neighborhood Revitalization efforts, as well as emerging needs. Also included will be the Foundation’s ongoing initiatives, such as Schenectady’s Thriving Neighborhoods Challenge.
Catalytic and Transformative
The Foundation’s role is as a catalyst for community change. Of particular interest are projects – large or small – where an injection of funding and engagement can more quickly and significantly deliver impact in the specific areas of focus.
The Schenectady Foundation believes in supporting projects that have the potential to be transformative – causing marked change in people, organizations, neighborhoods, and the broader community. The Foundation prioritizes its involvement in transformational projects and movements.
These grants will place a strong emphasis on projects that demonstrate the potential to achieve measurable outcomes. This year’s application forms will specifically guide applicants through the process of determining the impact that will be achieved by the project.
Impact Statements
The Schenectady Foundation’s impact statements describe to applicants how it plans to fulfill its mission of benefitting the health and well-being of people who live and work in Schenectady County. The Foundation has created an impact statement for each focus area, and is interested in applicants’ proposals for projects that will help to drive Schenectady’s results closer and closer to the achievement of these impacts.
Equitable Access to Healthy Food:Impact Statement: Increase food security, ensuring that all residents of the County have regular access to fresh, healthy food to nourish themselves and their families.Neighborhood Revitalization:Impact Statement: Schenectady’s neighborhoods will thrive, becoming places where families feel safe and cared for, and have access to economic, educational and quality housing opportunities.Emergent Needs:Impact Statement: Key organizations are supported as they collaborate to help Schenectady’s residents and respond to new or emergent needs.Micro Grants:Impact Statement: Innovative ideas and small programs with potential will have quick access to seed money to innovate, add value to current programs, and engage in the community.
Impact Statement
Schenectady’s neighborhoods will thrive, becoming places where families feel safe and cared for, and have access to economic, educational and quality housing opportunities.
Funding
There is no specific minimum or maximum size for grant requests. Grants have ranged, in recent years, from $1,000 to $200,000.
There is no specific minimum or maximum size for grant requests. Foundation grants have ranged, in recent years, from $1,000 to $500,000. Over the past three years (2021 – 2023) the average amount granted has been about $40,000.

Eligibility

Applicants must be non-profit corporations registered with the New York State Office of Charities Registration, and designated as a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization by the IRS.Organizations that do not have 501(c) 3 status may only apply if a qualified tax-exempt charity serves as fiscal agent for the grant.Applicants must primarily serve Schenectady County residents.Applicant organizations are in good standing with the IRS and NYS Charities Bureau.Current grantees must, at the time a new grant application is submitted, have substantially completed their grants and provided timely and informative progress reports that demonstrate their impact.

Ineligibility

Individuals seeking grants or loans.Private businesses seeking grants or loans.Requests to fund endowments or quasi-endowments.Local governments (counties, cities, towns, or villages) are generally ineligible to receive grant funding from the Foundation. Interested applicants should first discuss their project with Foundation staff.The Foundation discourages requests from organizations holding unrestricted reserves in excessof 200% of their annual operating expenses.