Pictured from Left to Right: Elizabeth Rowley, Lauren Rowley, Shanita Artson and Sandi Rowland of Sullivan 180, Marianne Murray and Rich Rowley
Newburgh, NY – Nonprofit representatives and community leaders convened at the Newburgh Free Library on June 14 where the inaugural round of grants from the recently established Fund for Women and Children were announced. In total, $516,791 was awarded to fifteen organizations in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, in amounts ranging from $15,000 – $50,000. A full list of recipients and funded programs is attached.
A component fund of the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, the Rowley Family Foundation Fund for Women and Children will distribute grants to support innovative projects or programs geared towards the empowerment of women and children. The Selection Committee, led by Marianne Murray, reviewed 87 applications this year totaling nearly $3M in requests. “After hours of reading, discussing, and making some heart wrenching decisions, we come together today feeling very full, excited, honored and humbled to be making our first formal announcements of funding” says Marianne.
Representatives of the family foundation each announced 5 recipients, followed by a description of the funded program. Rich Rowley spoke from the heart to the organizations in the room, “While we felt we knew quite a lot about the nonprofit world in our region, these applications opened our eyes to all that we don’t know. You magnified the good for us and we in turn can now help you magnify the good with this additional funding and support.”
One of the recipients is Ulster County Community College’s Light for Learning program which provides emergency funding to vulnerable students at the college helping them to stay enrolled in school despite financial hardship. The Executive Director of their Foundation, Lorraine Salmon, was in attendance at the announcement. “The Rowley Family Foundation and the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan provided us with a blanket of comfort through these grants as we all struggle with what we see in the world and how best we can serve others. Our intent to serve, with what often turns out to be limited by financial resources, today was given not only those resources, but your concern, your admiration, your support, and your commitment to watch over us with a plan to do more. That, simply put, is belief. By sharing your belief in us, you remind us that there is always more – there is always another way – there is always another reason to continue – until the last person is assisted,” she said.
As a precursor to this new initiative, the Rowley Family Foundation funded the creation of the 2018 Women and Children Report, a report filled with in-depth research and the latest data driven statistics in the region affecting the target population. A copy of this report can be found on the Foundation’s website. The fund will continue to evolve to meet emerging community needs, with a dedicated focus on supporting women and children in the three-county area.
About the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan: Based in Montgomery, NY, the Foundation “connects people who care with causes that matter.” Established in 1999, the Foundation helps philanthropic individuals, businesses and organizations establish charitable funds that award grants and scholarships, for good, forever. The Foundation has significantly increased the region’s charitable capital and has empowered donors to make a profound difference in the quality of life in our region. Since inception, the Foundation, with its donors and fund representatives, has awarded more than $11 million in grants and scholarships, including more than $500,000 in scholarships just this year. The Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan has established more than 300 charitable funds that support animal welfare, arts and culture, community initiatives, education, the environment, health and human services, recreation and youth.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Rowley, President and CEO, Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, at (845) 769-9393 or elizabeth@cfosny.org.
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