News
November 19th, 2025
THAT’S A WRAP! Thank you for celebrating Community Foundation Week with Us!
This year’s Community Foundation Week was truly special as we celebrated our ongoing commitment to the community and our 25th anniversary! At the heart of our work is engagement — connecting with community members, organizations, and leaders to understand their priorities, amplify their voices, and make meaningful impact. This week gave us the opportunity to focus on community and engagement in different ways each day, celebrating both the diversity and the strength of the Tompkins County community we serve.
For me, this week is the highlight of my job — it is a time when I get to engage directly with you, our community, and see the ways philanthropy comes alive. One of the most exciting moments was the mural reveal, our gift to the community in the form of art. This mural embodies our belief that philanthropy looks different for everyone — it can be a creative expression, like this mural; it can be your time and energy; or it can be a financial contribution that fuels change. Our work is rooted in the understanding that giving is personal, and impact can take many forms.
Throughout the week, we highlighted the importance of diverse philanthropy and explored the ways that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) intersect with giving. Our approach is intentionally different from other foundations: we focus on listening first, collaborating thoughtfully, and designing programs that reduce barriers to access, ensuring that philanthropy reflects the needs and voices of the whole community. We had a wonderful site visit with Kitchen theatre and a mural tour with Ithaca Murals!
We also had a chance to give back in a hands-on way through our volunteer service opportunity at CSMA-Ithaca. Together, we scrubbed paint off windows, swept floors, removed cobwebs, and did a little painting — a tangible way to connect, serve, and contribute. To finish off the week, we shared 25 stories for 25 years of service in our STORYBOOK! This is your chance to read impactful stories that came directly from the organizations you help us to support.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our in-person events and online experiences. Your energy, presence, and engagement make this work meaningful. A special thank you to Melinda Serifoski, our dedicated staff, and our board, whose leadership, creativity, and commitment make Community Foundation Week — and our work year-round — possible.
Here’s to 25 years of connection, impact, and engagement, and to the next chapter of building a stronger, more inclusive community together. We appreciate you and are honored to serve you.