News
July 9th, 2026
Celebrating 2026 Empowering Resilient Communities to Thrive Grant Cycle Grantees and Programs: $678,700 in 178 grants to 106 organizations
Community Foundation of Tompkins County awarded $678,700 in 178 grants to 106 organizations in its 2026 Empowering Resilient Communities to Thrive Grant Cycle
Tompkins Today and Tomorrow Fund granted $355,527 or 52%
7 Donor-Advised Funds supported requests at $78,250 or 12%
19 Field-of-Interest Funds were available for support this year for a total of $196,923 or 29%
Howland Foundation, a private foundation whose grants are administered by Community Foundation supplied, $48,000 or 7%
We are grateful to every applicant who trusted us with their story, their needs, and their vision. We are grateful to our review teams and volunteers who brought care and integrity to the process. And we are especially grateful to our donors and fundholders, whose belief in this community helps turn possibilities into progress.
Each year, our grant cycle is a powerful reminder of both the immense need in our community—and the remarkable organizations stepping up to meet it.
In 2026, we received more applications seeking more dollars than ever before.
But this year, like many before it, brought difficult decisions. With limited resources and an incredibly competitive pool of applicants, we faced tough choices about how to allocate available funds.
This year, we faced an extraordinary level of need. There were many deserving organizations—including some that have received support from us for decades—that we were unable to fund at the level they requested, or at all. When resources are limited, difficult decisions have to be made, and unfortunately there is only so much we can do.
A funding decision should not be interpreted as a judgment on you, your organization, or the value of your work. More often, it reflects the reality that community needs far exceed the available funding. The work you are doing remains important, even when we are unable to provide financial support.
2026 RECIPIENTS
Advocacy Center for Tompkins County
Amplify Equity Inc.
Ballet and Books
Ballet Guild of Ithaca
Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network
Cayuga Trails Club
Center for Community Transportation (Bike Walk Tompkins)
Child Development Council
Cinemapolis (Seventh Art Corporation of Ithaca)
Citizens Concerned for Children, Inc.
Civic Ensemble, Inc.
College Initiative Upstate – a Project of Opportunities Alternatives And Resources Of Tompkins County
Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County
Community Science Institute
Community Unity Music Education Program International
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Danby Community Park Association Inc.
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, Inc.
Doula Access Initiative
Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center
Dryden Center for Community
Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca
Family Reading Partnership
Finger Lakes New Works Festival – a Project of Walking On Water Productions
Finger Lakes ReUse, Inc.
Finger Lakes Toy Library
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca
Food Bank of the Southern Tier
Foodnet Meals on Wheels
Friends of Stewart Park
Gayogoho:no Learning Project, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
Golden Opportunity
Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC)
Groton Community Cupboard
Groton Public Library
Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming
Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties
Hammerstone School, Inc., a Project of the Center for Transformative Action
Hangar Theatre, Center for the Arts at Ithaca
Healthy Food For All, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
Hospicare & Palliative Care Services of TC
Hupstate Circus Inc
Ithaca Care Collective
Ithaca Children’s Garden
Ithaca City of Asylum, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
Ithaca Community Childcare Center
Ithaca Community Radio, Inc.
Ithaca Health Alliance
Ithaca League of Women Rollers
Ithaca Murals – a Project of Center for Transformative Action
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.
Ithaca Pride Alliance – a Project of Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Ithaca Waldorf School
Ithaca Welcomes Refugees
King Ferry Food Pantry Inc.
Kitchen Theatre Company
Lakeview Health Services, Inc.
Lansing Lunchbox
Lifelong
Lodi Whittier Library
Longview, An Ithacare Community
Love Living at Home
McLean Potato Festival via Town of Groton
Midstate COSH
Nurwood Events – a Project of Singing Soulutions Inc.
NYS Baroque
Open Doors English, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
Opportunities Alternatives And Resources Of Tompkins County
Opus Ithaca School of Music
Paleontological Research Institution
Passion Behind the Pen – a Project of Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Inc.
Remark Navigation, a Project of the Center for Transformative Action
Rootwork Herbals, Inc. – a Project of Center for Transformative Action
Running to Places Theatre Company
Saoirse Pastures
Sciencenter
Second Wind Cottages
Service in Unity
Southside Community Center
SPCA of Tompkins County
Special Olympics New York
State Theatre of Ithaca, Inc.
Story House Ithaca, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
Susan Christopherson Center
Sustainable Tompkins, Inc.
The Creative Hub 4 Cultures – a Project of Village at Ithaca
The Ithaca Voice
The Mental Health Association in Tompkins County
The Street Dog Coalition
Tompkins County and City of Ithaca Community Justice Center
Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative – a Project of Sustainable Markets Foundation
Tompkins County Workers’ Center, Inc.
Tompkins Learning Partners, Inc
Traditional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Healing – a Project of Earth Convergence
Transpose: Ithaca Queer Singers Alliance
Ultimate Reentry Opportunity Initiative, a project of the Center for Transformative Action
United Way of Tompkins County
Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc.
Vaccination Conversations with Scientists – a Project of Center for Transformative Action
Village at Ithaca
Walking On Water Productions Inc
Wharton Studio Museum
Women’s Opportunity Center of Tompkins and Onondaga Counties
YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County