Guidelines for grant applicants

Corporate powers

The Western New York Foundation, formerly The Wildroot Foundation, was incorporated in 1951. Under its Certificate of Incorporation, the Foundation has broad powers to assist all charitable agencies of Western New York other than churches or affiliated religious agencies. The corporate stated purposes are “to conduct and promote educational, charitable, philanthropic, eleemosynary and beneficent works only…”

Board policy

 The Board of Trustees has determined a policy, within the limitations of the corporate powers, to be followed in reviewing requests for grants. Requests for new or existing operating expenses are usually not supported nor are requests for ongoing salaries or wages generally approved. Requests for funding for specific capital items such as equipment or other items that are not provided for in an annual fund drive are more within the role of the Foundation. The size of the grant has little to do with the attention given, need is of the most importance. While we do not routinely feel we can “make a difference” in large hospital campaigns, we have, on infrequent occasions, supported much smaller niche medical projects. The Foundation also provides, when warranted, “seed” money to start a new program or organization provided a workable plan is proposed for ongoing financing after the seed money has been spent. The strength of the plan, of management and of the organization’s demonstrated trustee guidance and support are of significant importance to our deliberations. Generally, the Trustees believe that the Foundation can best serve the community by providing assistance for non-recurring financial need.

Examples of prior gifts

 The focus of the Foundation’s giving changes from time to time, depending upon the needs of the community as the Board views them. Taking advantage of its broad powers and the close relationships among the members of its small Board of Trustees, the Foundation has endeavored to maintain a spirit of enterprise, daring, flexibility and speed in responding to the needs of the community. Examples of each may prove helpful to interested applicants.

Enterprise

 The Foundation has made disproportionately large commitments to projects and organizations of value which the Trustees felt were inadequately supported by the community, either because they were new and unproven, or old and in need of massive reorganization in order to demonstrate to the public their very real worth.

 Two cases in point are educational television and a live theater. As early as 1959, long before UHF was a standard item on all TV sets, the Trustees recognized the immeasurable value of educational television to the people of Buffalo and its outlying communities. Over the ensuing years numerous grants have been made to help Channel 17 and educational television grow and expand both its programming and its audience.

 It requires even more enterprise to support an organization that is slowly dying on its feet and breathe new life into it by backing the dedicated people who wish to change it radically and increase enormously the scope of its operations. Such was the case for the Studio Arena Theater. With the help of the Foundation and other interested citizens the Theater was brought back from the backwaters of a small neighborhood amateur playhouse to the center of the City’s Theater District as a full-fledged professional theater.

Daring

The Foundation has always taken a lively interest in new proposals from existing agencies that wish to start a new service or initiate a new program that serves the people in their community. A daring project at the time was the Foundation’s early support of Planned Parenthood. The Foundation put up the venture capital for a mold from which plastic intrauterine devices could be mass produced. Within months, this device was being tested in countries all over the world and today is an accepted and efficient method of population control.

Flexibility

 The Trustees are not restricted to any one field of endeavor but can and have given their support to the young and the old, the healthy and the handicapped, in the biggest cities and the smallest towns of the seven counties the Foundation serves.

 For example, a self-help group calling themselves Friendship VII set out to provide healthy and constructive recreation for the children of the neighborhood during the summer months. They needed just $250 to rent a room in Kleinhans Music Hall for their one-day annual fundraising project. The rent was payable in advance. A nice fix. They had the money in 24 hours.

 Flexibility involves not only our endeavoring to be responsive to the size and purpose of the organization seeking help, but also the various forms the Foundation grant can take. In order to stimulate giving by others and so help the agency raise a large amount of money for a capital project, the Foundation has frequently set up matching grants to help them reach their goal. The terms of these grants vary in each case in an attempt to best meet the agency’s individual requirements.

Speed

 Complementary to its great flexibility is the Foundation’s desire to move quickly – within a matter of days, if necessary – to meet an emergency or to take advantage of an unusual situation. The President of the Foundation has discretionary authority to approve small grants and can, in an emergency, reach all the Trustees by fax telephone or email when prompt action is required on larger projects.

 For example, the Buffalo Area Council on Alcoholism has maintained a very successful storefront drop-in center on Northampton Street, which was supported by private funds. Six months before New York State funding would be available the private source of funds was exhausted. Unless they could find six month’s rent money somewhere, and in a hurry, they would have to close and abandon over 100 people who were depending on them for help. The Foundation was able to provide the money while others donated their services to keep alive this important service to the neighborhood. The door stayed open until the public funding began.

Summary

 The description of the powers, policy and examples of the Foundation’s giving are supplied as a hopefully helpful guide. In no was does this information serve as a limitation on the Foundation’s broad powers and sincere desire to help all charitable organizations in Western New York of a non-religious nature that have worthwhile projects for the consideration of our Board of Trustees.

 We appreciate that the contributions of not for profit and charitable organizations are critical to the strength of the Western New York community. Likewise, we understand that completing an application to The Western New York Foundation takes time. We regret that cannot, in every case, provide funding. We do promise, however, a thoughtful and conscientious review your request amidst the many applications we do receive.

 It should be noted that routine consideration of applications occurs at the quarterly board meeting next following the successful completion of three steps: (1) the Foundation’s receipt of a complete application, by the next quarterly deadline date (call the office for the date), (2) its circulation among the Trustees for their consideration and comments, and (3) the application’s return to the Foundation for inclusion at that next quarterly meeting’s agenda where full Trustees discussion will take place.

 We thank you for your interest in the Western New York Foundation and wish you well in your continuing efforts to be of service to others.