WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF OTSEGO COUNTY?
Founded in 2019, the Community Foundation of Otsego County is 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity that brings together financial and human resources to address challenges and increase opportunity in Otsego County. We distribute grants to nonprofit organizations in our community and partner with them to reach solutions.
The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held at the Family Engagement Center of Springbrook in Oneonta, NY on June 5, 2019. We adopted a mission statement, a statement of values and vision, elected officers, and took other actions to establish our tax-exempt status which was granted June 20, 2019. We also approved a working relationship with the well-established Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, which provides us with investment management and mentorship for our new enterprise.
We began to raise initial financial resources and were two-thirds of the way toward our goal in early March 2020 when the COVID-19 virus arrived and turned the world upside down. We recognized that we were needed by the community and could not wait until the end of the campaign. In April, we created the Otsego County COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund. In 30 days, working entirely with volunteers, we set up our systems and got to work. The emergency fund was well-received by the community. More than $200,000 was raised and then distributed to various nonprofits for the benefit of people who were suffering physical and financial difficulties due to the pandemic caused by the virus.
We are on our way to becoming a leader in linking philanthropy to community needs. The Board determines the focus for grantmaking based on community input.