Westchester Community Foundation Awards Grants to Local Nonprofits

The Westchester Community Foundation has awarded grants totaling $545,000 to 16 nonprofits. Grants will support skills-building for workforce development professionals, environmental advocacy, youth leadership, and environmental and sustainability initiatives. 

The grants reflect the depth and breadth of the excellent work of Westchester’s nonprofit sector. Of note is the ongoing support for workforce development, an initiative the Foundation launched in 2015. “The Foundation’s grant to Workforce Professionals Training Institute will provide a second year of support to The Westchester Workforce Learning Group, a dynamic group of youth-serving workforce development organizations working to position young adults for lifelong self-sufficiency,” notes Tara Seeley, Senior Program Officer. “We are thrilled to see this peer-learning cohort sharpening its skills to collaborate and to connect strategically with employers to keep job training relevant and generate good job placements in our County’s high-growth sectors.” 

The grants include:

• Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation: $25,000 to promote environmental literacy in Westchester schools

• Clay Art Center: $35,000 (two years), to support fellowships for emerging ceramic artists

• Family Services of Westchester: $15,000, for a youth advocacy and leadership program

• Groundwork Hudson Valley: $25,000, to implement an action plan for the Saw Mill River watershed

• Jazz Forum Arts: $5,000, to support the Summer 2022 series

• Picture House Regional Film Center: $15,000 for a German film festival

• Sustainable Westchester $70,000 (two years), to advocate for Westchester’s interests in New York State’s environmental sustainability planning

• The Trust for Public Land: $25,000, for a parks assessment for the City of Mount Vernon

• Tri-State Transportation Campaign: $60,000, for an advocacy campaign for equitable transportation reform in Westchester County

• Workforce Professionals Training Institute: $97,000, to support the Westchester Workforce Learning Group

For a complete list of all grants awarded and information on the Foundation, visit the Foundation’s website at wcf-ny.org.