Fourteen nonprofit organizations received grant awards totaling $458,668 from the Richard S. Shineman Foundation at its November board meeting in the last of three 2020 grant rounds in this unprecedented year of the coronavirus pandemic.
All funded projects reach a wide range of people in Oswego County. As with previous grant rounds, the projects represent a diverse cross-section of community organizations in economic revitalization, education, arts and culture, and health and human services.
The largest award, $160,000, was given to the Oswego Players, an 83-year-old Oswego community theater organization, to address programming expansion and major structural improvements in and around the historic Civic Arts Center building adjacent to Fort Ontario.
A revitalization grant was also given to the town of Constantia’s public park, David C. Webb Memorial Park at Taft Bay, to pay for the construction of a large, previously donated municipal-quality playground system in the spring.
The Shineman Foundation made a commitment of $60,000 to Victory Transformation to pay for renovations of its new home at the former Vale Haven, at 24 E. Oneida St. in Oswego. Another commitment of $56,668 was made to Grace and Glory Ministries for the expansion of its Foundations EDU program, which provides a structured environment for kids ages 5-13 during hybrid remote learning days or after school, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Three education/arts and culture grants were awarded by the Shineman Foundation to organizations expanding their outreach with and into Oswego County schools: The REV Theatre Company (formerly Merry-Go-Round Playhouse) for its virtual touring “Sequential Dramatics Program”, the Museum of Science and Technology’s “Oswego County on the Go” science program, which will bring a virtual or in-person 45-minute classroom-based science demonstration to all 78 sixth-grade classes in 16 school buildings in Oswego County; and Symphoria for several virtual Christmas concerts in the county during December.
The Shineman Foundation awarded two capacity-building grants in this round. CNY Community Arts Center in Fulton received funds to purchase a movie projection system and Clear Path for Veterans was awarded funding for its Oswego Peer Expansion project.
Several health and human services grants were awarded by the Shineman Foundation: David’s Refuge for provision of respite/caregiver support to Oswego County parents and guardians of children with special needs; Fulton’s Blessings in a Backpack for its weekend backpack program for 250 K-6 children in the Fulton City School District; and Oswego County Children’s Fund for its 2020 Christmas Fund.
Two awarded grants were specifically addressing COVID-19 problems. The regional CNY Arts Inc. organization received a grant to provide funding to arts and culture organizations across the county that have experienced a huge decline in revenues due to the virus. The American Red Cross received a grant to assist it with providing COVID-19 antibody testing on blood taken during blood drives in Oswego County.
For more information on the Richard S. Shineman Foundation or to search our not-for-profit resources, visit www.shinemanfoundation.org or send questions to info@shinemanfoundation.org. Keep up with us day-to-day on twitter (@shinemanfound) and on Facebook.
