Foundation Awards $545,000 in Grants to 16 Nonprofits

Sixteen nonprofits will be receiving a total of $545,000 in grants from BCW Member Westchester Community Foundation for programs that support skills-building for workforce development professionals, environmental advocacy, youth leadership, and environmental and sustainability initiatives.

The Foundation said the grants reflect the depth and breadth of the excellent work of Westchester’s nonprofit sector, noting its 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 recipients and grants include:

Action Center dba Energy Justice Network: $25,000 for a campaign to eliminate the County’s reliance on incineration of solid waste

African American Men of Westchester: $11,000 for a scholarship program in honor of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester: $70,000 (two years) for youth leadership development programs

Bronx River Alliance: $25,000 to engage county residents in improving the water quality of the Bronx River and its watershed

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

Rivertowns Village Green: $5,000, to make fresh, locally grown produce more accessible to low-income Tarrytown residents

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

Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns: $37,000 (two years), for the Asociacion de Familias Hispanas de los Tarrytowns, an early childhood education and development program

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