Our Mission:

The Rosamond Gifford Charitable Corporation (The Gifford Foundation) is a private foundation dedicated to the stewardship of the funds entrusted to its care. The Foundation is committed to using its financial and human resources to build the capacity of individuals and organizations to enhance the quality of life for the people of Central New York. 

In 2003, the Foundation committed to focusing a substantial portion of its annual community investment towards a specific initiative. The board elected to “embed” the Foundation into a neighborhood on Syracuse’s Southside.  A 30-block area previously disenfranchised both physically and fiscally was selected as a focus for revitalization.  For more information on this resident-driven initiative, please see the Initiatives section of this website.

In the Fall of 2007, the Foundation committed to a new direction in grantmaking. The nature of many nonprofits’ missions requires annual subsidies from foundations, corporate, government and individual donors to fund their operating budgets, which can lead to some dependency.  Although a certain amount of dependency is to be expected, dependency that subtly shifts organizational responsibility and destiny control away from the nonprofit to a foundation or other funder is a phenomenon the Gifford Initiative will seek to reverse.  Thus through a series of value-added investments, e.g. investments in capacity-building activities rather than (or along with) program grants, Gifford’s ADVANS Initiative and its new focus on capacity grants will reinforce the dynamic of “destiny control” which is ultimately what organizational capacity programs are all about.

APPLYING FOR GRANTS

As described above, grants are directed towards two areas: the neighborhood initiative (Southside and Near Westside of Syracuse) and our new capacity grants initiative. 

You may learn more about the neighborhood initiatives by clicking HERE.  If your organization is interested in applying for a grant connected to the neighborhood work, please contact the Foundation for a meeting by calling 474-2489.

If you are seeking a Capacity Building Grant you must submit a Letter of Intent to the Foundation before being invited to submit a formal proposal. To learn more about Capacity Building and the Letter of Intent process see the Grantmaking section of this website.

Next deadline: Letters of Intent for the next Capacity Building grant round are due September 15, 2008. 

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Gifford Capacity Information Sessions: The Foundation is offering information sessions to discuss capacity building and the letter of intent process at 2:00 on each Tuesday in August.  These are free and no reservations are required.  They will be held in the Conference Room of the Foundation offices. Click here for directions.

General Grants Information Sessions: The Gifford Foundation, the Central New York Community Foundation and the Allyn Foundation present twice-yearly grants information sessions.  To reserve a spot please contact the Community Foundation at 422-9538.

The next sessions have not yet been scheduled.  They usually take place in June or July. Please check back for dates and times.