Apply for a Grant
Grant deadlines: April 15th Spring Cycle, and September 15th Fall Cycle
The Legacy Foundation supports programs, projects, and capital expenditures in the areas of: Health, Education, Recreation, Human and Social Services, Aging, and the Arts. Support may also be given to requests for "seed" money for new or innovative projects or programs.
Guidelines
If you are requesting a multi-year gift, please call before applying. Typically grant award amounts are up to $5,000, and very seldom more than $10,000. For any grant request over $10,000 please contact us before applying.
1. All grant applicants must be within Tompkins County and be from a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization or have a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor.
2. Organizations are encouraged to apply for funding during either our fall or spring granting cycles but can only receive funding from Legacy once per calendar year. Emergency situations will be evaluated separately.
3. The Foundation prefers to support projects, and one-time capital and operating needs rather than ongoing operating costs such as salaries.
4. The Legacy Foundation should not be considered an ongoing source of funding. Projects that rely primarily on Legacy funding should identify ways to continue the program once this funding has ended. We will consider support for the same project for only a limited number of years.
5. The Foundation does not make grants for on-going operating expenses, budget deficits, endowments, or for loans or assistance to individuals.
Application Procedure
The Legacy Foundation partners with the Community Foundation of Tompkins County and the United Way of Tompkins County, using a shared grant platform called Foundant for all grant submissions.
For directions in using Foundant, click here
Applicants with an existing username and password may log in to their existing account.
New applicants will create an account following system prompts.
You may submit questions and receive assistance relative to creating an account from Rebekah Hinton at rhinton@uwtc.org. Please direct all other questions to Perri LoPinto at 607.319.0164 or director@tclegacy.org.