We have updated our guidelines!

Grant deadlines are April 15th for the Spring Cycle, and September 15th for the 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:

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 generally will 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. Generally, 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.

• If you are requesting a multi-year gift, please call to discuss 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 call to discuss before applying.
• Requests should be for a particular program or project, for a specific amount over a particular span of time. The foundation board is particularly interested in the impact of collaboration with other organizations of similar purpose in this or other projects.

As the Foundation receives more requests for grants annually than its endowment can currently support, the board of directors employs a priority rating system to determine the quality-of-life impact of each potential grant. A consensus is reached on the most positive impact grants at the grant review meeting in the spring and fall.

The Procedure to Apply for a Grant:

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. To access Foundant, click here; 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 [email protected]. Please direct all other questions to Perri LoPinto at 607.319.0164 or [email protected].