CommunityConnection
C ommuni t y F oun d a t ion for G rea t er B uffa l o N ews l e t t er
President’s Message
A mother and sister
honoring a fallen war
hero…
A lifelong Western
New Yorker whose
bequest supports critical
community needs…
A family making joint decisions about
their charitable giving…
Each and every one of our funds is
a story about people who care for our
community. This kaleidoscope of caring is
what makes your Community Foundation
what it is today…connectors of people,
ideas and resources working to improve
lives in Western New York.
Our donors have choices about how
to use their discretionary dollars, and
they have chosen CFGB to manage their
philanthropic giving.Their trust in us allows
us to make an increasingly higher impact on
the lives of the people in our region.
In this newsletter, we’ll update you on
the work we’re doing together, including:
• An all-time high of $866,146 in
discretionary grants in 2007
•O
ver a dozen Community
Convenings focused on addressing
critical regional issues including
poverty, the environment, lead
poisoning and early childhood
learning
•O
ur 21st Century Fund’s $100,000
grant to a high-impact project
In recognition of our continued
excellence, your Community Foundation
recently received notification that it has
met the nation’s highest philanthropic
standards for operational quality, integrity
and accountability. The notice comes
from the Council on Foundations, a
national professional association based in
Washington, D.C. This National Standards
seal means our grantmaking includes
a strategic, open competitive process
designed to address our community’s
pressing needs; and we have a proven
history of honoring our donors’ wishes in
perpetuity. Attainment of this recognition
goes with deep gratitude to all members
of our board and staff.
These recent accomplishments are
examples of the strides we’re making
towards building a vibrant and inclusive
Greater Buffalo region with opportunity
for all. Please contact me if you’d like to
discuss your Community Foundation.
Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker
President/CEO
summer 2 0 0 8
Honoring A Fallen Hero
Since he was a small child, Dan
Shaw wanted to be a soldier.
Growing up, his siblings would
use this to their advantage.
“Dan! Be a good soldier. March to the
fridge to get me a can of soda.”
“Dan! Be a good soldier. March over to the
TV and change the channel.”
As an adult, Dan became more than just a
good soldier.
After joining the army in 2004 and
serving in Iraq in 2005, Dan was awarded the
prestigious purple heart. He earned numerous
awards, including the Army Commendation
Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Army
Good Conduct Medal, National Defense
Service Medal and Iraqi Campaign Medal.
While in Iraq, a small Iraqi boy began
following him around. Somehow the boy
could sense Dan’s kind heart and love for
children. Dan gave the boy trinkets and
much-needed attention. Dan’s unit members
nicknamed him “Dad.”
Dan was also a strong leader. His platoon
members told Dan’s family they “would have
followed him anywhere.”
On his second deployment to Iraq, Dan was
killed in an explosion just one week before he
was scheduled to come back home. As a result
of his last mission, a cache of Iraqi weapons
was uncovered and an Iraqi torture chamber
exposed, saving untold lives.
Dan’s family had to make something good
come out of this tragedy. They wanted to
honor Dan’s memory and help others, as Dan
did, so they established a fund in his honor at
the Community Foundation. The Dan Shaw
Memorial Fund is dedicated to celebrating
Dan’s life. His family will hold a fundraising
bash each year. The money raised will be given
to a local children’s charity. This year, Haven
House, a refuge for domestic violence victims,
will benefit.
Dan Shaw wanted to help his country.
He did. And he will continue to do so forever
through his family and the fund created in
his honor.
“He was just a really good kid. He was very determined
that he wanted to go into the military, and he worked
very hard to get there.”
– James K. Brotz, West Seneca School Superintendent
How will you be remembered?
When you create a permanent endowment fund through the Community Foundation, you will
be able to benefit the community forever. Is there any better way to be remembered?
Your gift is invested over time. Earnings from your endowment fund are used to make grants
addressing community needs.Your gift and its future earnings are a permanent source of community
capital, helping to do good things today and in the future.
Legacy and stability. Donors who endow their gifts can make a difference in their community during
their lifetime and, at the same time, provide a gift that lasts forever. Grants will continue to be made in
the name of the fund you establish so that your charitable wishes are carried out in perpetuity.
Don’t wait to ensure your legacy. Call Stuart Lerman at 852-2857 to arrange for a consultation.
SUMMER2008
1
What’s Going On?
By CFGB Donors Jock and Betsy Mitchell
and a commercial kitchen. It will become a
neighborhood hub of activity around food,
work and community.
Betsy and Jock Mitchell with Rich Tobe at the 21st Century Fund Final
Vote Event.
When was the last time you visited the
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens?
When the necessary
funding is secured, you
will soon be able to
experience the gardens
from the comfort of your
own home through a
beautiful new interactive
website. And if you do
Buffalo and Erie County
make the trip to South
Botanical Gardens
Buffalo, you will be able to take a self-guided
tour using your own cell phone!
Have you heard about the Micro Parks
being planned for the Buffalo Riverwalk
bike path?
When the necessary funding is secured, Buffalo
will have its own system of micro parks to reconnect neighborhoods and provide greater
access to the waterfront. The first two parks
will feature a dog beach on Squaw Island and a
bike-skate plaza downtown.
Did you know that the Massachusetts
Avenue Project (MAP) has an exciting plan
to increase West Side residents’ access to
affordable, nutritious food and increase
their capacity to earn a living?
MAP will purchase a building in the Grant/
West Ferry area. Among other things, the
building will house a café, a catering business,
Do you know where Johnson Park is?
Johnson Park, which
is located off South
Elmwood Avenue, is
Buffalo’s first park, dating
back to 1837. When
the necessary funding is
secured, the West Village
Renaissance Group
has plans to restore and Johnson Park
enhance this historic green space as well as
create a unique visitor experience.
Art Gallery, the Buffalo State
College Maritime Center, the
Buffalo Zoo and WNED–TV.
Frankly, it was the
21st Century Fund that
first attracted us to the
Community Foundation.
We like the way it highlights
Massachusetts Avenue Project
key projects that are of
strategic importance to Western New York.
We also like the way it engages 21st Century
Fund members, both young and old, in
a democratic process to pick the winner
and at the same time, learn a lot about our
community. The voting events are very
exciting. Since a majority is required to win,
until this year, there had always been runoff
votes; which creates added tension and fun!
If the 21st Century Fund sounds like
something you would be interested in, we
urge you to contact Kate Masiello at the
Community Foundation to learn about joining.
We promise you a valuable and fun experience.
We hope that these questions and answers
got your attention.
These four projects were all voted finalists in
the 2008 competition for a $100,000 bi-annual
grant from the 21st Century Fund, a fund of
the Community Foundation. 21st Century
Fund members recently gathered at the Buffalo
Academy for Visual
and Performing Arts to 2 0 0 8 2 1 s t C en t ur y F un d
hear presentations from
all four groups. In just
one round of voting,
the Massachusetts
Avenue project was
declared the winner!
above: 21st Century Fund
The 21st Century
members
Fund was established
in 2001. Five grants of
$100,000 or more have
ABOVE: $100,000 21st Century Fund 2008 Award recipient
been given to high
the Massachusetts Avenue Project. Read about the project
impact projects in our
on www.cfgb.org.
community. Previous
RIGHT: David Quackenbush receives recognition for recruiting
the most new 21st Century Fund members in the most recent
recipients were the
membership campaign.
Darwin Martin House,
View more photos on our new photo gallery at www.cfgb.org/gallery.
the Burchfield Penney
CFGB Staff News
NEW HIRES
Carmen Brown, Amanda Darling, and
Mindy Ziots-Gerikh (pictured to left,
top to bottom) have joined Good Schools
for All as Literacy Coaches for the Early
Reading First Grant. The Early Learning
First project is a federally funded program
with a goal to increase the literacy and
language skills of preschool children in
the Read To Succeed Buffalo campaign.
These literacy coaches will work with
licensed childcare providers to infuse
language and literacy skills into their
daily work with children.
Jennifer Dietrich has joined CFGB as
a contract consultant/Graphic Designer
and will design all of the Foundation’s
communications materials, including this
newsletter. Jennifer has over 15 years of experience in
communication arts and is part of our ongoing staffing
collaboration with The John R. Oishei Foundation.
2
C O M M U N I TY C O N N E C T I O N
Dee Ippolito has joined the staff of Good
Schools for All, a Community Foundation
literacy program. As Project Coordinator for
Early Reading First, she will supervise and
recruit Team Literacy Coaches, and facilitate summer
camp for children. Dee holds degrees in English,
Elementary Education, and Administration.
Kelly Gipp has joined CFGB as Staff
Accountant. She will be responsible
for tracking and reporting financial
information, reconciliations and general
ledger maintenance. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science
in Accounting from Hilbert College.
Cara Stillman joined the Foundation
staff earlier this year as Vice President,
Program. Cara will be responsible for
managing all CFGB program areas including
grants, community leadership initiatives, research and
evaluation, as well as scholarships. Cara holds both
an M.A. and B.A. in Speech Communication from the
University of Maine.
NEW TITLES
Audrey Leous was promoted to Donor
Services Associate. Audrey assists donors
with their charitable giving and has been
with CFGB for almost 3 years.
Lisa Pelczynski has joined Good Schools
for all as Office Manager. Her basic duties
include supporting program staff, and
managing day-to-day office functions. She
holds an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences
from Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, NY.
Stuart Lerman is now CFGB’s Senior
Gift Planning Officer and will continue
to lead the Foundation’s development
efforts. In May, Stuart celebrated his 10th
anniversary with the Foundation.
Darla Rose was appointed Assistant to
the President/CEO. Darla will assist with
special projects and provide administrative
support. She is currently attending Bryant
& Stratton’s Business Program.
Jean McKeown was promoted to Senior
Program Officer. Jean will continue to lead
the grant making process and wear many
other hats including IT and logistics officer.
Jean just celebrated her 11th anniversary with CFGB.
G ran t ee Hig h l ig h t
Everywoman
Opportunity
Center
The Community Foundation
Last Barrier to Work Fund helps
women become gainfully employed
and economically self-sufficient.
Nelmabelis Morales recently moved to the
United States from Puerto Rico with her
family. When she lived in Puerto Rico,
she had her Commercial Driver’s License
(CDL) and drove a tour bus for a company
there. After moving to the U.S. with her
disabled husband and two small children,
it was crucial for her to obtain quality
employment as quickly as possible to help
support her family.
She was unable to afford the fees associated
with getting her CDL license here in New
York State. Fortunately, Nelmabelis had
walked by the Everywoman Opportunity
Center, Inc. in Dunkirk, saw a flyer in their
window about the Community Foundation
Last Barrier to Work Fund, and came in to
meet with a career counselor.
Nelmabelis had already discussed
employment opportunities with First Student
(formerly Laidlaw) and they explained
what she needed to do get hired. The
counselor recommended that Nelmabelis
receive the funds needed to complete her
licensing requirements from the Community
Foundation Last Barrier to Work Fund. With
these funds, she was able to get her permit,
take her road test and get her CDL-B license.
First Student hired Nelmabelis, allowed her
to practice for the road test with their bus
and then use their bus to take the road test.
Nelmabelis was successful in getting her
license and is now the only bi-lingual driver
they have in the Dunkirk area. Nelmabelis
Artspace
has been working for a couple of months,
loves her job, and is very thankful to the
Community Foundation for helping her
achieve her employment goal and maintain
economic self-sufficiency.
R ecen t G ran t s
Grand Opening
In January, 2008 the Community
Foundation awarded a total of
$866,146 in grants, our largest
one-time disbursement of
discretionary grant awards.
above: Attendees at the Grand
Opening reception.
Congratulations to our recipients.
See our Donor Connection
Newsletter at www.cfgb.org for
information on these grants.
Above: Artspace’s gallery at 1219 Main Street.
In Recognition
RIGHT: Artist’s finished loft. Currently, over 421
artists are on a waiting list for residency at
Artspace.
left: Casperous Vine Quartet plays on the Artspace ground floor.
below: Clotilde addresses the crowd and celebrates the grand
opening. CFGB was the first local funder of the project.
Congratulations to Gail
Johnstone, immediate past
CFGB President/CEO
on her Leadership Buffalo
Values Award for Inclusion.
Many thanks to Gail for
helping to make the transition in leadership
at the Foundation as smooth as possible.
In Appreciation
We can’t thank our friends at Gelia Wells and
Mohr enough for the innovative new logo
they developed to illustrate our new mission
of “Connecting people, ideas and resources
to improve lives in Western New York.”
Their donation of time, energy and talent is
greatly appreciated!
SUMMER2008
5
C O M M U N I TY
F O U N D AT I O N
F O R
G R E AT E R
B U F FA L O
Connecting people, ideas and resources...
County Executive Chris Collins discusses County
funding for arts and culture following a Donor
Services event.
Erie County Parks Transition Team meets at CFGB to
hear from area community groups.
Lisa Skolnick, from The Spear Group, Inc., donated
her time to make CFGB offices more efficient with her
“5S” planning. Thank you, Lisa!
CFGB hosted the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
Buffalo Branch’s Roundtable on the Working Poor.
Kate Masiello, Donor Services Officer, reads to Buffalo
pre-schoolers at a “Reach Out and Read” press
conference to announce the Foundation’s $12,700 grant.
At a donor visit to Lancaster’s historic Hull House,
a volunteer describes everyday life in early America.
CFGB partnered with WNED and Leadership Buffalo
to bring Bill Strickland to speak about “The Art of
Leadership” on WNED’s Buffalo City Forum. Listen
to the broadcast at www.cfgb.org.
Buffalo school children created a giant banner to
build awareness of the area’s lead poisoning issue.
A discussion panel is introduced by Clotilde at the
Get the Lead Out of Our Children event hosted by
CFGB at the Buffalo Museum of Science. Watch
video segments of our speakers at www.cfgb.org.
Our staff gathers to thank Bob Warren for his annual
gift to “make the lives of Foundation employees more
comfortable.” Thanks, Bob, for your thoughtful and
generous gift!
Anchors aweigh! Sylvia Kratzke, Cara Stillman, Mayor
Byron Brown, Ross Eckert, Clotilde and Mary Alice Eckert
celebrate the launch of the 2008 Healthy Lakes, Healthy
Lives Boat Tour, dedicated to creating awareness of the
importance of our region’s fresh-water assets.
Advancing Arts and Culture hosts an Arts and
Culturals Resource Showcase at Kleinhans.
Investing in Niagara’s Future: Early Childhood Learning’s
Return On Investment event hosted by the Niagara Area
Foundation, a division of the Community Foundation. The
event featured Rob Grunewald, Associate Economist
at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Hear from
some of our attendees at www.cfgb.org.
Kate Masiello, Celeste Lawson, Executive Director of
the Arts Council and Neil Garvey of the Fendrick Theatre
Fund present actor/performing artist David Oliver with a
check for $1,500 in front of Van Gogh’s painting “The Old
Mill.” The award will help fund Oliver’s travel to Holland
and France for primary research on Van Gogh.
MAP celebrates their $100,000 21st Century Fund
award at the Final Vote Event held at the Academy for
the Visual and Performing Arts.
SUMMER2008
3
Leading by example: Greening Ansonia New Endowed Funds
The following endowment funds were established
at the CFGB in the first quarter of 2008.
Welcome to the CFGB family!
By Audrey Leous, CFGB Donor Services Associate
The Little Green Team That Could.
Members of the Foundation’s Green Team may
all be less than 5' 4" tall, but there’s nothing
small about them. Led by Laura Quebral
Fulton, reputed tree hugger, the Green Team
was formed late last year to help CFGB
adopt environmentally friendly practices.
“Environment & Architecture” are focus areas
identified in our strategic plan, so we felt it
important that CFGB be as “green” as possible.
The Green Team’s first step was to ask Erie
County Recycling and UB Green to conduct
an environmental assessment of the office. The
reality: we had nowhere to go but up.
The two groups helped us develop a plan
for “going green.” We started with something
that every one uses: light. We posted signs in
several places in the office encouraging staff to
turn off lights when leaving a room. The signs
also listed facts about energy used by typical
lighting and the amount of energy that could
be saved by simply turning off the lights when
leaving a room.
This first initiative was a huge success! More
than 50% of the staff began turning off office
lights and common area lights. Months later
the practice continues. Many people even
brought the habit home and have been making
a concentrated effort to shut off lights there,
too. Score one for the Green Team!
Next step: Establish a recycling
program for paper.
Our building did not have on-site recycling
collection, so the Green Team looked for other
$
The Green Team admires (and hugs) a 200-year old tree on Franklin Street.
FOCUS
A R E A
FUNDs
Reducing Racial and Social Disparities
Endowment Fund
Established on behalf of the CFGB Board by
Alphonso O’Neill-White.
CFGB staffers and Green Team members (left to right) Audrey Leous, Johnna
Mauro and Laura Quebral Fulton roll in the new recycling bins in back of the
Ansonia Center.
options.We worked with the Catholic Center
and began to collect our discarded paper and
deposit it in their Abitibi recycling bin. Not
only are we saving trees, but by adding to the
Catholic Center’s paper bin, we increased the
weight of paper collected and the amount
of money that the Catholic Center receives
from Abitibi.
Thinking Big.
The Green Team’s greatest accomplishment
occurred in early 2008 when Clover
Management, as a result of the Green Team
efforts, announced that the Ansonia Center
(where the CFGB offices are) would begin a
recycling program for the entire building.
The Results.
Estimates based on information from the
Environmental Protection Agency told us
that Ansonia tenants could recycle more than
78,000 pounds of waste per year. Now that’s a
great start to going green!
Up next.
We’re currently improving other office practices.
Paper plates and plastic utensils have been
replaced with dishes and cutlery. Cloth napkins
were hand sewed by a staff member to discourage
use of paper napkins. Stationery, envelopes and
other printed materials with CFGB’s old logo are
being made into scratch pads, and non-reusable
items are being recycled.
What does the rest of 2008 have in store…
composting, maybe? A girl can dream…
dream green.
Our Board of Directors has established funds for each of our focus areas.
If you would like to support CFGB’s focus areas, please consider making
a contribution to one or more of the following:
Endowment Fund
Designed to create a permanent source of
income, the bulk of the fund is invested and
just a portion is granted out each year.
AMOUNT
PHILANTHROPIC FUND
Designed as a source
of immediate granting.
AMOUNT
Economic Self-Sufficiency
$_________
$_________
Reducing Racial and Social Disparities
$_________
$_________
Fund for the Environment
$_________
$_________
Historic and Architectural Landmarks­­­
$_________
$_________
Advancing Arts and Culture
$_________
$_________
q P lease transfer a gift from the _____________________
Fund at the Community Foundation.
q I am enclosing a check.
Name: ________________________________________
(please print)
Signature:__________________________ Date: _________
4
C O M M U N I TY C O N N E C T I O N
Please return via mail to:
Kate Masiello, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
712 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202-1720
Or, fax to 852-2861.
Please note: If you do not have a fund that allows you to
direct grants but are interested in doing so, call Kate Masiello
at 852-2857 and she will walk you through the available fund
options and process.
Walter P. Sy, MD, Class of 1954
Memorial Fund
Scholarship Fund established by Walter P. Sy,
MD to benefit students at North Tonawanda
High School. Dr. Sy is hoping to encourage
his classmates and other alumni of NTHS to
contribute to the fund.
Dr. Clarence A. Tyler Scholarship Fund
Fund was established through the Will of
Claribel Tyler, Dr.Tyler’s daughter for the
benefit of students of Alden High School
pursuing a career in the medical field
including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy,
nursing and physical therapy.
New Non-endowed Funds
The following philanthropic and flex funds were
established in the first quarter of 2008.Welcome!
Acacia Park Fund
Established by Acacia Memorial Park
Cemetery Association.
Advancing Arts & Culture
Philanthropic Fund
Established on behalf of the CFGB Board by
Joseph J. Castiglia.
Brighter Future Fund
County Executive Chris Collins and Deputy
County Executive Mark Davis intend to
contribute their paychecks from the County
to this fund.
Building a Greater Niagara Falls Fund
A fund established by an anonymous donor.
Davis Family Fund
Established by the Davis Family Foundation
for the family of Mark and Nancy Davis.
Dr. H. Dean Hudnutt Memorial Fund
Established by Martha Haveron, Dr. Hudnutt’s
daughter.
Increasing Economic Self-sufficiency
Philanthropic Fund
Established on behalf of the CFGB Board by
Katie Schneider.
Leap Year Fund
Established by Jane Lewis Corwin and Philip
Corwin.
Lewis Family Fund
Established by Daniel S. Lewis for the family
of Daniel and Margaret Lewis.
Sgt. Daniel Shaw Memorial Fund
Established by Brenda Shaw and Angela
Hinterberger.
If you’d like to establish a new fund
to remember a loved one or create
your own legacy call Stuart Lerman
at 852-2857.
Militello and Sullivan Join CFGB Board
We’re pleased to announce that Katie Militello and Marsha Sullivan have joined
the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Katie is principal and founder of Militello Marketing. She is a cum
laude graduate of Harvard University where she majored in East Asian
Studies. She also received an MBA from The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania. Between Harvard and Wharton, she was a
student at Chinese University of Hong Kong as part of the Yale-in-China
International Studies Program. That program led to her work with Asoma
Chemicals, Inc. in Beijing, China as the Assistant Director of China Trade. From China she
went to Scudder, Stevens & Clark Inc., in Los Angeles, and from there she came to Buffalo.
Before starting her own company in 1999, Katie worked for five years at Fisher-Price in
East Aurora, New York as Senior Marketing Manager, and at Graphic Controls in Buffalo for
seven years where she was Vice President of Marketing for Medical and Industrial products.
Marsha is currently the President of Nardin Academy and was
previously Nardin’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
Marsha is also the Executive Director of the Joy Family Foundation and
Vice Chairman of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo Foundation.
Marsha has been heavily involved in the community through board and
volunteer work for Buffalo Prep, Western New York Grantmakers, Kids
Escaping Drugs, Niagara University, Heart & Soul Soup Kitchen and Catholic Charities.
She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio
and won the NYS Governor’s Award for Community Service in 2002 and the YMCA
Community Service Award. Gratitude to Exiting Board Members
Thank you to our exiting board
members (pictured here, left
to right), Anthony Colucci,
Robert Gioia and Leslie
Zemsky for their years of service,
inspired leadership and untiring
support.
Upcoming
CFGB Events
June 27 – July 10
Grant briefings for Environment & Architecture
and Arts & Culture focus areas.
July
Donor Services breakfast and tour of
St. Adalbert’s Response to Love Center.
July 24
Investment Consultant Mike Miller will
present a seminar for nonprofits with agency
endowments held by CFGB.
July – August
Survey of environmental groups.
August 1
Grant applications due for Environment &
Architecture and Arts & Culture focus areas.
Mid-August
CFGB scholarships announced.
September
Legacy Society celebration.
Special guest: former Buffalo Bill Kevin Everett.
October
NAF grant applications due.
October 28
Buffalo Superintendent of Schools Dr. James
Williams and Good Schools for All’s Executive
Director, Helene Kramer will update our
Donors on their joint efforts to increase
literacy in the city of Buffalo. NEW! We’ve just earned the
prestigious Council on Foundations
National Standards Seal. Read more
at www.cfgb.org.
November
Screening of Squeaky Wheel “Channels”
documentaries.
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OUR MISSION:
Connecting people, ideas and resources
to improve lives in Western New York.
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