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1929 |
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Incorporated as the Watertown Foundation |
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In the
1930s and 1940s the Foundation grew slowly but steadily. |
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1930 |
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The Foundation held its first board meeting on
January 15. David M. Anderson was elected its first president and
Bernard Gray, one of the original proponents of the Foundation,
was appointed the executive secretary. Gray would serve in this
capacity for the next 35 years. |
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1934 |
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The first bequest
was received from the estate of DeWitt C. Middleton. The first
grant for $1,000 was made to the Watertown Community Chest. |
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1935 |
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Grants were
made to the Visiting Nurse Association and the local chapter of
the Boy Scouts. |
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1937 |
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Mercy
Hospital’s Children’s Division and the Girl Scouts Association
were grant recipients. |
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1939 |
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An Education
Loan Program was established. The first loans were made to Arthur
C. Stever, Jr. ($250) and Robert J. Doran ($150). |
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1941 |
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The Foundation
contributed to the war effort with grants to the Jefferson County
War Chest. |
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1944 |
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Grants in
excess of $3,000 were given to the American Red Cross. |
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1945 |
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A $500 grant
was made to the YMCA for rehabilitation of its building; education
loans were increased to $500 each; $1,500 was pledged to the House
of the Good Samaritan Building Fund. |
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1946 |
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A $175 loan to
Clark Hamlin was forgiven because he had been badly wounded in the
war. (Mr. Hamlin went on to become clerk of the Jefferson County
Board, forerunner of the County Manager’s position.) |
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1947-50 |
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The
Foundation’s college loan program continued to assist returning
veterans with educational expenses. |
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1949 |
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A trust was
established under the will of Mary S. Goodale for Jefferson County
Sanatorium patients. |
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The
1950s saw an increase in grants to medical and human service
organizations. |
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1952 |
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Grants were
made to the Infantile Paralysis organization and the Watertown
Group for Retarded Children. |
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1955 |
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The first
grant was made to the Jefferson County Mental Health Association. |
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In the 1960s total student loans reached $138,370, awarded to 126
students. |
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1964 |
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The fair
market value of trusts held for the Foundation was $787,864. |
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1972 |
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A lead grant
of $100,000 was provided for the Roswell P. Flower Memorial
Library addition. |
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This period saw the replacement of the education loan program with
one of scholarships. |
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1978 |
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The Herring
College Scholarship Program was established by court order;
the Foundation
funded the Fort Drum feasibility study. |
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1981 |
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A fund was
established for the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra to provide five
concerts a year in the Watertown area. |
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1986 |
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A grant of
$100,000 helped to establish Hospice of Jefferson County. |
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1988 |
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Lewis County
became part of our service area and the Foundation’s name was
changed to the Northern New York Community Foundation, Inc. |
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The 1990s marked a period of unprecedented growth. |
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1992 |
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Assets were
valued at $9.5 million. |
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During the Foundation’s sixth decade $9.7 million in gifts and
bequests was received and $11.7 million in grants was spent
including: |
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1992 |
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$250,000 to
Samaritan Medical Center for a new emergency room. |
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1996 |
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100,000 to
establish an internet program in area libraries (several years
before Bill Gates initiated a similar program). |
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1997-03 |
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The first Lewis
County bequests were received from Robert F. Breeze, establishing
a scholarship program for Lowville Academy graduates, and Dorothy
A. Arthur, to support
Lewis
County
charitable organizations.
$1.2 million
in food was given to food pantries and soup kitchens over 5 years. |
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1999 |
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$500,000, the
Foundation’s largest grant, was provided to the Watertown Family
YMCA for its new addition. |
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2001 |
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$300,000
matching grant to establish an endowment for the Thompson Park
Conservancy. |
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As of January 1, 2004 the Foundation’s assets were $24,682,151 and
the value of outside trusts was $4,194,236. |
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2004 |
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$350,000 was
given to the North Country Children’s Clinic and $250,000 to
Flower Memorial Library for capital campaigns, the largest amount
ever granted in a single funding cycle. |
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2005 |
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The Foundation
received its largest gift from a living donor - $2,500,000.
Foundation assets climbed to nearly $30 million. |
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2006 |
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The Foundation
received nearly $2.75 million from the estate of Sidney T. Cox.
Scholarship awards for the academic year totaled over $525,000.
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2007 |
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The Foundation
made its largest grant ever, $1.5 million, to Samaritan Medical
Center.
Foundation assets reached $40 million. |
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2008 |
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The Foundation
expanded its presence in St. Lawrence County and awarded its first
scholarships to St. Lawrence County students. |
