CNY Community Foundation awards more than $180,000 in grants

SYRACUSE — The Central New York Community Foundation announced on Oct. 6 that it has awarded more than $180,000 in grants to local organizations seeking to better measure the effectiveness of their programs.

While performance management is becoming a “must-have skill” for organizations seeking funding for their programs, research from the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit advisory firm, found that social-sector leaders repeatedly identify performance measurement as one of the most challenging parts of their job, according to a Community Foundation news release. Fewer than 25 percent report that they adequately resource, staff, and prioritize this function.

To address this issue on a local level, the Community Foundation said it launched a performance-management program in 2011, and has awarded nearly $600,000 in grants to date. 

Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations in Onondaga or Madison county to cover the costs of implementing data-measurement tools, training, and software, according to the release. 

The program also trains organizations on how to effectively collect and analyze data. In addition to the funding, each performance-management grant recipient can participate in a yearlong learning community to share experiences and challenges with their peers. 

“The learning community structure allows us to see these projects unfold, develop and evolve as they are carried out,” Frank Ridzi, director of research and community initiatives at the Community Foundation said in the release. “This gives us the opportunity to be a part of the process and serve as a guide, resource and catalyst along the way.”

The Community Foundation announced that the following 10 organizations in Onondaga County were awarded a performance-management grant for the 2014-2015 year:

• Baltimore Woods Nature Center received $19,990 to measure the effectiveness of its “Nature in the City” program in improving the academic performance of Syracuse City School District students.
• Child Care Solutions was granted $20,000 to examine the impact of its technical-assistance programs provided to child-care centers in the field of literacy programming.
• Children’s Consortium received $20,000 to identify the improvements in parenting skills acquired by participants of its Nurturing Parenting program.
• Huntington Family Centers obtained $20,000 to determine whether its intervention programs affect school attendance, behavioral referrals, and overall academic performance.
• InterFaith Works of Central New York was provided $20,000 to digitize and analyze survey responses from program participants at its Ahmad and Elizabeth E-Hindi Center for Dialogue.
• Greater Syracuse Works won $20,000 to establish a community-wide system for tracking employment-related outcomes and identifying client overlap between partner organizations.
• Southwest Community Center received $8,250 to evaluate the impact that its after-school programming is having on children’s math scores.
• St. Camillus Health and Rehabilitation Center was granted $16,310 to analyze the value of its outpatient, post-hospital visit rehabilitation services offered through the Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
• On Point for College received $20,000 to examine how career action plans influence employment opportunities for student participants in its On Point for Jobs program.
• United Way of CNY obtained $17,090 to measure the community outcomes achieved through its funding and programs.

The Central New York Community Foundation says it is the largest charitable foundation in the region with more than $172 million in assets. Last year, it awarded $9.5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. The foundation provides funding to organizations in Onondaga, Madison, Oswego, Cortland, and Cayuga counties.                                         

Contact Collins at ncollins@cnybj.com