CFWO fall grants to help local organizations that serve women

The City Federation of Women’s Organizations (CFWO) of Tompkins County has opened up its fall grants applications for nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the county that serve women and/or girls.

Agencies and organizations can apply for “women building community” grants up to $5,000. The application can be found at CFWO’s website or at https://womenbuildingcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WBC-Grant-Application-Up-to-5000-2023.docx . 

Megan Nettleton, CFWO’s vice president, said that all applications must address needs and opportunities that improve the quality of life for Tompkins County women and/or girls. Other priorities, Nettleton said, are community development, education, health, human services and gender equity. Grants will be awarded in December, and the money can be spent until Dec. 31, 2024.

“By helping women and children, you are really furthering the betterment of everybody involved,” Nettleton said of CFWO’s mission.

Some of the required application materials include answering the following questions:

• If only partial funding is awarded, how will the project be affected? How will the applicant change the project or raise additional funds?  
• Estimated number of women and/or girls impacted by the amount requested from the CFWO.

Applicants must also build a narrative, including what the funds will be used for, and state the project’s goals. They will also have to provide a statement of need for the project that explains how it will improve the lives of women and/or girls. 

Some of the grants awarded in recent years have gone on to fund opportunities in technology and science fields, Nettleton said. One of the grants was awarded to the Free Science Workshop in the city of Ithaca, an accessible entry point into the world of science for underrepresented and underserved youth populations in Tompkins County.

“We have given that organization money for projects in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), specifically to attract girls to the arts and science,” Nettleton said. “We have also supported the Finger Lakes Toy Library with funding for STEAM events for women that are open to the public, which is very important.”

The American Association of University Women estimates that only 34% of workers in STEAM fields identify as women. The organization also projects that men vastly outnumber women in STEAM at academic institutions. Further, the organization states, gender gaps tend to widen in some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid jobs, such as computer science and engineering.

But making strides in integrating women into STEAM job fields is not just about providing opportunities to an underserved population, Nettleton said.

“We are not just focusing on a specific sector of the population,” Nettleton said. “Helping provide these opportunities has a broad positive effect on our community overall.”

Providing opportunity, Nettleton said, is something that has been in CFWO’s DNA since its inception. CFWO was founded in 1910 by a group of women who desired better and wider access to education, recreation, philanthropy, health and safety, as well as better civic engagement. Founding members of CFWO also belonged to transformative organizations such as the League of Women Voters of Tompkins County and Ithaca Garden Club. 

Initially, the organization also operated a recreational center for women and girls, which functioned as a gathering space and had living quarters for young working women. CFWO expanded 1927 to also offer a home for older women. Later, in 1940, the organization opened a community nursery school.  

As times and needs changed, the buildings were sold in 2012 to make way for affordable housing. The endowment fund that propels CFWO’s grant programs was born shortly after that. In the last year, CFWO’s board, consisting of 14 women leaders in the county, started visiting grantees, trying to connect with them on a personal level, Nettleton said.

“That is something we had not been able to do with the pandemic,” she added.

Parties interested in applying for a grant may contact CFWO at: grants@womenbuildingcommunity.org 

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

Storytime at the Lansing Community Library is back. Attendees can join Ms. Shelley at 10:30 a.m. at 27 Auburn Rd. every Thursday, starting Sept. 21, for stories, songs, music, crafts and fun.

A week later, the Library Board of Trustees will host its September meeting in person on Sept. 27. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. For a peek at the agenda, interested parties may contact Board of Trustees President Elizabeth Gossett at trusteegossett@lansinglibrary.org.