Community Foundation Awards $85,000 Prize To Northside Urban Partnership

November 15, 2012 (Syracuse, NY) – The Central New York Community Foundation awarded today its first-ever prize philanthropy grant – the $85,000 CNY85 Collaborative Impact Prize – to Northside Urban Partnership (Northside UP). The funding will be used to launch the Incubating Northside Culture project (Northside, INC) on Syracuse’s Northside. The project offers an opportunity to address, in a collaborative way, issues ranging from refugee resettlement and poverty to commercial vacancy rates and small business development within Northside neighborhoods.

Northside, INC will offer entrepreneurs the ability to launch small businesses in Northside neighborhoods by providing the support, education and lending assistance necessary to expand into independent businesses. By offering business training, financial workshops and microloans, Northside, INC will offer residents the ability to launch microenterprises while being coached and equipped to thrive as small business owners. It is anticipated that 12 business concepts will be launched to the market within the program’s first year.

“This grant will provide an opportunity for the greater Syracuse community to discover the many talents and cultural assets that are often hidden within the neighborhood,” said Dominic Robinson, Director of Northside Up. “Northsiders, representing countries from across the world, will be given access to the education, support and financing necessary to translate their unique talents, cultures and experiences into a viable business.”

The following Northside UP sponsoring partners will provide business development expertise and funding in this project: Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, St. Joseph’s Hospital, CenterState CEO, Franciscan Collaborative Ministries, Hopeprint, Refugee Resettlement Services, Cooperative Federal Credit Union and the Small Business Development Center.

“The Northside, INC project was chosen from a tremendous pool of applicants in large part due to its unique collaboration,” said Peter Dunn, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “It provides an innovative approach to helping one of our poorest and most diverse neighborhoods gain access to the American dream – through skill development, business planning, entrepreneurship and jobs.”

About the CNY85 Collaborative Impact Prize
The CNY85 Collaborative Impact Prize is a special one-time grant made in celebration of the Community Foundation’s 85th Anniversary. Northside UP was chosen out of 16 applications seeking support for proposed projects representing a range of community collaborations and partnerships. Applying organizations were asked to demonstrate that their projects would be innovative and entrepreneurial in nature and seek to address a specific community need in a creative, collaborative way.

About Northside Up
Northside UP is a collaboration of businesses and community organizations working together to take on integrated, comprehensive approaches to neighborhood revitalization in Northside neighborhoods of Syracuse. The organization aims to build upon the assets that currently exist within the Northside community and organize initiatives that lead to tangible results. Its work fosters neighborhood revitalization by creating financial, artistic and civic opportunities for members of the community. Northside UP is collaboratively sponsored by CenterState CEO, Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, Franciscan Collaborative Ministries, The Greater North Salina Business Association and St. Joseph’s Hospital.

About the Central New York Community Foundation
Established in 1927, the Central New York Community Foundation encourages local philanthropy by supporting the growth of a permanent charitable endowment for the betterment of the region.  The Community Foundation is the largest charitable foundation in the region with assets of more than $130 million. It awards close to $6.7 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually and has invested more than $100 million in the community since its inception. The Community Foundation serves as the steward of charitable legacies for individuals, families and corporations through the administration of nearly 600 funds. The organization also serves as a civic leader, convener and sponsor of special initiatives designed to strengthen nonprofits that address the region’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit www.cnycf.org.