The WNY Forward Fund is a collaborative effort of 12 Western New York funders united to support community and nonprofits that provide essential programs and services in the face of major shifts in federal funding and priorities.
Donor Name: Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
State: New York
County: Allegany County (NY), Cattaraugus County (NY), Chautauqua County (NY), Erie County (NY), Genesee County (NY), Niagara County (NY), Orleans County (NY), Wyoming County (NY)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/12/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The philanthropic community’s goal in working together is to help protect and strengthen the community, while encouraging innovation and reimagining how to best use community resources for long-term resilience.
The WNY Forward Fund is intended to be a multi-year effort through select grantmaking and support of priority initiatives across three focus areas. These priorities include: Strategic Alliances & Nonprofit Resiliency, Civic Health & Building Common Ground, Impact Data & Storytelling.
Although there are many forms of strategic realignment and collaboration, the following explorations will be considered as part of this funder initiative.
Strategic Realignment and Organizational Integration
- Strategic and/or Structural Alliance: A partnership between organizations pursuing a common goal while maintaining independence, often involving aligned programs, administrative functions, or complementary strategies.
- Administrative Consolidation: Restructuring to share, exchange, or contract administrative functions (e.g., accounting, HR) to increase operational efficiencies.
- Merger: A more formal process that combines two or more nonprofit entities into one, or forms affiliates/subsidiaries.
- Resource Partnerships: Involve collaborating to share resources like office space, equipment, staff, or technology.
- Strategic Restructure: Structuring into multiple LLCs to diversify operations, manage liability exposure, or distinct strategic goals requiring legal and financial separation.
Dissolution Planning
- Dissolution Planning is the process of voluntarily winding up operations of a nonprofit corporation and adhering to IRS and Treasury Regulations applicable to liquidation, dissolution, termination, or substantial contraction.
Funding Information
Grants between $2,500 and $25,000 are available and are intended to spur reimaging of service delivery and innovation within the nonprofit sector.
Eligibility Criteria
- 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and organizations using a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor
- Organizations serving residents of Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua Counties
- Nonprofit organizations may apply for funding to support nonrecurring costs related specifically to exploring strategic partnership activities including: Strategic and/or Structural Alliance, Administrative Consolidation, Merger, Resource Partnerships, Strategic Restructure and Planned Dissolution
- Does not include explorations of coalitions or informal collaborations
For more information, visit CFGB.
