Tri-County Seventh, Eighth or Ninth Graders Could Win One of Ten $1,000 Grant Awards to Support a Favorite Local Charity
WATERTOWN — The Northern New York Community Foundation’s 2025-2026 Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge is now open to tri-county students. The challenge seeks to engage seventh, eighth, and ninth graders in learning about their communities while they compete for an opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local nonprofit organization of their choice.
This is the ninth year of the program, which is made possible by donors to the Community Foundation’s Friends of the Foundation Community Betterment Annual Fund, major corporate support from Community Bank and a major gift from an individual donor.
Students presently enrolled in seventh, eighth and ninth grades in schools in Jefferson, Lewis, or St. Lawrence counties are eligible to compete for a share of $10,000 in total grant awards. Ten students will be selected to each present a $1,000 grant to a tri-county charitable organization of their choice. Entries are competitively judged and should be well-written and articulate a compelling case for support.
The initiative aims to have students explore their view of “community” and select a local charity for a grant award that makes their community a great place to live. To enter the competition, students must complete an essay-based application in writing. Schools are encouraged to create a class project or somehow incorporate it into the curriculum.
“This is a great initiative for students across our region to make a difference in ways that matter most to them as they consider their role in civic engagement,” said Rande S. Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We hope to see a wide range of applications, both geographically and also in the way the grants will impact our local communities.”
In its first eight years, 132 students and an entire class from two-dozen different tri-county school districts have been selected to present 139 grants totaling $80,000 to nearly 100 nonprofit organizations that serve Northern New York residents.
Applications are available online at nnycf.org/givingchallenge, at local schools, or at the Community Foundation, 131 Washington St., Watertown. Students selected to award grants in previous years are not eligible to enter.
Entries must be made online, postmarked, or hand-delivered to the Community Foundation no later than Friday, January 30, 2026. A grant review committee will judge all entries and select 10 winning students to present grant awards. Eligible recipient organizations must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in Jefferson, Lewis, or St. Lawrence counties.
An announcement of winning submissions and grant awards will be made in mid-February. A Foundation representative will then contact winning students to schedule them to personally visit their chosen organization, learn more about its work and mission, and present their grant award. Contact the Community Foundation, 315-782-7110, or info@nnycf.org, to learn more about the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge.
About the Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a great place to live, work, and play.