Longtime Ogdensburg Community Advocate Partners with Foundation to Aid Capital Campaign, Sustain Club Operations
OGDENSBURG — A series of Community Foundation grants totaling $100,000 will support the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club’s capital campaign to complete a new youth athletic center slated to open later this year.
The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors recently approved two grants totaling $50,000 to support the Club’s $2.3 million capital project. A $25,000 grant will provide direct support to the capital campaign and a $25,000 matching challenge will help build charitable support from the community. This means the Foundation will match gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000 from individuals, couples, families, and businesses supporting the campaign.
A third grant of $50,000 was approved to establish an endowment at the Community Foundation that will give the organization a permanent resource it can rely on to sustain its facilities and operations.
“The Community Foundation feels strongly about making a commitment to the Club and the Ogdensburg community in a way that would honor the Club’s history and heritage, help build upon the campaign’s success, and provide additional support for long-term sustainability” said Rande Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We join in the investments of others in ways that will help strengthen the Club’s vital work and mission for generations to come as they continue to touch lives in lasting ways.”
The Community Foundation partnered with a longtime Ogdensburg donor to award the matching grant and help build the Club’s new endowment.
Lee A. “Gus” Murray is an Ogdensburg native and longtime supporter of the Boys & Girls Club. Mr. Murray and the Community Foundation have worked together to combine his generous gifts to the campaign and endowment as part of the Foundation’s overall commitment to the campaign.
“In recent years, I’ve become more acquainted with the great work the Boys & Girls Club is doing with Ogdensburg youths,” Mr. Murray said. “I am pleased to be part of the support team that’s going to allow the Club to take some major steps forward to expand upon what they already do so well.”
Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Tom Luckie called the project “transformative” for the Ogdensburg community, adding that it will give the Club “every opportunity to grow its mission and charitable support for its work well into the future.”
“We are grateful for the Community Foundation’s commitment to our organization and the youths it serves,” Mr. Luckie said. “The impact this will have on young lives for years to come is tremendous. We also greatly appreciate such meaningful support for this project from longtime Club advocate Gus Murray.”
The Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club is one of the region’s longest-operating nonprofits serving youth and building young leaders in the North Country. The Club is well respected and has a deep history of support from the City of Ogdensburg and surrounding communities.
The breadth of programs at the Boys & Girls Club extends from recreation leagues for a variety of sports teams to more targeted offerings that focus on leadership, tutoring, enrichment, and mentoring. For many families the Club is a safe space for their children to play, build meaningful lasting relationships, and become more civic minded. With more than 30 different programs, the Club operates five days a week and annually serves nearly 500 youths through membership and another 500-plus through community outreach from Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence County.
Through a substantial gift to the Club, former NBA player and current Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle and his family were instrumental in initiating the project to build the Preston C. Carlisle Youth Athletic Center, which is named in honor of his father. Mr. Carlisle is a former member of the Club’s Board of Directors and has been a longtime supporter of the Club and youth activities in Northern New York.
To learn more about the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club and the Preston C. Carlisle Youth Athletic Center campaign, visit obgclub.com. For more information on the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation, contact the Foundation at 315-782-7110.
About the Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club
The Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club was established in 1964 by a group of people who believed a place was needed to serve Ogdensburg-area boys and provide them with educational and recreational opportunities, social skills, and other positive character traits.
In 1975, the Club admitted its first girl and, soon after, became the Boys & Girls Club. That same year, the Club built its present Paterson Street facility. Today, the Club operates as an affiliate of the national organization of Boys & Girls Clubs of America with a local all-volunteer Board of Directors providing oversight and a full-time executive director managing daily operations.
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.