Applications for 2023 Grant Awards Now Open to Tri-County Women
WATERTOWN — Professional women across the tri-county region are invited to apply for 2023 grant support from the Maxine Quigg Women in Business Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.
The Maxine Quigg Women in Business Fund aims to perpetuate the life and legacy of Maxine by supporting and empowering women entrepreneurs in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to succeed in their pursuits and realize their full potential. Maxine’s sister-in-law, Kimberley Horrill, established the fund at the Community Foundation in July 2021 with a goal to increase local mentorship, volunteerism, community and civic engagement, and investment.
“We are grateful to Maxine’s family and friends and join together to keep her legacy alive so she continues to touch lives in positive and lasting ways,” said Rande Richardson, Community Foundation executive director. “We are hopeful that all those whose goals align with the fund’s objectives will seek support and become part of the growing number of individuals who Maxine continues to uplift.”
Ms. Horrill said she and Maxine often spoke about the value of women as role models and mentors in business and leadership and that those conversations “were the impetus for this fund.”
“We shared many stories of the women who inspired us to take risks, who taught us to take the work seriously but not ourselves (we laughed about that), and the importance of paying our knowledge and generosity forward,” Ms. Horrill said.
Maxine was a successful real estate broker, community and business leader in Jefferson County who passed away unexpectedly in April 2021. At the time of her passing she was serving on the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.
“My Mom embodied what it means to work with what you have, where you are, when you can. Her original intent was not to form the leading real estate brokerage in Northern New York — although she and her business partner, Terry O’Brien, did just that,” her daughter, Kennedy Quigg said. “Instead, from day one, her intention was to work hard, embrace new challenges, and treat everyone with respect and dignity. These are the qualities that made my Mom a successful businesswoman, and these qualities we hope to perpetuate through her grant fund.”
Through access to grants for education, training, and entrepreneurship, the fund supports the advancement, development, and betterment of women who are growing or beginning a business in Northern New York. Support may help to better position and equip women to realize their full potential for themselves, their families, and their community.
A pair of North Country entrepreneurs and a nonprofit professional were the first women to receive grant support from the Maxine M. Quigg Women in Business Fund in 2022.
One woman was awarded funding to enable her participation in the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce Jefferson Leadership Institute; a second recipient was awarded grant support to help her complete coaching and training to strengthen her client-relations efforts and hone her business management skills; and the third professional was awarded funding to help her complete a certification program through The Herbal Academy of the International School of Herbal Arts and Sciences.
As Maxine understood the correlation between a successful business and its contributions to the quality of life in a community, grants will be awarded to support the following focus areas and extend her legacy of giving back to a community once a business is well established and thriving:
- Provide a strengthened path for an increase in locally generated mentorships, volunteerism, and civic and community engagement and investment.
- Expand opportunities for women through education, training, and entrepreneurship with the goal of financial independence.
- Funding opportunities include, but are not limited to financial literacy, workforce development, entrepreneurship, leadership skills, and formal education and training.
Grants awarded to individuals are held to a high standard of accountability and must adhere to the same requirements as any other grants or scholarships to individuals. Grant awards must support the betterment of the recipient herself and are not provided as direct support to a specific business entity or interest.
Applicants may request any amount of grant support, though awards may range between $500 and $1,000. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 12, 2023.
An advisory committee of the Community Foundation will select annual awardees through a defined process on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis within the fund’s charitable purpose. Contact Kraig Everard, Community Foundation director of stewardship and programs, kraig@nnycf.org, or 315-782-7110, to obtain an application and learn more.
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.