Our mission
The Six Town Community Fund supports programs, projects, and activities that enhance the quality of life for our communities in perpetuity.
Our history
The Six Town Community Fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2013 as a geographic-specific fund to support initiatives that positively impact the quality of life in the south Jefferson County region, specifically in the towns of Adams, Ellisburg, Henderson, Lorraine, Rodman, and Worth.
The Community Foundation stewards this charitable fund. To build initial support, the Foundation awarded a $50,000 challenge grant to donors interested in giving to this philanthropic resource. By the end of 2014, people from across the six towns came together to create a $100,000 community fund.
The Community Fund is available to any qualified, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving residents of the Six Town area. Thanks to the generosity of donors like you who make charitable gifts to the Fund each year, grants are awarded annually in perpetuity. Families from across the region can now give to support the place they love and call home, forever.
Our impact
Since 2015, the Community Fund has awarded $62,630 in grant funding to support nearly 60 projects and programs across communities in the Six Town region. The following organizations have been awarded one or more Community Fund grants since grantmaking began:
• Adams Center Free Library
• Adams Free Library
• Adams Revitalization Committee
• Adams Village Baptist Church
• Belleville Philomathean Free Library
• Belleville Volunteer Fire Department
• Christopher Community
• Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County
• Henderson Free Library
• Henderson Harbor Performing Arts Association
• Henderson Harbor Water Sports Programs
• Henderson Historical Society
• Historical Association of South Jefferson
• Historical Society of Mannsville
• Kripalu Yoga Fellowship of Northern
New York
• Lorraine Volunteer Fire Company
• Mannsville Free Library
• Six Town Chamber of Commerce
• South Jeff Backpack Program
• South Jefferson Central School District
• South Jefferson Housing Development
Fund Co.
• South Jefferson Rescue Squad
• The Rohde Center
• Town of Ellisburg
• Town of Lorraine
• Union Academy of Belleville
• Volunteer Transportation Center Foundation
Support the Community Fund
Click the button below to make a gift to help strengthen the Six Town Community Fund.
“Together, we made this happen by not attempting to solve someone’s problem, but by helping to make good things possible in our communities.”
— Dave Stone, Six Town Community Fund charter member
Want to support Six Town forever?
Click the button below to explore the many planned giving options available to forever support the Six Town Community Fund.
Community Fund newsletter
Read past issues and learn more about the Community Fund’s work to strengthen the quality of life in the Six Town region. Email our Director of Communications, Ken Eysaman, ken@nnycf.org, and join our mailing list to stay informed about the Clifton-Fine Community Fund.
Steering Committee
The following volunteers proudly serve as Six Town Community Fund Committee members:
• Karen Denny, Adams
Chair
• David Geurtsen, Rodman
Vice Chair
• David Zembiec, Adams
Secretary
• Joe Brown, Ellisburg
• John Crimi, Lorraine
• John Gleason, Henderson
• Barb Greene, Henderson
• Vince Guarrera, Worth
• Laurie Hudson, Adams
• Bilkey Moore, Lorraine
• Marlene Norfolk, Adams
• Barry Ormsby, Ellisburg
• Lisa Porter, Rodman
• Rockett Stockwell, Mannsville
• Dave Stone, Watertown
• John Treadwell, Henderson
Honorary Members
Next grant funding opportunity
The next competitive round of grant funding for the Six Town Community Fund will open this fall. Grant awards for the spring 2026 funding cycle will be announced later this summer.