Sustainable Finger Lakes is accepting applications for our October 2026 round of Neighborhood Mini-Grants, now available in Cayuga, Cortland, and Tompkins Counties. Local residents often know best what projects would improve quality of life for their neighborhoods, but need a little help covering the costs, and we hope to support those who seek to improve…
Jessika Bond and Emily La speak with Joe Salzone of 607 News Now about the recent expansion of the Sustainable Finger Lakes Neighborhood Mini-Grant program. Applications for grants between $150 and $750 are open until September 1 for residents from Steuben, Chemung, and Tioga Counties. Interested applicants should reach out to Sasha@sustainablefingerlakes.org to request an…
Sustainable Finger Lakes is accepting applications for our first-ever round of Neighborhood Mini-Grants in Steuben, Chemung, and Tioga Counties. Local residents often know best what projects would improve quality of life for their neighborhoods, but need a little help covering the costs, and we hope to support those who seek to improve the resilience, equity, and…
Sustainable Finger Lakes recently awarded Dundee Central School a mini-grant to help create The Highland Hub. This space provides free apparel, school supplies, and essential personal items for their students. Check out the full article at The Observer.
In May 2026, the Keuka and Seneca Watersheds Chapter of the Sustainable Finger Lakes Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program awarded $2,821 in five grants to locally-run initiatives connecting community voices, sharing resources, and reducing waste in rural villages in Yates and Seneca Counties. Dundee Central School is launching a school-based pantry of essential supplies, food, and clothing…
Cayuga Climate Action received an award from the Neighborhood Mini-Grant program to support expenses for their annual Styrofoam drop-off and recycling event. This group is also the first organization to receive a grant in Cayuga County. Upcoming grant cycles will now expand to Tompkins, Cortland, and Cayuga counties. Read the full article from The Citizen…
Sustainable Finger Lakes awarded five grants through its Neighborhood Mini-Grant program for citizen-led projects that support resource sharing, community building, and waste reduction initiatives. The Spring 2026 Awardees and the projects their grants will support are listed below: For complete project descriptions, please visit our site at: https://sustainablefingerlakes.org/neighborhood-mini-grant-program-seneca-keuka/ Read the full staff report from Finger Lakes…
This spring, the Tompkins County chapter of the Sustainable Finger Lakes Neighborhood Mini-Grant program expanded to include Cortland and Cayuga counties, becoming the Cayuga and Owasco Watersheds chapter. The April 2026 round of grants to simple projects by local residents will build community resilience and environmental stewardship through food gardens, wild plant management, and waste reduction…
An update on one of our Fall 2025 Neighborhood Mini-Grant awardees! Claire Mullen, a volunteer with Loaves & Fishes, worked with staff to assemble and distribute first aid kits. Located in St. John’s Church, Loaves & Fishes provides free meals and advocacy to those in need. Working together, the staff and Claire decided it would…
How can one small project create resilient communities? Ithaca-based conservationist Betsy Keokosky has the answer. Many of us remember the COVID-19 pandemic: the isolation, the fear, the heightened longing for community. Like many others, Keokosky and the rest of the Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) sought to nurture community connections…
Sustainable Finger Lakes awarded the Task Force a Neighborhood Mini-Grant to fund plants and materials to create a native forest beside a section of the Dryden Rail Trail in Etna. The Dryden Rail Trail (DRT) Task Force is inviting volunteers for a second tiny forest planting day along the trail west of Pinckney Rd on…
Reusing materials can be widely more effective than recycling in terms of reducing plastic production, keeping materials in circulation, and limiting microplastic contamination. Project officers from Cornell Sustainability Consultants considered where they could promote reuse among college students, and looked to reduce the plastic waste from six-pack can carriers, or the ring or lattice holders…
Bike Walk Tompkins recently purchased a heavy-duty bike stand, thanks to a grant awarded by Sustainable Finger Lakes through its Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program. The new equipment will support the organization’s growing efforts to expand access to bicycle and e-bike repair in the community. As more Ithacans turn to e-bikes as an alternative to cars for…
For years, Lansing Loves to Read has supported local literacy initiatives. According to Laura Morse, Director of Lansing Loves to Read, “We try to get books into the hands of children wherever they may be. For example, while waiting at local restaurants, dropping paperwork off at town hall… or visiting community spaces.” Morse’s team makes…
Sustainable Finger Lakes is accepting applications for our Spring 2026 round of Neighborhood Mini-Grants in Schuyler, Seneca, and Yates Counties, for local residents who seek to improve quality of life in their neighborhoods and need a little help covering the costs. The Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program was designed to stimulate resident-based, grassroots initiatives that improve quality…