29 COMMUNITY NON-PROFITS BENEFIT FROM SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS

CLAVERACK, NY — The Ackerman Foundation has reached new thresholds in its third year of providing grants to Columbia County non-profits for community improvement activities.

For the first time, awards reached the $50,000 level with a new high of 29 organizations supported, 10 of them first-time applicants. The grant total nearly outstrips the award totals from the Foundation’s first two years of operation combined.

“As a relative newcomer to the local non-profit scene, we are thrilled to have our impact increasing at such a rapid rate,” said Foundation President Claire Ackerman. “The 29 organizations we have funded this year are delivering a wide spectrum of valuable services to recipients throughout Columbia County.”

“The Foundation expects to continue offering support in the future to community organizations delivering programs with immediate impact, and supported by a strong corps of volunteers,” she said.

Organizations receiving funds this year are:

  • Ancram Center for the Arts, for the Writing on Your Feet: Storytelling program at Taconic Hills Elementary School;
  • AnimalKind, supporting veterinary assistance for low-income pet owners;
  • Beautiful Racket, for their 2024 summer music festival;
  • Chatham Area Recreation Project, for a July performance of Shakespeare at Crellin Park;
  • Claverack Free Library, to enhance facilities and offerings to younger children and their families;
  • Columbia Children’s Center, to replace multi-child infant strollers;
  • Columbia County Libraries Association, to support the museum pass program available through local libraries;
  • Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, to support and extend its food preparation and delivery program;
  • Columbia-Greene Habitat for Humanity, to help enlarge the Columbia County pipeline of qualified applicants for its home ownership program;
  • Columbia Pathways to Recovery, to increase prevention work with youth;
  • Congregation Anshe Emeth, for Food Pantry Birthday Bags;
  • CREATE Council on the Arts, to support professional development and public talks;
  • Discap/Old Kinderhook Disc Golf, to aid in the creation of a disc golf course at Volunteer Park;
  • FASNY Museum of Firefighting, in support of Super Saturday Fire Safety Programs;
  • Friends of Copake Grange #935, for theatre and musical programming aimed at strengthening the local community;
  • Friends of Hudson Youth, to expand their Bike Co-op program;
  • Friends of the Chatham Public Library; for a summer reading program for students;
  • High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding and Driving Center, to support equine-assisted services enhancing physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing;
  • Hudson Area Association Library, to strengthen bilingual services and resources;
  • Hudson Opera House, contributing to their Community Arts Program for Youth;
  • Long Table Harvest, in support of their gleaning operations;
  • Lucky Rehabilitation Center, in support of their new aviary construction and building renovation;
  • Mental Health Awareness and Creative Arts Gallery, in support of a new iteration of the Collage Creation program showcasing art/creative work by those diagnosed with serious mental health issues;
  • Perfect Ten After School, for their RESET program of tutoring and mentoring teenage girls;
  • PS21, for their artistic and community engagement residency of Cirque Kikasse;
  • Roeliff Jansen Community Library, for their Healthy Aging Program;
  • Roving Actors’ Repertory Ensemble (The Two of Us Productions), to support affordable live theatrical productions in eastern Columbia County;
  • The Second Show, supporting the thrift store’s Community Clothing Voucher Program;
  • Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, in support of the Menopause Care Program at the Hudson Health Center.

All Ackerman Foundation grant recipients agree to provide evaluation reports assessing the effectiveness of the program activities funded.

The next round of Ackerman Foundation grants will be awarded in Spring of 2025. An announcement will be made when those applications open.

The Foundation was established by David M. Ackerman in late 2021, prior to his unexpected passing in January 2022. Ackerman was well-known as a businessman and quiet philanthropist in a career stretching over 50 years in Hudson and Columbia County.

The Foundation board is comprised of Claire Ackerman, President; Terry Ackerman, Vice President; Kathy Phillips, Secretary; Matt Mackerer, Treasurer; Tony Jones, Director at Large; and Sam Hodge, Director at Large.

For more information, please visit theackermanfoundation.org.