Press Releases
New Canastota Foundation Formally Establishes Educational Fund,
Names Officers
The new Engage Canastota Educational Foundation announced today that it has met the minimum funding level to formally establish a charitable fund through the Central New York Community Foundation as a way to support scholastic efforts outside of the district’s budget.
The ECEF formally established itself in July 2020 and launched a community appeal for donations to reach $10,000, the amount the Community Foundation has set as the minimum to maintain a fund there. In less than two months, Canastota community members and alumni donated enough to formally establish the fund. These donations included a $5,000 contribution from a single donor to support the foundation’s mission.
“We’re grateful and honored to see how much support we have in this community,” Board President Donald New said. “This is a community that has always believed in and supported education and we’re thrilled at how quickly this initiative has taken off.”
During the fundraising period, the ECEF Board of Directors named its slate of officers and set up its operating structure. In addition to New as president, officers include: Doug Holdridge as vice president, Liz Garofalo as secretary, and Pat Powers as treasurer. It also established seven subcommittees: Alumni Relations, Application Review, Community Relations, Finance, Legal, Project and Event Planning, and Student Engagement.
Now that the fund has been established, ECEF leaders continue to seek contributions to support “creative extras” that may not otherwise be funded – supplies for a unique classroom project or a student club competing in a national event, for example.
There are two ways to donate:
Gifts made by check should be made payable to “CNYCF” or “CNY Community Foundation” with a note on the check “for Engage Canastota Education Fund.” These can be mailed to 431 E. Fayette St, Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13202.
Gifts can be made by credit card by going to www.cnycf.org/givenow. In the Fund Name field on the giving form, enter “Engage Canastota Education Fund.” Donors can also indicate that their gift is in honor of or memory of someone by adding that name to the “Gift is in honor/in memory of” field. Standard credit card processing fees apply.
CCSD To Develop New Educational Fund
The Canastota Central School District has launched a new partnership with the Central New York Community Foundation to develop a fund to support scholastic efforts outside of the district’s budget.
The Engage Canastota Educational Fund (ECEF) will help support creative “extras” that are outside the district’s budget – supplies for a unique classroom project or a student club competing in a national competition, for example. It will be held at and administered by the Community Foundation once it has received a minimum of $10,000 in donations.
A district educational fund is something community members have been talking about for more than seven years, Superintendent Shawn Bissetta said. It’s a strategy that has benefitted many schools in the CNY region by supporting school projects and student scholarships without using General Fund money.
“School districts all around the state find themselves operating in an environment of profound economic and budgetary uncertainty,” Bissetta said. “Given this reality, it makes sense for schools to explore supplemental sources of revenue that will allow for students to continue to participate in valuable educational and extra-curricular opportunities that are beyond the scope of a typical school budget.”
The ECEF Board of Directors includes: Lorraine Arsenault, Shawn Bissetta, Jim Caldwell, Don Campanaro, Rocco DiVeronica, Liz Garofalo, Jim Giufre, Bill Haddad, Doug Holdridge, Wes Hood, Don New, Stephanie Palmer, Nick Panuccio, Pat Powers and Dick Smith.
The Board has met several times this spring to begin the process of making the fund fully operational. The board is drawing up guidelines and procedures for how they will raise money, review proposals, make awards and other logistics. They are also inviting community members to begin contributing to the fund. Raising seed money at the community level will help secure community buy-in for the fund itself and the projects it supports.
“In Canastota, our school community does not aspire to be average - we aspire to be extraordinary,” Bissetta said. “The launch of the Engage Canastota Educational Fund will serve as a tremendous vehicle in our pursuit of that goal.”
Two ways to donate:
Gifts made by check should be made payable to “CNYCF” or “CNY Community Foundation” with a note on the check “for Engage Canastota Education Fund.” These can be mailed to 431 E. Fayette St, Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13202.
Gifts can be made by credit card by going to:
In the Fund Name field on the giving form, enter “Engage Canastota Education Fund.” Donors can also indicate that their gift is in honor of or memory of someone by adding that name to the “Gift is in honor/in memory of” field. Standard credit card processing fees apply.