Five community organizations and institutions in Seneca and Yates counties will receive funding through Sustainable Finger Lakes’ latest round of Neighborhood Mini-Grants, supporting projects focused on student needs, food access, environmental sustainability and community engagement.
Sustainable Finger Lakes announced this week that it awarded more than $2,800 through the Spring 2026 round of grants in its Seneca and Keuka Watersheds chapter. The funding was made possible through support from the Park Foundation, Applied Energy Services, Craig Riecke and local donors.
Among the recipients is Dundee Central School, which will use its grant to purchase socks, underwear and hygiene supplies for students. The Finger Lakes Justice Partnership received funding for food, supplies and community garden space supporting its monthly People’s Parliament and Community Potluck gatherings in Penn Yan.
Other awardees include Interlaken Grange No. 160, which will support a pill bottle collection program that ships donated plastic bottles for international reuse; Lodi Whittier Library, which plans to install a rain barrel system and host a community workshop; and The Living Well Mission, which will pilot the distribution of durable, environmentally friendly hygiene and cleaning products through the Needs N’ Things pantry in Penn Yan.
The grant program, which began in 2008, has awarded more than $110,000 through over 260 projects designed to strengthen local resilience, equity and environmental stewardship. Sustainable Finger Lakes launched the Seneca and Keuka Watersheds chapter as a pilot program in 2025 and has since expanded its reach into additional Finger Lakes communities.
Organization leaders said planning is underway to create a future chapter serving Chemung, Steuben and Tioga counties, continuing the group’s effort to broaden access to grassroots funding opportunities throughout the region.
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