Residents and community groups in Seneca, Schuyler and Yates counties can apply for neighborhood mini-grants of $150 to $750 for projects ranging from food access and waste reduction to transportation and environmental education. Applications for the fall round are due by Nov. 1.
Sustainable Finger Lakes said Thursday that individuals, organizations, neighborhood groups and local microbusinesses may apply. Prospective applicants can request a form or ask questions by emailing sasha@sustainablefingerlakes.org or calling (607) 272-1720, according to the organization's release and program page.
The awards can cover supplies and other project expenses but cannot pay salaries or stipends. The organization gives priority to small or new groups with few other funding sources and limited fundraising capacity. Microbusinesses are eligible when they seek to make their operations greener or extend products or services to low-income customers.
Projects and eligibility
The program supports projects involving sustainable food systems, alternative transportation, reuse and waste reduction, energy conservation and reduced fossil-fuel use. Environmental education, community development and work addressing social or economic inequality also qualify, the organization said.
Proposals are reviewed twice a year by community representatives from each of the three counties. The fall 2026 application must reach Sustainable Finger Lakes on or before Nov. 1; the release does not describe an online submission system, so applicants should request the form and instructions from the program contact.
The Seneca and Keuka Watersheds Chapter has awarded more than $5,000 through 11 grants in Seneca, Schuyler and Yates counties since fall 2025. Those awards are part of a longer-running Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program that Sustainable Finger Lakes says has distributed more than $100,000 through more than 250 grants since 2008, primarily to grassroots projects in Tompkins County.
Recent local examples
Recent chapter-supported projects include a medical-monitoring equipment lending collection at the Dundee Library, an Interlaken pill-bottle collection and reuse effort, carts for patrons at the Lodi Food Pantry, and three pollinator gardens in Schuyler County. The examples show the range of small-scale community and environmental projects the grants have supported; they do not guarantee that similar applications will receive funding this round.
The Seneca and Keuka Watersheds Chapter is supported by AES Renewables and Power, the Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund, the Park Foundation and local donors. Applicants with questions can contact Sasha Paris at the program's phone number or email before the Nov. 1 deadline.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
