WE CONTINUE NOW WITH OUR SPOTLIGHT SERIES WITH J DANIEL PLUFF.

THE SERIES HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL IN OUR AREA.

CENTRAL NEW YORK IS LITERALLY ON THE VERGE OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES -- MOST OF WHICH ARE POSITIVE.

BUT OUR AREA ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANT NEEDS WITH ISSUES SURROUNDING POVERTY, HEALTH CARE, HOUSING, EDUCATION AND MUCH MORE.

FOR NEARLY A CENTURY, THE CENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HAS HELPED TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS THROUGH FUNDING AND IMPACTFUL ACTIONS.

THE FOUNDATION, FULLY FUNDED BY DONORS, LOOKS TO SUPPORT NUMEROUS LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND PROVIDES DONORS WITH ASSURANCE THEIR WISHES WILL BE HONORED.

IN MID-2024, MELANIE LITTLEJOHN WAS INSTALLED AS THE NEW CEO.

THE FORMER NATIONAL GRID EXECUTIVE BRINGS A DAUNTING LIST OF GOALS TO HER POSITION FROM BUILDING THE FOUNDATION ASSETS TO ONE BILLION DOLLARS, TO CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DONORS BOTH LARGE, AND SMALL.

>> MEL, THANKS FOR HAVING US HERE AT YOUR OFFICE AT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, PLEASURE BEING HERE TODAY.

NICE FACILITY.

LITTLE DIFFERENT TODAY FOR ME BECAUSE NORMALLY WE TALK ABOUT BUSINESSES THAT ARE EXPANDING, MONEY BEING MADE.

TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MONEY BEING GIVEN AWAY, WHICH IS A BIT OF A TWIST HERE.

BUT FIRST OF ALL, A LITTLE HISTORY THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HAS BEEN AROUND A WHILE.

THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IN CENTRAL NEW YORK HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 1927 WE ARE PLANNING FOR OUR 100th YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, 1927.

>> 100 YEAR, CENTURY.

FAIRLY BROAD BASED, MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS OR DISBURSEMENTS TO A VARIETY OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND PROJECT AS ROUND TOWN OR ALL AROUND CENTRAL NEW YORK FOR THAT MATTER, CORRECT?

>> SURE.

FIVE COUNTIES.

FIVE COUNTIES IN CENTRAL NEW YORK AND WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE EXPANSE OF WHAT WE DO, THE REACH IS FAR AND IT'S VERY WIDE BUT A FIVE-COUNTY REGION RIGHT HERE YOU WILL FORGIVER THE BLUNTNESS TO THE QUESTION.

MAYBE YOU KNOW WHAT IS COMING BUT FAIRLY LONG AND SUCCESSFUL CAREER AT NATIONAL GRID.

>> 30 YEARS TO BE EXACT.

>> WHY THIS ROLE NOW, WHY NOW?

>> WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF SOUL SEARCHING WITH THIS... >> I BET.

>> I COULDN'T THINK OF A BETTER ORGANIZATION AT A BETTER POINT IN HISTORY, THAN TO DO THIS WORK RIGHT HERE.

>> YOUR PREVIOUS POSITION HELPED IN THAT YOU WERE SO MUCH OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ANYWAY, AS I RECALL, YOU KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND TOWN.

>> YES, I KNOW MY WAY AROUND TOWN REALLY, REALLY WELL SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS MOMENT, IT'S GETTING FAMILIAR WITH ORGANIZATIONS IN A MORE INTIMATE WAY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DEALING WITH THE FOLKS THAT MAKE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE AND BRING IT TO LIFE, OUR DONORS.

>> AND I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE DONORS ACTUALLY BUT AGAIN ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION.

IT'S HERE TO HELP FACILITATE AND HELP FUND A WHOLE BUNCH OF PROJECTS-- OKAY, ORGANIZATIONS, SURE, ET CETERA.

SO IT BEGS THE QUESTION, MEL, WITH THE WHAT I THINK TO BE THE TREMENDOUS NEED OUT THERE, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHERE TO MAKE THESE DISBURSEMENTS?

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHERE TO MAKE THE "INVESTMENT"?

>> I THINK THERE IS A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT WE DO IT.

ONE, I ALWAYS POINT PEOPLE BACK TO OUR CENTRAL NEW YORK VITALS, WHICH IS THE DATA REPOSITORY THAT HELPS TELL THE STORY AROUND WHERE THE NEEDS ARE, WHERE THE ISSUES ARE, AND WHERE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD LEAN INTO AS A COMMUNITY.

>> STUDY WHAT IS GOING ON.

>> WE STUDY.

WE STUDY DATA.

DATA IS OUR FRIEND SO NOT ONLY DO WE STUDY FROM WHAT THE DATA SAYS, BUT WE KEEP OUR EARS AND PARTNERSHIPS, OUR EARS TO THE GROUND AND FORGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-PROFIT COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE THAT FRONT LINE DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH WHAT THEY'RE SEEING, EVEN BEFORE THE DATA BEGINS TO REVEAL ITSELF.

WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, AND WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS ECOSYSTEM OF NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN-- THAT KEEP THEIR PULSE ON THE ISSUES.

>> WE WEAVE IN AND OUT OF MONEY TALK HERE AS WELL.

BUT THE DISBURSEMENTS, THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THE FOUNDATION MAKES, ALL OF THAT MONEY COMES FROM DONORS, CORRECT?

ARE YOU FUNDED BY STATE, COUNTY OR ANY TYPE ... >> I WE ARE NOT.

WE ARE ACTUALLY THE ASSETS OF THE FOUNDATION IS OVER $430 MILLION TO DATE.

THAT COMES FROM OUR DONORS, FROM A WIDE RANGE OF DONORS AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE PROUD OF.

>> WELL, ALL RIGHT.

NOW YOU HIT MY HOT BUTTON HERE.

$430 MILLION, ALMOST HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

NOW WE ARE TALKING MONEY.

SO THERE HAS BEEN GROWTH IN THIS ORGANIZATION FOR PAST CENTURY.

ONE BEING JUST THAT.

I MEAN PROBABLY-- I MEAN HAD YOU TO START WITH SOME DOLLAR AMOUNT I'M SURE BUT THAT'S TREMENDOUS DOLLAR GROWTH OVER THE YEARS.

>> IT IS TREMENDOUS.

>> FROM THE DONORS.

>> TREMENDOUS DOLLAR GROWTH FROM THE DONORS.

YOU KNOW, I JUST DID A QUICK LOOK AT WHERE WE WERE IN 2019 TO WHERE WE ARE-- I WENT BACK AS FAR AS THE EARLY 90s BECAUSE I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A RANGE.

THE ASSETS OF THE FOUNDATION GREW OVER $200 PLUS MILLION.

DURING THAT POINT IN TIME IS HUGE.

>> ANOTHER AREA OF GROWTH HAS BEEN ON THE FLIP SIDE.

THE GRANTS BEING ISSUED.

I MEAN THAT HAD TO-- THAT HAS TO BE INCREASING AS MORE MONEY COMES IN, CORRECT?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> MAJOR FUNDING.

>> MAJOR FUNDING.

SO EVEN IF WE GO BACK TO BEFORE 2019, RIGHT?

ON AVERAGE WE WERE DOING IN THE MID 15 PLUS MILLION, 17 PLUS MILLION AND LAST YEAR WE GRANTED OVER $23 MILLION IN GRANTS.

>> NICE.

LET'S TALK ABOUT DONORS BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT THEM UP A COUPLE OF TIMES HERE.

I THINK THERE IS A PERCEPTION OR NOTION OUT THERE, MEL, THAT PEOPLE WHO GIVE TO FOUNDATIONS LIKE THIS ARE JUST THE WEALTHY.

YEAH, BUT YOU ARE SEEING IT KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD, CORRECT?

>> YEAH, YEAH AND YOU KNOW, I ALMOST GET EMOTIONAL WHEN I TALK ABOUT OUR DONORS, RIGHT?

BECAUSE-- AND I WILL TELL ANYONE FROM ONE DOLLAR TO A GAZILLION DOLLARS, YOU ALL MATTER.

AND I SEE THE RANGE, WHETHER IT'S FOLKS GIVING ONE-TIME GIFTS THROUGH OUR 5FORCNY CAMPAIGN OR OUR COMMUNITY FUND TO OUR DONORS THAT GIVE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

IT ALL MATTERS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE HEAR, ARE YOU ALLOCATING THE FUNDS?

ARE THEY JUST SITTING THERE GROWING?

NO.

WE ALLOCATE OVER 90% OF THOSE FUNDS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

MASSIVE.

>> IS CENTRAL NEW YORK REALLY A GIVING COMMUNITY IN YOUR VIEW?

>> OH YEAH IT IS.

IT IS.

YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I HAVE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO WITNESS, OVER 900 ORGANIZATIONS GET THE BENEFIT OF CONTRIBUTIONS THAT COME FROM CENTRAL NEW YORK.

MOST OF OUR CONTRIBUTIONS STAY RIGHT HERE AT HOME.

>> MELANIE, A GENERATION OR SO AGO, WE HAD SOME BIG EMPLOYERS IN TOWN, THE ALLIED CHEMICALS THAT SENT ME TO SCHOOL, CARRIER, G.E.

WAS-- THERE ARE STILL SOME SHELLS BUT THEY'RE NOT WHAT THEY WERE.

AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY OTHERS THAT I TALK TO ON THIS SHOW AND EVEN PRIVATELY, THOSE COMPANIES CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO CHARITABLE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.

MICRON.

>> YEAH.

>> IS THAT GOING TO FILL THE GAP?

>> WHAT MICRON IS DOING IS NOT ONLY THE FINANCIAL OR THE CORPORATE STEWARDSHIP SUPPORT, WHICH THEY ARE DOING SOME GROUND CHANGING TRANSFORMATIONAL THINGS BUT THEY'RE CREATING A HIGH LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT THAT IS ATTRACTING OTHER TYPES OF ENTITIES AND INDUSTRIES HERE.

IT'S ALSO CREATING THIS UNBELIEVABLE SENSE OF PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION IN WAYS THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN IN MY 30 PLUS YEARS OF LIVING LEER.

COUPLE OF YEARS OR AS FAR OUT AS YOU CAN ENVISION, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FOUNDATIONS AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITIES BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES?

>> OUR BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES ARE WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

>> WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT?

>> WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

K-12 EDUCATION WITH A FOCUS ON STEM.

>> SO THIS GOES AGAIN TO MICRON.

>> YES.

AND HOUSING.

>> HOUSING.

WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT HOUSING.

CONTINUES TO BE A-- WELL, I SAY MAJOR-- IT IS A PROBLEM IN THAT INVENTORIES ARE LOW, PRICES ARE HIGH.

IT'S TOUGH, PARTICULARLY, I THINK, FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS.

>> FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHOUSED.

THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GROW RAPIDLY IN ALL OF OUR COUNTIES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

RAPID GROWTH OF THE UNHOUSED.

SO IT'S THAT PERFECT STORM.

>> I'LL TELL YOU, TWO THINGS.

A: I THINK YOU ARE GOING TO BE BUSY.

>> BYES AGREE AND SECONDLY, WE WISH YOU SUCCESS.

I MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE YOUR HANDS FULL.

I KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT A GREAT GROUP DOWN HERE.

BUT WE WILL BE MONITORING THE RESULTS AND CERTAINLY WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.

>> THANK YOU.