Charities Get $204K In Grants From Townwide Fund of Huntington

Townwide Fund of Huntington board members and representatives from 35 local charities gathered Tuesday for the distribution of $204,000 in grants. Photo Courtesy of Alex Wolff Photography

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Townwide Fund of Huntington distributed $204,000 worth of grants to Huntington-based charities at its first ever Harvest Night on Tuesday.

Townwide Fund board members and representatives of 35 local nonprofits gathered at LaunchPad Huntington to conclude the process of selecting the charities that would receive grants from the fund. The grant application process ran from January to July of this year, and then applications were reviewed by the grant committee made up of Stephanie Bontempi, Vita Scaturro and Janice Shea.

“The grant application process is the same for all the charities,” Scaturro said. “The applicants plan to spend the money on health and human services, they must release their financial statements, and the goal of the program must align with the mission statement of the Townwide Fund.”

Once the initial applicants were screened and approved by grant committee, the charities that received the grants were selected by a vote of the entire board of the Townwide Fund. In order to be eligible for a grant, organizations must assist Town of Huntington residents.

The nonprofits selected to receive grants this year range is size and scope from the Suffolk County Council, Boy Scouts of America to the Gateway Community Garden. Of the 35 grant recipients, seven were first time beneficiaries of Townwide Fund grants.

One of the first nonprofits to receive its grant from the Townwide Fund was the Living Waters Counseling Center, which is based out of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Melville. Executive Director Carol Rubano said the center provides counseling for individuals who could not otherwise afford it.

“We provide counseling to families and individuals who are on the margins,” Rubano said, adding that the grant can help the center work on establishing groups to help those suffering from PTSD.

Funding for the grants comes from corporate sponsorship with First Equity and Cannon as well as fundraising efforts and donations to the Townwide Fund, according to President Jim Powers.

Powers told representatives of the charities to use the event “to meet and talk to each other about experiences and lessons learned.”

The Harvest Night event was a unique opportunity for different local nonprofits to take advantage of informal networking, according to the Townwide Fund Executive Director Gloria Palacios.

She added, “This is really the heart and soul of Huntington; everyone here, in one manner or another, has had their hand in helping neighbors in need. We are really here for you.”