As part of a multi-year effort to improve the Adirondack region’s basic needs infrastructure, Adirondack Foundation is awarding six planning grants to support partnerships between essential safety net organizations. These grants are intended to help them develop creative ideas to better reach people who need their services.

The six partnerships grew out of a series of Collaboration Labs the Foundation held in November. Approximately 100 participants in 20 partnerships joined the Labs, which offered tools and time to work together to consider new approaches and form or bolster relationships.

The collaborations address the top community needs identified in the 2024 Adirondack Regional Social Safety Network Report: housing, transportation, workforce readiness (including childcare), access to healthy food, access to specialty healthcare, and social cohesion. The report was completed last year with partner The John Rugge Center for Community Impact and support from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

“Our report found that about 40% of families in our region face challenges meeting their basic needs,” said Jennifer Russell, VP of Grants and Program. “We are fortunate to have a wealth of organizations doing great work to address those needs. Our role as a community foundation is to support them in finding ways to strengthen the system regionwide by combining their efforts and tackling challenges from multiple angles.”

Each of the six projects awarded a planning grant have a lead organization working with up to 10 partner organizations:

• Supporting Rural ALICE Families in the Adirondack Region Through Crisis Intervention, led by the United Way of the Adirondack Region;
• Bringing Casework to Southern Essex County with Emergency Financial Assistance, led by North Country Ministry;
• The West Central Adirondack Connection: Mitigating Social Isolation and Loneliness, led by LivingADK;
• Strengthening Adirondack Supportive Housing, led by the Adirondack Housing Development Corporation;
• TiED: Building Ties Between Workforce, Economic and Education Development, led by Ready4Real, Inc.; and
• Hamilton County’s Commitment: Strengthening Food Systems Through Stakeholder Engagement, led by AdkAction.

These initiatives are exploring innovative solutions to reach populations that are often underserved due to geographic, economic, or demographic barriers. These include people above the poverty threshold who struggle to make ends meet, sometimes referred to as

ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income Restrained, Employed). For these families, even a minor crisis, such as a flat tire or an unexpected medical bill, can trigger a cascade of challenges that threatens their ability to pay rent, afford food, or secure childcare and healthcare.

“Imagine living paycheck to paycheck, meticulously budgeting every dollar to cover basic expenses,” said John Bernardi, President & CEO of the United Way of the Adirondack Region. “Then, one day, your furnace breaks. With no safety net, where do you turn? Do you skip meals or risk eviction to pay for the repair? For ALICE families, these impossible choices are an all-too-common reality.”

In addition to the planning grants, up to four partnerships will be awarded catalytic implementation grants of $150,000, distributed over three years. Applications are open to partnership groups who participated in the Collaboration Labs and will be announced at the end of April.

For more information about the Strengthening the Regional Safety Net project, visit adirondackfoundation.org/safetynet. For questions, email Adirondack Foundation VP of Grants & Program Jennifer Russell at jennifer.russell@adkfoundation.org.