Essex Community Fund grants support arts, education, recreational access & more

Community organizations serving the town of Essex received over $38,000 in philanthropic support this summer.

The Essex Community Fund (ECF) at Adirondack Community Foundation awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations, schools, church programs and local government activities serving residents of the town of Essex. Grants are traditionally given in support of community services, beautification, historic preservation, culture, the arts, education, and programs for youth and senior citizens.

ECF awarded $38,361 to 14 organizations in 2025.

“Being part of a community means showing up and contributing in whatever way you can, and the Essex Community Fund is a powerful example of that spirit in action,” said Norma Goff, chair of ECF’s grants committee. “These grants are made possible thanks to the many generous individuals who give each year. It’s deeply rewarding to see those donations turned into support for local nonprofits, many of which rely on volunteers and work tirelessly to serve our neighbors.”

The following organizations received ECF grants this year:

• Adirondack Art Association, for community enrichment programs for children and adults, centered on the theme “A Sense of Place”
• Belden Noble Memorial Library, for comfortable, “space-appropriate” seating
• Boquet River Association, for the Beaver Brook restoration project
• Champlain Area Trails, for maintenance of trucks used in care of trails and nature preserves
• Essex Initiatives, to support a website and quarterly newsletter to help keep the community connected and provide business and civic updates
• Essex Theatre Company, for light-blocking window shades at the Masonic Lodge
• Lakeside Preschool: Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm, to sustain its farm-based food program
• Meadowmount School of Music, for restoration of historic pianos
• Paine Memorial Free Library, to undergo an essential computer upgrade
• Adirondack Community Action Program, for support of child care providers
• Whallonsburg Grange Hall, for a new and efficient theatrical lighting system
• Willsboro-Essex EMS, for EMS and community CPR programs
• Willsboro-Essex Summer Youth Program, to support field trips and swim lessons

“BRASS and our project partners are incredibly grateful to the Essex Community Fund for helping fund our low-cost, volunteer-based approach to restoring Beaver Brook in Essex’s Split Rock Wildway,” said Colin Powers, executive director of the Boquet River Association (BRASS). “Our restoration experts will lead volunteer teams planting riparian buffers and adding temporary erosion control measures to reduce sedimentation and improve stream geomorphology. This will create a healthier, biologically complex riverscape to best support this region’s critical wildlife populations.”

“Not every child has the opportunity to swim or go on field trips during the summer,” said Lorilee Sheehan, of the Willsboro-Essex summer youth program. “This grant from the Essex Community Fund will provide funding for 72 children from our two towns to go swimming at the Plattsburgh YMCA, visit a trampoline park in Williston, Vermont, and attend a private movie screening at the Cumberland 12 theater.”

A component fund of Adirondack Community Foundation, ECF was established in 2004 and has awarded over $385,000 in grants to date. To learn more about community funds at Adirondack Community Foundation, visit adkcommunityfoundation.org or contact Leslee Mounger at leslee@adkcommunityfoundation.org