About
Upstate Giving has compiled a database of more than $12 billion in grants to nonprofit and governmental organizations in Upstate New York.
The site is published by Laurie Bennett, an award-winning investigative journalist and experienced web publisher. After launching the online version of the Detroit Free Press, Bennett left daily newspapers to start a company called ePodunk, a community-profile web site acquired by another web company in 2006. In the years since, she has launched several internet projects, including Geneva Collective Impact, a data site published by Geneva 2030, a nonprofit effort of Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Upstate Giving had its start in mid-2020, when Bennett was writing a grant application for a local organization in her own community of Rochester, NY. The more she studied charitable giving, the more she realized that nonprofits across Upstate could benefit from a resource that examined nonprofits and grantmaking by place.
The famous New Yorker cover, illustrating the Manhattan-centric view of the United States, applies to the philanthropic landscape as well. Traditional sources of grant information often overlook local awards, tending to favor downstate philanthropy, a frustration for those in more rural areas of New York State.
So after months of studying tax returns, foundation and nonprofit web sites, and government databases, Bennett came up with a new approach.
She organized information by the community in which grant recipients operate.
It became clear, over years of research, that the health and character of communities could be tracked not only by location, population, employment and housing, but by the level of nonprofit activity. So in addition to a listing of biggest nonprofit organizations and recent grants, we’re adding economic impact to our pages.
Upstate Giving is a free site. You won’t bump into paywalls or subscription offers when performing searches or clicking on links.
Our database encompasses more than 50,000 grants of $1,000 and above, in more than 1,000 communities, in 53 Upstate counties. We follow the philanthropy of more than 1,100 grantors.*
The famous New Yorker cover, illustrating the Manhattan-centric view of the United States, applies to the philanthropic landscape as well. Traditional sources of grant information often overlook local awards, tending to favor downstate philanthropy, a frustration for those in more rural areas of New York State.
So after months of studying tax returns, foundation and nonprofit web sites, and government databases, Bennett came up with a new approach.
She organized information by the community in which grant recipients operate.
It became clear, over years of research, that the health and character of communities could be tracked not only by location, population, employment and housing, but by the level of nonprofit activity. So in addition to a listing of biggest nonprofit organizations and recent grants, we’re adding economic impact to our pages.
Upstate Giving is a free site. You won’t bump into paywalls or subscription offers when performing searches or clicking on links.
Our database encompasses more than 50,000 grants of $1,000 and above, in more than 1,000 communities, in 53 Upstate counties. We follow the philanthropy of more than 1,100 grantors.*
* We list the most recent grants on these free pages. Our entire database is searchable by topic as well as geography, grantee and grantor. For customized research, please contact us.For those looking to give back to their hometowns, we list not only the names of local charities, but of other nonprofits such as libraries, volunteer fire departments, and volunteer ambulance corps. Remember where you came from! We welcome suggestions and corrections.