ESL Provides $8.3 Million in Grants in First Quarter to Nonprofit Organizations throughout the Greater Rochester Region
The 96 grants will help support organizations providing necessary services and programs for individuals and families throughout the community.
Rochester, NY — In the first quarter of 2025, ESL awarded 96 grants for a total of $8.3 million to local organizations providing necessary services and programs to individuals and families.
“We are committed to helping our community thrive and prosper. By partnering with local organizations dedicated to improving lives, we can achieve great results,” said Maureen Wolfe, executive vice president /director, human resource and community impact, ESL Federal Credit Union. “When we invest in our community, we invest in everyone’s potential to succeed.”
ESL and its Community Impact team partner with and reinvest in the community through philanthropic grants aligned with expanding individual opportunity through quality education and employment, building strong neighborhoods that are affordable and connected, and strengthening organizations. The team also works to share stories that highlight the positive, measurable outcomes of this important, benevolent work in the community.
A sample of the organizations that received grant commitments from ESL include:
Project Title: Community Schools Support
Grant Awarded: $1,650,000
Description: Community schools are public schools that partner with local organizations to provide students and their families with additional support services. These services address out-of-school barriers, poverty, physical and mental health, food insecurity, and lack of clothing. The following school districts received ESL funding for their community school programs:
- Rush-Henrietta Central School District
- East Irondequoit Central School District
- West Irondequoit Central School District
- Palmyra-Macedon Central School District
- Wayne Central School District
- Gananda Central School District
- Greece Central School District/Greece Community Education
- Geneva City School District
- Marion Central School District
- Rochester City School District
- Gates-Chili Central School District
Organization: The Center for Teen Empowerment
Project Title: Violence Prevention through Youth Organizing and Development
Grant Awarded: $400,000
Description: The Center for Teen Empowerment (CTE) in Rochester is a results-driven organization that employs teens, referred to as youth organizers, to organize other individuals around the same age to help address the community’s most pressing issues.
Organization: Reconnect Rochester
Project Title: Investing in Community Mobility to Build Strong Neighborhoods
Grant Awarded: $207,086
Description: Reconnect Rochester is a local nonprofit that advocates for safe, equitable roads for both pedestrians and motorists. Through Reconnect Rochester, transportation issues such as unsafe roads or lack of routes/access are addressed with solutions that include community input.
Organization: Girl Scouts of Western New York
Project Title: 2025 Creating Women Leaders of Tomorrow Out of School Time (OST) Program
Grant Awarded: $53,500
Description: This program will equip 350 girls in grades K-8 from historically underserved populations in Rochester with leadership development and hands-on learning opportunities. The program will emphasize STEM and entrepreneurship/financial literacy as a foundation for success in school and future career pathways. The program also incorporates social emotional learning essential for girls’ healthy development.
Organization: GLOW Works
Project Title: GLOW with Your Hands Healthcare Career Exploration Event
Grant Awarded: $15,000
Description: GLOW with Your Hands Healthcare was launched in 2023 to introduce students to a variety of career opportunities in the healthcare industry and the pathway into various positions. Students interact with providers through hands-on engagement in all aspects of the healthcare community that include nursing, phlebotomy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dental, speech pathology, mental health care, veterinary tech, and other areas. This event expands individual opportunities in education for students in grades 8-12 from the school districts across the Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming (GLOW) county area.
