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$75,000 bequest award to Cranberry Lake communities helps skaters, food pantry, recreation

Posted 7/14/14

CRANBERRY LAKE -- Community organizations in Clifton and Fine have been awarded $75,000 in grants from Robert Damoth’s Damoth Fund at Adirondack Foundation. This year's grant recipients include: …

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$75,000 bequest award to Cranberry Lake communities helps skaters, food pantry, recreation

Posted

CRANBERRY LAKE -- Community organizations in Clifton and Fine have been awarded $75,000 in grants from Robert Damoth’s Damoth Fund at Adirondack Foundation.

This year's grant recipients include:

• Clifton-Fine Figure Skaters, to purchase skates so any child can participate

• A project to stock a local food pantry with fresh produce from St. Lawrence County farms

• Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corporation, which will produce, print and distribute a guide to local giving and volunteering

• Cranberry Lake Boat Club, to create signs promoting local amenities

• Woodland Cemetery Association, for a secure storage building for tools, to remove hazardous trees and to remove brush and overgrowth around grave sites

• Save Our Schoolhouse, to purchase a furnace so the Star Lake building can host exhibits, workshops and meetings year-round

• Fine Hamlets Parks and Recreation, for upgrades to playground equipment in Fine.

The Damoth Fund was established in 2012 with a bequest from Robert Damoth, who had a strong attachment to the Cranberry Lake region. Every year, a portion of Damoth's bequest is awarded to community organizations with the support of the Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corporation. Every year, the fund also awards $15,000 each to Clifton-Fine Central School, Clifton Community Library, Cranberry Lake Fire & Rescue, and Clifton-Fine Hospital.

Cali Brooks, executive director of Adirondack Foundation, said Damoth’s bequest "has already made a big impact on this area, and it will continue to do so for decades to come."

Last year, the Cranberry Lake Fire Department used its grant for a new snowmobile for backcountry rescue. The library's grant helped fund new programs, additions to the library's holdings, and expanded hours of operation. The hospital used its grant to increase awareness and outreach to the community, and the school's funding was used for three $5,000 scholarships.

The CFEDC's Smart Growth Committee fielded grant applications totaling more than $42,000 this year, up from about $30,000 in 2013. Committee member Annette Craig credited this year's increased interest to a better understanding of community philanthropy.

"People who never would have sought funding like this are starting to understand this process," Craig said. "They see the impact that philanthropy is having on our community, and organizations are stepping forward with great applications."

"The committee did an excellent job in choosing the grant recipients and determining the appropriate allocation to each recipient," CFEDC member Chris Westbrook said. "This was a difficult task given the fact that we had $42,244.00 of grant requests for $15,000 of available grant funds to award. The recipients of the grants represent a wide cross-section of our community and their projects will have a significant impact on the Clifton-Fine community."

To learn more about the power community philanthropy, or to make a gift to one of Adirondack Foundation's more than 220 funds, please visit www.generousact.org or call (518) 523-9904.

Adirondack Foundation, founded in 1997 as Adirondack Community Trust, is a community foundation serving the Adirondack region of New York State.

For more information about Adirondack Foundation and the Adirondack Gives initiative, visit www.generousact.org or call (518) 523-9904.