The Year in Review
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Grantmaking
The Dyson Foundation’s grantmaking in 2009 continued to reflect the austerity brought on by the lingering global recession that took root in 2008. The Foundation held to its revised giving guidelines throughout the year, restricting new grants to programs involving core health care, human services, safety-net services (housing, food security, and emergency assistance), workforce development, and after-school programs for low-income children and youth. While honoring all pre-existing pledges in 2009, the Foundation awarded no new grants to environmental, historic preservation, capital improvement, or arts organizations—unless the projects were deemed to be critically related to economic development opportunities.Given the dramatic reduction in the Foundation’s investments due to the recession, fiscal prudence guided grantmaking in 2009, resulting in a total grants outlay of $15,150,675 for the year. This represented about 5% less than the 2008 year-end total of $16,016,829, and 45% less than the 2007 year-end total of $27,316,126. Grant payments already committed in prior years represented over 70% of all grant funds in 2009, a significant increase over the typical ratio of approximately 50% of grant dollars being committed before the beginning of the year. New grantmaking in 2009 totaled $5,302,975, representing 195 grants paid within that year or ensuing years. This number marks a sizeable 57% reduction from the $12,211,218 committed to new grants in 2008.
The Foundation paid on 275 grants to 202 different nonprofit organizations in 2009. Individual grant payments made in 2009 ranged from $1,000 to $1,000,000 with a mean payment of $52,780 and a median grant payment of $20,000. The mean and median figures rose to $57,750 and $25,000, respectively, when Management Assistance Program (MAP) mini-grants were deducted from the totals. Of the 275 grants paid out during the year, 22 grants (or 11% of the total) were awarded to new grantee organizations and 91 grants represented multi-year pledges.
The Mid-Hudson Valley Grants program continued to represent the largest area of giving in 2009, receiving $8,428,650 or 56% of the Foundation’s total outlay for the year. That amount was down slightly from the previous year in which the Mid-Hudson Valley program (which targets nonprofit organizations located in Dutchess County and the surrounding counties of Ulster, Orange, Columbia, Greene and Putnam) represented 60% of all Foundation giving. Legacy & Family Interest Program grants totaled $6,401,800 in 2009, representing a slight increase from the previous year’s giving under the program. The Legacy & Family Interest program, which funds unsolicited grants awarded at the discretion of the Dyson family, represented 42% of the Foundation’s overall funding. The Foundation continued its Directors’ Discretionary and Support of Philanthropy funding programs at levels consistent with previous years’ allocations, each representing about 1% of total giving for the year.
Of the new grants awarded in the Mid-Hudson Valley Grants Program in 2009, the Dyson Foundation committed a larger percentage of its giving to cover grantees’ general operating expenses than ever before, providing many Mid-Hudson Valley nonprofits with core funding needed to address increasing caseloads and decreasing revenues from other sources. Grants designated for general operating expenses increased to 22% of Mid-Hudson Valley program giving in 2009, growing from 14% in 2008 and 9% in 2007. This flexible funding helped many established Mid-Hudson Valley nonprofits provide a range of “safety net” services for the region’s residents. Some examples of nonprofits receiving general operating support included: the Family Partnership Center of Poughkeepsie, the Mental Health Association of Dutchess County, the Grace Smith House, Habitat for Humanity of Newburgh, Putnam Family and Community Services, and Dutchess County Red Cross.
The Mid-Hudson Valley Program accounted for 162 of the 275 grants the Foundation made in 2009 with project support and management assistance grants the most common type of grant awarded. However, building and renovation grants accounted for the largest share of all grant dollars allocated by category at $2,235,000 or 27% of all funds awarded in the program. This is a notable shift from the prior year, primarily due to a number of large payments made in 2009 on the Dyson Foundation’s 50th anniversary grants, as well as final payments towards several previously-committed Mid-Hudson Valley capital projects. These included an addition to the Dyson Center at Marist College, renovations of the Bardavon Opera House, and construction of the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries.
The Dyson Foundation saw its multi-year investment in the effort to transform the former Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge into an elevated pedestrian and cycling park materialize on Oct. 3, 2009, when the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park opened to great public acclaim. The Walkway project received $690,000 from the Foundation in 2009 as part of its preliminary $2.1 million overall commitment. In addition, the Foundation provided significant staff and management support to the capital campaign and construction effort. By year’s end, the Walkway had already attracted nearly 250,000 visitors, making it one of the state’s most popular parks.
The Foundation’s Management Assistance Program (MAP) awarded 42 grants in 2009 totaling $784,200, an increase of $144,500 over the 2008 allocation in this category. Of the 42 MAP grants awarded, 28 were mini-grants, totaling $166,400 and representing a significant decrease of 56% from the $297,700 awarded in 2008. Under the MAP category, the Foundation also awarded 15 grants totaling $277,800 through the Strategic Restructuring Initiative (SRI). This represents an increase of 36% from $204,500 in 2008. The Foundation also made $350,000 in payments on an unusually large restructuring grant to support the merger between the Bardavon and the Ulster Performing Arts Center (not included in the total above).
Other Foundation Activities
In January, the Dyson Foundation joined with the Community Foundation of Dutchess County/Ulster County Community Foundation, the Funders Network of the Mid-Hudson Valley and the New York Regional Association of Grantsmakers (NYRAG) in presenting a free seminar for Mid-Hudson Valley nonprofit leaders featuring Clara Miller, President and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF). Ms. Miller’s presentation—“Managing Your Nonprofit Organization in Lean Times”—offered insights from her 25 years leading NFF’s efforts to help nonprofits become more fiscally responsible. Against the backdrop of a deepening national recession, the event drew hundreds of concerned nonprofit leaders.Ms. Miller’s presentation was followed by a series of seven seminars held throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley and the Berkshires that offered nonprofit leaders critical advice and guidance on how to manage all aspects of their nonprofit organizations during stressful financial periods. The lecture series was sponsored by the Dyson Foundation, the Community Foundation of Dutchess County/Ulster County Community Foundation, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
In November, the Dyson Foundation presented a free workshop designed to assist nonprofit leaders considering strategic restructuring, collaborations, alliances or mergers. Nationally-renowned expert David La Piana conducted the workshop at the Poughkeepsie Grandview and offered one-on-one sessions with nonprofit managers who were actively engaged in strategic restructuring at the time.
Also in November the Foundation launched its newly redesigned website. This new site was designed to be more readable, easier to navigate and to offer easier access of information and resources to grantseekers who we recognize are the primary “customers” of the Dyson Foundation.
Governance
In 2009, Christopher C. Dyson, son of board chair Rob Dyson and grandson of the Foundation’s founders, Margaret and Charles Dyson, was elected Treasurer.The Board of Directors conducted its business through four meetings in 2009. The June board meeting was held at the newly renovated Marist Boathouse and included a site visit to the soon to be opened Walkway Over the Hudson. Joining the board were guests from our partner in the Walkway project, the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Carol Ash, Commissioner, and Erik Kulleseid, Deputy Commissioner for Open Space Preservation. The board also heard a presentation on a recent workforce housing study funded by the Dyson Foundation which examined future needs and demographic projections in Dutchess, Ulster and Orange counties. The study was discussed by Roger Akeley and Anne Saylor from the Dutchess County Department of Planning.
In December the board met at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY and heard about future expansion plans from Dr. Daniel Aronzon, President and CEO of the hospital and Michael Weber, President and CEO of Health Quest Inc. (the hospital’s parent organization). At that meeting, the board also participated in a discussion about governmental consolidation and shared services efforts and opportunities in New York State. Presentors for this discussion included John Clarkson, Office of the New York State Comptroller, former Executive Director of the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness; Gerald Benjamin, Associate Vice President for Regional Engagement and Director of the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) at SUNY New Paltz; and Peter Fairweather, Principal of Fairweather Consulting.
