The Community Foundation for South Central New York was established in 1997 with a $1 million challenge grant from the Binghamton-based Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, a private foundation whose Board had noted the lack of a community foundation to serve Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware and Tioga counties.
Bolstered by the success and strong presence of the community foundation model in other parts of the country, the idea to create such an organization for our region took hold, and a Board of Directors comprising active community volunteers was formed.