A VOICE IN AWARDING $100,000

The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY) March 24, 2004 | ANGELA STEFANO You may not have heard of it before and might not know someone who is a member, but the 21st Century Fund, a Buffalo foundation that awards a grant each year to a non-profit organization, is certainly an active part of Buffalo. With more than 220 members of different backgrounds, races and social classes, the Fund — part of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo — is growing every year. go to web site canisius high school

Richard Tobe, vice president of the foundation, described the fund as a way “for a new generation to become involved in philanthropy. All ages and walks of like can work together to improve the community.” He also said that although there is no age limit on who can be part of the voting process, it is usually a question of who can handle it. One year a Canisius High School senior was on the committee to determine the finalists.

Members of the fund are families (kids and teens are allowed to vote, too), schools, businesses or anyone who hopes to make a difference in the community. Each member pays a fee of $2,100 over five years; as a member of this foundation, you help determine the non-profit organization that is given the yearly grant, usually around $100,000. Last fall, about 30 organizations gave presentations describing their institution and how they would use the grant. Five finalists were picked: Bethel Community Development Corporation, Buffalo Zoo, Frank Lloyd Wright Rowing Boathouse Corp., Friends of the Buffalo Niagara River and Hauptmann-Woodward Medical Research Center.

Monday night, Fund members voted to award the yearly grant after seeing final presentations from five finalists at the Roswell Park Research Studies Center. (Members unable to attend voted by proxy.) There were numerous teens and younger kids voting, including a representative from the Nardin Academy senior class and a Canisius High School senior. Nardin sophomore Chrissy Hunt explained that a voting process where kids’ and adults’ ballots are equal “gives you a feeling that you’re contributing to society and making Buffalo better. It’s overwhelming to think that that in some cases, you could have the deciding vote.” And when the foundation says they don’t have an age limit, they’re serious. Harrison Bacon, a 4th grader, was there with his dad and little brother this year, and he had voted in the past. Explaining his voting process, Harrison said: “We fit each entry into categories: attractions, ‘good-to-do’ things and something to bring people to the area.” He and his family decided which they liked best from each category and then picked their favorite from those three. This year, the Buffalo Zoo emerged as the winner after a run-off vote, since no one organization had over 50 percent of the vote. The zoo’s presentation involved the design of a South American Rain Forest Complex to be built where the duck ponds now are. The grant from the 21st Century Fund will be used to fund the final drawings and models needed to collect the rest of the money for the project; once built (hopefully in winter 2006 or early 2007), the rain forest will house around 100 species, and some animals will be allowed to roam freely around the area. go to website canisius high school

The other entry in the final tiebreaker vote was the Bethel Community Development Corp.’s Cold Spring Circle. This plan would revitalize the Cold Springs neighborhood on the East Side and bring a new “pride, image, and perception” to the city’s East Side and its residents.

More information about the fund can be found on the Web site, www.cfgb.org.

Angela Stefano is a sophomore at Nardin.

ANGELA STEFANO