WNY Forward Fund Launches to Support Nonprofits Amid Federal Funding Cuts and Changing Priorities
A coalition of Western New York funders has created the WNY Forward Fund, a multi-year initiative designed to help nonprofits adapt to major federal funding shifts. Organizations across eight counties can now apply for grants of up to $25,000 to explore partnerships, shared services, or mergers that strengthen long-term stability and community impact.
BUFFALO - A group of local funders have joined together to create the Western New York Forward Fund, a collaborative effort designed to support the WNY community and the local nonprofit sector in the face of major shifts in federal funding and priorities since early 2025.
Exploration and formation of strategic alliances is one of three priority areas designated by the collaboration. A grant application process will open immediately for nonprofit organizations interested in exploring and/or pursuing strategic alliances in varying levels including partnerships, shared services, mergers, and other collaborative models to help organizations adapt to the evolving environment, and remain resilient and responsive to community needs. More information and the application can be found at www.WNYForwardFund.org. The deadline to apply is Friday, December 12th at 4:00pm.
Grant awards are expected to be up to $25,000 and will be awarded in January. Nonprofits in the eight counties of Western New York (Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Wyoming, Genesee, and Orleans) are eligible to apply. Additional grant opportunities in this area are also planned for 2026. An informational webinar to learn more about the grant opportunity will be held on Friday, November 21st from 12:00-1:00pm.
To date, twelve local funders have contributed approximately $2.3 million to the Fund, created to spark innovation, strengthen capacity, and support nonprofits as they adapt to shifting conditions and they explore how to deliver services in partnership.
WNY Forward Fund will also provide support to the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (ECBAVLP) with a $150,000 grant for their participation in the Upstate Immigration Pro Bono Collaborative that recruits, trains, and mentors private attorneys to take on immigration cases and ensure that all litigants are adequately represented in the justice system. ECBAVLP is the Collaborative’s anchor organization in WNY and is critical to the effort as Buffalo is home to the only immigration court in New York State outside of New York City. Despite a recent loss of significant funding that supported pro bono coordination for immigrant legal services, ECBAVLP is managing 180 active immigration cases, including 25 scheduled for trial this fall.
The Fund is a multi-year commitment to help ensure that the WNY community and the nonprofit sector remains strong, resilient, and equipped to adapt in the face of recent changes that have created financial strain, rapid change, and deep uncertainty at a time when community need is increasing. This follows other notable community collaborations that arose to address times of crisis including the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2022 racially-motivated shooting on Buffalo’s East Side. The philanthropic community’s goal in working together is to help protect and strengthen the community, while encouraging innovation and reimagining how to best use community resources for long-term resilience.
According to Betsy Constantine, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, “The collaborative’s goal is to provide support for exploring new ways of working that address the challenges our region is facing including the loss of federal funding, cost increases, and declining tourism that are straining the region's nonprofit sector. We have to think differently now that the role of government is changing and resources are strained to ensure that our community is strong and resilient for the long term. As funders, we know we cannot plug a multi-million dollar shortfall but we are committed to finding new, innovative ways to help nonprofits make strategic changes that will strengthen the sector at this difficult time.”
Conversations among local foundations began this spring as changes at the federal level began to be put in place. It became clear that the resources of the local funding community would not be near enough to address funding shortfalls, estimated to be approximately $7 billion across New York State to organizations and individuals in the first quarter of 2025 alone. In addition, nearly 70% of the nonprofit sector received some type of government funding.
Despite the daunting numbers, the group remained committed to finding solutions to support nonprofits and the communities they serve.
In addition to the new grant opportunity and focus on Strategic Alliances and Partnerships, the WNY Forward Fund will also prioritize:
• Civic Health & Common Ground: Exploring opportunities to fund and support initiatives that protect access to justice, due process, and legal defense and building deeper connections between public institutions and the stakeholders they serve. The grant to ECBAVLP falls under this priority area
Impact Data & Storytelling: Backing efforts to collect and share critical data on how funding cuts affect organizations and the people they serve, helping our community better understand, communicate and respond to the region’s evolving needs.
WNY Forward Fund collaborators include The Buffalo Bills Foundation, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Fund, James H. Cummings Foundation, The John R. Oishei Foundation, KeyBank, Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, M&T Charitable Foundation, The Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation, United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, and The Western New York Foundation. The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo will manage the Fund.
Interested nonprofits can learn more about the WNY Forward Fund, the grant application process for Strategic Alliances, and the informational webinar at WNYForwardFund.org.The deadline for applications is Friday, December 12th at 4:00pm with grant awards to be announced in January.