Helpful Harvest Grant

The Helpful Harvest Grant Round is offered by The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties to help nonprofit and community organizations address food insecurity during the holiday season. The grant round is focused on meeting the needs of residents of Herkimer County and Oneida County. The Community Foundation is particularly seeking applications from human service organizations whose primary operation is a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter that provides pantry items or meals to residents. Information submitted through the grant round may be shared with Community Foundation fundholders, donors, and community members to help optimize opportunities to support nonprofit partners. Submission of an application does not guarantee funding. Funding is intended for projects or programs that meaningfully serve residents of Herkimer County and/or Oneida County and address food-related needs. Examples of eligible funding requests include food products, care packages, holiday-related meals, and equipment or supplies. Examples of eligible equipment and supplies include storage bins, carts, and refrigeration equipment. Priority will be given to organizations whose primary operation is a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter providing pantry items or meals to residents. Each organization may submit only one request through this grant round. Certain expenses and activities are specifically excluded from funding. The Community Foundation will not support financial assistance, scholarships, or loans to individuals through this opportunity. Funding also cannot be used for religious or faith-based specific programming, general operating support, payroll, expenses that have already been incurred, projects that are already in process or completed, or capital campaigns. The source does not identify an applicant cost-share or matching requirement, an award minimum or maximum, total program funding, a specific number of awards, or a defined grant performance period. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and groups that are fiscally sponsored by 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Government entities, educational organizations, public housing authorities, and faith-based organizations may also apply. Faith-based organizations must seek support for projects or programs addressing non-religious needs or issues and must serve diverse constituencies without regard to religious affiliation. Regardless of organizational type, the proposed use of funding must meaningfully serve Herkimer County and/or Oneida County residents. Priority within the eligible applicant pool is directed toward organizations principally operating food pantries, soup kitchens, or shelters that distribute pantry items or meals. Applications will be accepted beginning September 1, 2026, and must be submitted no later than September 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Because the application period has not yet opened as of the analysis date of August 14, 2026, the opportunity is in an early engagement stage and is forecasted. No letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating requirement is identified in the provided information. The source also does not specify application questions, required uploads, an application portal, or other submission components beyond the stated application period and the limitation of one request per organization. Award notifications will take place in October 2026. This timing is intended to enable recipients to plan for holiday, year-end, and weather-related use of awarded funds and distribution of funded items. The source does not provide formal evaluation criteria beyond the stated eligibility requirements, geographic service requirement, allowable and ineligible uses, and priority for organizations whose primary operation is a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter providing pantry items or meals. The source does not explicitly state that the Helpful Harvest Grant Round recurs annually or on another regular schedule, so recurrence is not assumed. The key contact for the Helpful Harvest Grant Round is Olivia Paul, Director of Community Engagement. She may be reached by telephone at 315-731-3736 or by email at opaul@foundationhoc.org. Applicants should rely on the stated September 1 through September 30, 2026 application window and ensure that proposed activities comply with the food insecurity purpose, geographic service requirements, organizational eligibility rules, and funding restrictions described for the grant round.

Demonstrate clearly how the request addresses food insecurity and meaningfully serves Herkimer and/or Oneida County residents. Organizations whose primary operation is a food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter providing pantry items or meals should make that role clear because the funder states these organizations will receive priority. Keep the request focused on allowable items such as food products, care packages, holiday-related meals, and equipment or supplies, and avoid expressly ineligible expenses.