Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties

Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties launched in 1952 when a small group of residents created a community trust to fund the region's long-term needs. President and CEO Alicia Dicks now stewards over $250 million in total assets and 613 active funds, deploying $17.9 million in community investments in 2025 alone. Unlike grantmaking-only foundations, this office operates as a direct social-impact investor, targeting economic development, education, arts and culture, and health. It deploys capital through donor-advised funds, scholarship programs, and direct real estate — including the James Street and West Street Impact Centers, built in partnership with the City of Utica, Oneida County, and People First (Utica Municipal Housing Authority). The foundation also runs a Program Related Investments (PRI) pool and participates in the Mohawk Valley Giving Guide, connecting donors to local nonprofits. The foundation works from its headquarters at 2608 Genesee Street in Utica. In addition to its real estate and grantmaking arms, it leads the Community Equity Initiative and co-chairs the Lead-Free & Healthy Homes Mohawk Valley Coalition. The organization is a member of the Council on Foundations, Philanthropy New York, and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. In May 2025, the foundation promoted the Cornhill Spring Fest as part of its ongoing Cornhill Revitalization Project, an effort to bring mixed-use development and community events to Utica's historically disinvested neighborhoods. The foundation's architecture is distinct: it is a publicly supported grantmaking entity that also directly develops and operates neighborhood Impact Centers — a hybrid model combining charitable capital with physical placemaking that most community foundations outsource entirely.