Please save the date to join us for our first Community Conversation on Friday, September 29. This open discussion will provide the opportunity to explore several topics of interest, services, programs, and potential avenues for collaboration.

This first Conversation will be for funders, non-profit leadership, and grant seekers in Western New York. We will be announcing future conversations for Florida.

To register for the conversation, click the Register Now button below.

Photo: From The Haven in Sarasota, Florida, which offers programs and services for adults and children with disabilities to enhance quality of life by encouraging independence, championing inclusion, and advocating for their individual rights.

Grants were awarded in July 2023 to the following organizations in Western New York and Southwest Florida.

Community Services for Every1, Inc.

$150,000 to support the establishment of the Lyceum Community Empowerment Center, a new learning space to enable over 200 individuals with IDD to achieve employment, wellness, and independence goals in Buffalo, NY.

OLV Charities

$100,000 towards the renovations of the OLV Evaluation and Treatment Center which will address the critical, growing need for additional resources to diagnose and support families with a child who has IDD, including ASD living in WNY.

Disability EmpowerHer Network

$25,000 to support girls and women with disabilities through connection, mentorship, and guidance to assist them in reaching their highest potential and building confidence.

GiGi’s Playhouse Rochester

$50,000 ($25,000 per year in 2023 and 2024) to support the new Careers and Communication program which will provide adults with IDD speech-language services and work readiness skills training. 

Suburban Adult Services, Inc.

$20,000 towards the Wanderguard systems to ensure aging individuals attending the SASI Derby, NY day program are safe from wandering out of the facility unattended.

Harrison’s Playmakers

$20,000 to support year-round programming that offers opportunities to 500+ individuals with IDD in WNY play and work together increasing physical fitness, respect, and self-worth in themselves and others.

Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center

$15,000 to provide therapeutic riding programs for children ages 5-18 yrs. old with IDD in Erie County and the City of Buffalo.

ACEing Autism

$11,000 to provide adaptive, recreational tennis and social programming for children with ASD between the ages of 5-18 yrs. old and expand to two new locations in WNY.

Bella’s Bumbas

$10,000 to build and customize lightweight, mobility chairs for children under 50lbs to promote early mobility and independence in cognitive, social, and motor skill areas of early childhood development.

Rochester Fringe Festival, Inc.

$8,000 to offer the first known “Relaxed Performances” in the Rochester area designed to welcome neurodiverse audience members.

Center for Disability Rights

$5,000 to host an “Accessible Trunk or Treat” Halloween event at Innovative Field for children with IDD to decorate their family’s car and trick-or-treat on October 26.

No Lemons Equine, Inc.

$3,000 to support two inclusive summer horsemanship camps in Spencerport, NY for campers with ASD are paired with a peer buddy and horse to learn horsemanship and participate in yoga, art, and educational activities.

The Haven

$100,000 ($50,000 per year in 2023 and 2024) to support the Community Liaison position which is solely focused on reaching 540+ individuals with IDD and their families receiving no support or who are on the waiting list in Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

All Friends Network

$20,000 ($10,000 per year in 2023 and 2024) to support and expand in-person member programming for 141+ individuals with IDD to socialize, connect, and promote inclusion across Sarasota and Manatee Counties.

See Grants for more information

Photo: Pet Pride of NY's Healing Paws Medical Center

Grants were awarded in July 2023 by Bailey and Friends to the following organizations in Western New York and Southwest Florida.

Pet Pride of NY

$15,000 to purchase additional, essential equipment for the Healing Paws Medical Suite including an anesthesia machine, surgical table, and dental machine to provide veterinary care to kittens and cats in preparation for adoption.

Keller’s Kats Rescue, Inc.

$10,000 to be used towards spay/neuter procedures and routine veterinary care for kittens and cats transferred from Rochester Animal Services and Lollypop Farm in preparation for adoption.

Headed For Furever, Inc.

$7,000 to be used to spay/neuter, vaccinate, and provide medical care for at least 100 community kittens and cats that will then be returned to their feral cat colonies in the surrounding Scottsville, NY area.

Ferals and Kittens and Cats Oh My

$5,000 to be used to spay/neuter, provide veterinary care, and basic supplies needed to care for 22 feral cat colonies in Rochester, NY.

Humane Society of Wayne County

$2,500 to be used towards the Spay Neuter Incentive Fund which provides accessible, low-cost spay/neuter services for low-income families in Wayne County.

NYS Animal Protection Federation Education Fund

$1,500 to be used towards animal welfare consulting services for shelters and rescues to meet the requirements of the new Companion Animals Care Standards Act in the Finger Lakes and WNY.

For more grant information, see Bailey's Champs.