Letter from Jeff Katz

CFOC Expanding Its
Vision for the Future

The Community Foundation of Otsego County’s Board of Directors spent the past six months listening to our local nonprofit and community leaders, university and business leaders, donors, and the public, to develop an enhanced strategic plan to meet new challenges. These discussions, formal and informal, helped our board identify three areas in which CFOC, with your support, will work to improve life for all community members.

One: Growing and Strengthening our Community. Local communities within Otsego County need fresh, innovative and creative approaches. We want to help reverse our population decline, attract and retain young people, increase diversity, and support entrepreneurship and economic development. Backing efforts designed to address these needs is a CFOC priority. Nor will we lose sight of our community’s most vulnerable members. We will continue to support local nonprofit efforts to overcome food insecurity, to address the lack of adequate mental health resources, to provide transportation, and find affordable housing across our community.

Two: Strengthening Otsego’s Nonprofits. Otsego County is home to a large number of small nonprofits and a few large ones. Large nonprofits have the resources to be self-sufficient, but smaller groups often cannot afford systems and staff to operate more efficiently and effectively. In response, CFOC offers help to smaller nonprofits in the areas of financial assistance, communications, development, and support of new avenues for the sharing and exchanging of ideas.

Three: Growing and Strengthening Ourselves. CFOC intends to expand our support for programs and projects to the $500,000.00-$700,000.00 level over the next several years. This requires us to increase our funding through direct contributions, endowments and fees earned. To succeed, we need to earn the trust and support of all community members. To do so, we will listen, plan, and operate in ways that are effective, efficient, and transparent while remaining focused on substantive outcomes.

Since 2019, the CFOC has allocated $500,000.00 in awards to local nonprofits. Our mission is to lead and inspire community-wide efforts that significantly improve the quality of life and the prosperity of the Otsego County, New York area. Those interested can read our full 2023-2028 Strategic Plan at cfotsego.org/strategic-plan-2023-2028.

Jeff Katz
Executive Director, CFOC