News from the Noteworthy from the Community Foundation of Otsego County
Fund Will Help Ensure Health of Otsego Lake
Sparked by a conversation with Doug and Rhonda Willies, the Community Foundation of Otsego County created the Otsego Lake Watershed Sustainability Fund in 2023. While other New York State lakes (Skaneateles and Lake George, for example) have similar funds that have proven effective in maintaining water quality through various initiatives, Otsego Lake was without a fund dedicated to its well-being. Having its own fund seemed vital to Otsego Lake’s future and would fill a void as to how lake issues were addressed.
The idea was to create a long-term resource for the Otsego Lake Watershed. Today, CFOC is pleased to announce that we have reached our $500,000.00 goal!
After that initial meeting, the Willies made a strong commitment to the new fund.
“Otsego Lake is an invaluable yet vulnerable resource,” they said.
In the 50+ years the Willies have lived on the lake, they’ve seen dramatic changes.
“We believe that we all share responsibility to be good stewards of our precious resources. Working with CFOC and others who share those views has given us the opportunity to initiate the creation of the Otsego Lake Watershed Sustainability Fund that will serve the lake for generations to come.”
Lou Allstadt and Melinda Hardin and Chip and Nancy Northrup jumped in and joined with the Willies to create an initial $200,000.00 match. They saw in the Lake Fund a way to build a bank of permanent funding and issue annual grants to applicants. Lou and Kathleen Hager and the Alice Busch Gronewaldt Foundation, Martha Yager, Michael and Cory Moffat, the Robert and Esther Black Family Foundation Fund at the Richland County Foundation, Nicole and Gaylord Dillingham, Jim and Cathy Howarth, Waldo and Caroline Johnston, the Delaware Otsego Corporation/New York Susquehanna and Western Railway, and Barbara Mulhern propelled the fund to its $500,000.00 goal.
As CFOC sought to create a strong process to review and distribute grants from the fund, we asked three Otsego Lake-centric organizations to join us and serve as an advisory committee charged with reviewing grant applications. Happily, leaders of the Otsego Lake Association, the Watershed Supervisory Committee (whose membership includes representatives from the Towns of Otsego, Middlefield and Springfield, and the Village of Cooperstown), and SUNY Oneonta’s Biological Field Station agreed to serve. Their insight and knowledge have been invaluable.
Already, $25,000.00 in grants has been awarded to applicant projects aligned with the fund’s criteria—to support the vital 9E Lake Management Plan now being created.
“The Lake Fund has been integral to our continued work on Otsego Lake via its support for two internships in 2024 and 2025,” said Dr. Florian Reyda, director of the BFS. “Thanks to CFOC, we have been able to better understand information that will be incorporated into the upcoming 9E lake management plan. It is wonderful to see continued support from the community for these efforts.”
But the $500,000.00 initial goal is the beginning, not the end, of the Lake Fund fundraising efforts. CFOC plans to reach out to all property owners on Otsego Lake, as well as others who treasure and seek to protect this natural jewel. Donors interested in contributing to the fund can do so at https://cfotsego.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1047. All donations qualify as tax deductible.
The creation of the Otsego Lake Watershed Sustainability Fund shows how responsive CFOC is to residents’ requests and our ability to be creative. We hope that the success of the Otsego Lake Watershed Sustainability Fund can be replicated to serve as a model and assist all our Otsego County lakes.
For further information about the fund, contact Jeff Katz at jeff@cfotsego.org or (607) 286-3750.
Jeff Katz is the executive director of the Community Foundation of Otsego County.