Fall 2025 What If... Grantees Announced

The Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Fall 2025 “What If” grants.  Grant proposals were evaluated by the Neighborhood Investment Committee, a group of volunteers composed of residents of Rensselaer County. The Committee selected 6 projects to fund, totaling $25,000.

The “What If” grant program was created in 2023 to support projects and programs that make Rensselaer County communities and neighborhoods a better place to live and work.  Applicants must be small nonprofit organizations that serve the residents of Rensselaer County, or individuals who obtain the fiscal sponsorship of a qualified charitable entity. 

Since inception, the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation’s “What If” grant program has awarded 49 grants totaling nearly $110,000.

Grant awards were made to the following projects/programs:

Refuge Place Pantry – Refuge Place, Inc. was awarded a grant to support the opening of a food pantry in Troy to provide access to groceries on the weekends, when other food pantries are typically not open.

Hoosick Falls Annual Christmas Program – Mary Jo Charron, under the fiscal sponsorship of Unity House, received funding to support the purchase of warm clothing, snow gear and holiday gifts for children and teenagers in Hoosick Falls.

Circles of Mercy Outreach Program – Circles of Mercy received a grant to support the purchase of new computers, which will assist clients with tax preparation, computer training, resume creation, job searching, and employment workforce skill development.

Trailblazers After School Tutoring – Teneeshia Roberts (under the fiscal sponsorship of the Boys and Girls Club of the Capital Area) received funding to support an after-school childcare and tutoring program for school-age children residing in Rensselaer County.

Clay Play Days: Community Ceramic Series – Grant Recipient Maria Kitner (under the fiscal sponsorship of the Arts Center of the Capital Region) has been awarded funding to offer a series of free clay-making workshops. The sessions will be held at Maria’s studio, Context Collective beginning in January 2026.  

LGBTQIA+ Needs Assessment – Collar City Pride has been awarded funding to conduct a needs assessment to collect data from Troy-based members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The data collected with help Collar City Pride better focus their resource bridging work.

About the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, Inc. 

The Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation is the community legacy of the former Troy Savings Bank. Although The Troy Savings Bank was acquired by another financial institution in 2004, the Foundation continues the Bank's proud charitable giving tradition. 

Today, the Foundation invests in community solutions in Albany and Rensselaer Counties of upstate New York. The Foundation works in partnership with nonprofit organizations, other private funders, and government entities. Together with these partners, the Foundation works to find solutions for challenging problems within its funding priority areas. To date, the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation has distributed more than $18M in grants to support our region’s nonprofits.