GrantmakersNew York

Preservation League of New York State

Albany, NY · EIN 23-7379938. Reported 124 grants totalling $1,356,445 to 114 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.

114organizations funded
$9,540median reported grant
$1,356,445granted, 2020-2023
7%of grantees funded again the next year
6%of dollars to its largest recipient

Does this grantmaker accept applications?

Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.

Three things in the filing do bear on it:

  1. What kind of organization it is. For Preservation League of New York State, the IRS classifies it under arts & culture rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE A800) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
  2. How spread out its giving is. 114 distinct organizations, with 6% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
  3. How much its list changes. 7% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.

How big are its grants?

The median reported grant is $9,540. Half of what it reported fell between $5,750 and $13,440; the smallest was $1,992 and the largest $75,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.

Schedule I only reports grants over $5,000. Form 990 requires a charity to list recipients it paid more than that and lets it omit the rest, so every grant-size figure on this page describes the grants it reported, not all of them. Its real median is lower and its real recipient count is higher. This is also why these numbers cannot be compared with the private-foundation figures elsewhere on this site -- Form 990-PF has no reporting floor, so the two are different populations rather than two samples of one.
Under $5,000
26 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
40 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
53 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
3 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
2 grants

22 of those grants were non-cash -- goods, property or services worth $409,688 in total. In-kind giving is real support but it is not a cheque.

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Historic Saranac Lake IncSaranac Lake, NY$75,000112023
Adirondack Historical AssociationBlue Mtn Lake, NY$68,000112023
Oneida Community Mansion HouseOneida, NY$52,000222022
Whallonsburg Grange Hall IncEssex, NY$34,068112020
South East Area Coalition IncRochester, NY$30,000222023
Earlville Opera House IncEarlville, NY$28,000222022
Prospect Lefferts Gardens Heritage Council IncBrooklyn, NY$26,223332023
Ascendant Neighborhood Development CorporationNew York, NY$24,000222022
Jamestown Renaissance CorporationJamestown, NY$20,000112023
Town of MarlboroughMilton, NY$20,000222022
Town of PhelpsPhelps, NY$20,000112023
Innisfree Foundation IncMillbrook, NY$19,800112023
Village of West WinfieldWest Winfield, NY$19,375112022
Butternut Valley Arts & Crafts Center IncMorris, NY$18,280112023
Village of NaplesNaples, NY$18,150112020
Town of Clinton Historical SocietyClinton Cors, NY$17,000112022
City of CohoesCohoes, NY$16,500112021
Old Westbury Gardens IncOld Westbury, NY$15,396112023
Greece Historical SocietyRochester, NY$15,000112020
Highland Park Conservancy IncRochester, NY$15,000112021
Historic Albany Foundation IncAlbany, NY$15,000112020
Ontario County Chamber of Commerce IncCanandaigua, NY$15,000112021
Scenic Hudson IncPoughkeepsie, NY$15,000112020
Troy Public LibraryTroy, NY$15,000112020
Village of VictorVictor, NY$15,000112023
East Hampton Historical Farm MuseumEast Hampton, NY$14,400112023
Buffalo Lighthouse Association IncOrchard Park, NY$14,000112022
Locust Street Neighborhood Art Classes IncBuffalo, NY$14,000112022
Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission IncBuffalo, NY$14,000112023
Philmont Beautification IncPhilmont, NY$14,000112022
Science Museum of Long IslandPlandome, NY$14,000222021
The Hudson Athens Lighthouse Preservation CommitteeAthens, NY$14,000222021
Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition IncBrewster, NY$13,600222021
East Hampton Historical Society IncEast Hampton, NY$13,440112023
Village of AvonAvon, NY$13,440112020
Village of LakewoodLakewood, NY$13,440112022
Cunneen Hackett Cultural Center IncPoughkeepsie, NY$13,320112022
Friends of Parrott HallWaterloo, NY$13,201112020
Rensselaer County Historical Society IncTroy, NY$13,090112023
Schenectady County HistoricalSchenectady, NY$13,000112022
Leroy Historical SocietyLeroy, NY$12,880112023
Otsego 2000 IncCooperstown, NY$12,500112021
County of ClintonPlattsburgh, NY$12,000112022
Historical Society Town of ChesterChestertown, NY$10,750112023
Albany County Historical Assoc IncAlbany, NY$10,000112020
Elmira CollegeElmira, NY$10,000112021
Howland Stone Store MuseumAurora, NY$10,000112020
Hubbard Hall Projects IncCambridge, NY$10,000112022
Jamestown Center City Development CorporationJamestown, NY$10,000112021
Steuben County Historical Society Dugald Cameron ChapterBath, NY$10,000112021
The Greater Ridgewood RestorationRidgewood, NY$10,000112020
Van Wyck Council on the Arts and Culture IncBeacon, NY$10,000112021
Village of NundaNunda, NY$10,000112020
Village of VoorheesvilleVoorheesville, NY$10,000112021
Western New York Minority Media ProfessionalsBuffalo, NY$10,000112021
Village of West WinfieldWest Winfield, NY$9,896112023
Town of North HempsteadManhasset, NY$9,600112022
Landmark Society of Western New York IncRochester, NY$9,560112022
Silver Lake Institute CorSilver Lake, NY$9,520112023
The Hyde Collection TrustGlens Falls, NY$9,500112021
Town of Jay NyAu Sable Forks, NY$9,500112023
Jewish Federation of Ulster County IncKingston, NY$9,440112021
Malone Revitalization Foundation IncMalone, NY$9,150112021
Village of Fort PlainFort Plain, NY$9,150112021
University Heights Collaborative IncBuffalo, NY$9,120112021
City of TroyTroy, NY$9,100112021
Friends of Parrott Hall IncGeneva, NY$8,941112022
Friends of Camp Little Notch IncSaratoga Spgs, NY$8,560112022
Southampton History MuseumSouthampton, NY$8,440112022
Gowandas Historic Hollywood Theatre LtdGowanda, NY$8,400112022
Wassaic Project IncWassaic, NY$8,160112021
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical SocietyRochester, NY$8,000112021
City of BinghamtonBinghamton, NY$8,000112020
Cobblestone SocietyAlbion, NY$8,000112022
Erie Canal MuseumSyracuse, NY$8,000112022
Heldeberg WorkshopVoorheesville, NY$8,000112022
Medina Railroad MuseumMedina, NY$8,000112021
Stuyvesant Landing Historic District Subcommittee Town of StuyvesantStuyvesant, NY$8,000112023
Village of Round LakeRound Lake, NY$8,000112021
Village of GreenwichGreenwich, NY$7,600112020
Black Rock Historical SocietyBuffalo, NY$7,568112023
Rocky Point Historical SocietyRocky Point, NY$6,685112021
Friends of Stewart Park IncIthaca, NY$6,340112021
Town of CarmelMahopac, NY$6,200112021
Tri-Cities Opera Company IncBinghamton, NY$6,000112021
Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen IncWoodstock, NY$5,750112021
Town of East HamptonEast Hampton, NY$5,600112021
Chester Historical SocietyChester, NY$5,200112021
Franklin Stock Company at Chapel Hall IncFranklin, NY$5,200112020
Pine Hollow ArboretumSlingerlands, NY$5,168112023
Sullivan County Land Bank CorporationKingston, NY$5,000112020
Albany Free SchoolAlbany, NY$4,000112020
Caroga Arts Collective IncCaroga Lake, NY$4,000112020
Chenango County Historical SocietyNorwich, NY$4,000112020
City of SchenectadySchenectady, NY$4,000112020
D&h Canal Historical SocietyHigh Falls, NY$4,000112020
Friends of East Gate IncHillsdale, NY$4,000112020
Grand Street Community Arts IncAlbany, NY$4,000112020
Hallockville IncRiverhead, NY$4,000112020
Milton Point Conservancy IncRye, NY$4,000112020
Seward House MuseumAuburn, NY$4,000112020
Shaker Heritage SocietyAlbany, NY$4,000112020
Town of HuntingtonHuntington, NY$4,000112020
Town of TompkinsTrout Creek, NY$4,000112020
Cayuga MuseumAuburn, NY$3,920112020
The Millay Colony for the Arts IncAusterlitz, NY$3,840112020
Lower East Side Tenement MuseumNew York, NY$3,760112020
Media Alliance IncTroy, NY$3,760112020
Acacia Park Cemetery Assoc IncN Tonawanda, NY$3,676112020
Waterville Historical SocietyWaterville, NY$3,280112020
Staten Island Historical Society IncStaten Island, NY$3,200112020
Boscobel Restoration IncGarrison, NY$2,496112020
North Shore Land Alliance IncOyster Bay, NY$2,320112020
Preservation Buffalo NiagaraBuffalo, NY$1,992112020

9 of 114 (8%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.

It also reported 2 groups of grants to individuals -- scholarships, emergency assistance and similar. Schedule I reports these by category with a headcount and never by name, so there is nothing here we could publish about the recipients even if we wanted to.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 57 of 114 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.

Arts & Culture
35 orgs
Community Improvement
9 orgs
Environment
5 orgs
Recreation & Sports
3 orgs
Education
2 orgs
Housing & Shelter
1 org
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
1 org
Animal Welfare
1 org

Giving by year

Tax yearGrants reportedTotalMedian grant
202045$329,703$4,000
202133$324,705$9,440
202224$292,349$11,000
202322$409,688$13,720

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.

Where its money goes

Rochester, NY
$78K
Saranac Lake, NY
$75K
Blue Mtn Lake, NY
$68K
Buffalo, NY
$57K
Oneida, NY
$52K
Troy, NY
$41K
Albany, NY
$37K
Essex, NY
$34K

Find more funders like Preservation League of New York State

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Funders that support the same organizations

These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund23 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc21 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program14 shared recipientsThe William G Pomeroy Foundation13 shared recipientsNew York Council for the Humanities12 shared recipientsThe Community Foundation for the Greater11 shared recipients

How to approach this grantmaker

  1. Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
  2. Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $9,540 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
  3. Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in New York.
  4. Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.

Related guides

Foundations funding arts & culture in New YorkEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding environment in New YorkEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding recreation & sports in New YorkEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Preservation League of New York State's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: 44 Central Avenue, Albany, NY, 12206.

EIN 23-7379938 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Form 990 is published about a year after the tax year it covers. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this organization has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next.

Is something here wrong about your organization? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.