Community Action Organization of Western New York
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About Community Action Organization of Western New York
The Community Action Organization of Western New York concentrates its funding on early childhood education and child care programs that serve low-income families in Buffalo and surrounding WNY neighborhoods. Grants are directed largely to Head Start sites, neighborhood daycare centers, and family-support agencies, with an emphasis on sustaining program operations and access to care for vulnerable children. The foundation favors local, mission-driven providers and repeatedly funds the same community-based centers.
Focus Areas
Head Start and federally funded early childhood centers in Buffalo (e.g., Holy Cross Head Start)Neighborhood daycare and family childcare providers serving low-income families (e.g., Kidz Zone, Puddle Jumpers, Starlight Family Daycare)Early childhood academies and school-readiness programs (e.g., Seneca Babcock Early Childhood Academy, Queen City Early Childhood Center)Family support and wraparound services for economically disadvantaged households (e.g., Family Help Center, YWCA of WNY)
Giving Approach
Concentrated, locally focused giving with a few large, repeat recipients (one dominant multi-hundred-thousand dollar grantee and several regularly renewed grants to neighborhood childcare centers). Grants are mostly program-support to sustain direct service delivery rather than broad grantmaking across many sectors.
About Community Action Organization of Western New York
A single grant to Holy Cross Head Start Inc in Buffalo, at $2,015,047 in 2023, signals how Community Action Organization of Western New York Inc backs early childhood education at meaningful scale. The foundation’s recent awards are built around program support for neighborhood child care, Head Start sites, early childhood academies, and family-support organizations serving low-income families in Buffalo and nearby Western New York communities. Recipients include Seneca Babcock Early Childhood Academy, Kidz Zone, Puddle Jumpers, Queen City Early Childhood Center, and Mary’s Little Lamb, showing a steady emphasis on places where young children receive care and school-readiness services. Grants are typically directed to local providers rather than broad regional intermediaries, and the same organizations appear more than once across the recent record, which suggests ongoing support for core operating needs. Family Help Center, YWCA of WNY, Lighthouse Center Inc, House of Learning, Deuxanges Center Inc, and Sweet Dreams Center also appear among recent awards, extending the picture beyond child care alone to wraparound family services tied to the same neighborhood ecosystem.
What Community Action Organization of Western New York Funds
Early childhood education is the clearest theme in the recent grants. The foundation gave $205,692 in 2024 to Seneca Babcock Early Childhood Academy for program support, and smaller awards in later years show the same pattern of backing school-readiness providers. Child care operations are another major lane: Kidz Zone received $158,440 in 2023 and $152,231 in 2024 for program support, while Puddle Jumpers and Starlight Family Daycare also appear with repeated support. Family-facing services sit alongside those education grants. YWCA of WNY received $85,264 in 2025 for program support, and Family Help Center received $36,111 in 2025, indicating that the funder also supports organizations serving economically disadvantaged households. The grants are consistently described as program support, which points to funding that helps providers sustain services rather than one-off special projects.
How Community Action Organization of Western New York Gives
The typical grant size sits at a p25 of $34,470, a median of $55,114, and a p75 of $88,154, with one much larger award at the top of the recent record. The pattern is recurring rather than one-time: several recipients appear in multiple years, including Seneca Babcock Early Childhood Academy, Kidz Zone, Puddle Jumpers, Mary’s Little Lamb, Queen City Early Childhood Center, Starlight Family Daycare, YWCA of WNY, Lighthouse Center Inc, and Family Help Center. The foundation makes program-related investments and does not fund individuals. The recent grant list is dominated by program support, suggesting an operating-oriented approach to keeping local early childhood and family-service providers functioning.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.2M
Total Assets
$17.6M
Total Revenue
$35.9M
Total Expenses
$36.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $34K and $88K, with a median of $55K.
25th Percentile
$34K
Median
$55K
75th Percentile
$88K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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