About Rochesterworks
Rochesterworks Inc’s recent grantmaking is built around youth employment, and the largest awards in the record all go to organizations delivering that work in Rochester. Community Place of Greater Rochester received $324,999 in 2023 and $295,159 in 2024, while The Center for Youth Services Inc received $250,492 in 2023 and $253,511 in 2024. That repeated pattern shows a funder that supports ongoing workforce programming rather than isolated one-time awards. The grants also reach a mix of youth-serving intermediaries and workforce partners, including Monroe 2 Orleans Boces, Starbridge Services Inc, the Urban League of Rochester Inc, and the YMCA of Greater Rochester. Rochesterworks Inc’s broader role is not limited to youth placements: its grantmaking aligns with employment services, job training, career counseling, employer recruitment and retention, and supports for adults, students, veterans, parents, caregivers, and early-stage entrepreneurs. The recent record also includes employer-side support through a $14,800 award to Whole Latte Love for on-the-job training, showing that the foundation funds both participant services and workplace-based training pathways.
What Rochesterworks Funds
Youth employment is the clearest theme in the recent record. Rochesterworks Inc awarded $146,822 to Monroe 2 Orleans Boces-youth in 2023 and $60,662 to Monroe 2 Orleans Boces- Syep in 2024, alongside additional youth awards to Community Place of Greater Rochester- Syep and Urban League of Rochester Inc Syep. That same youth pipeline appears in work with the YMCA of Greater Rochester, which received $98,156 in 2023 and $60,817 in 2024.
The foundation also supports disability-related workforce services. Starbridge Services Inc received $126,396 in 2023, $109,706 in 2024, and $80,672 in 2024 through a Gvp award, indicating repeated support across multiple program lines.
A third area is community-based employment access. Action for a Better Community received $67,964 in 2024 and $33,893 in 2023, while Ibero American Action League Inc received $25,463 in 2024. Rochesterworks Inc also funded writer- and arts-adjacent workforce support through Writers & Books Inc, showing a broad but still employment-centered portfolio.
How Rochesterworks Gives
Typical grant size falls between $25,541 at the 25th percentile and $100,446 at the 75th percentile, with a median grant of $57,112. The grant list shows repeated support to the same recipients across 2023 and 2024, especially for youth-serving organizations and workforce partners, which points to ongoing program funding rather than isolated awards. Rochesterworks Inc is a direct service workforce funder, not an individual-giving foundation, and it does not make program-related investments. Its grantmaking is local and concentrated in Rochester and Monroe County. The active grant programs also show a mix of solicitations and structured opportunities, including RFPs / contract opportunities, employer-facing programs, and an individual training grant.