Courtesy Friends of Grant Cottage
The Friends of Grant Cottage in Ganesvoort was awarded a $19,500 matching grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s (EPF) Park and Trail Partnership Program to fund a new administrative position.
The Friends of Grant Cottage will have to raise an additional $6,500 in matching funds, for a total of $26,000.
The professional development grant will allow the Friends of Grant Cottage to hire critical administrative staff as the organization focuses on developing sustainable income sources, including a two-day Civil War Weekend in August. This new event will provide a fundraising opportunity for the Friends of Grant Cottage while helping to boost area tourism, educate more people about Ulysses S. Grant, and increase the organization’s visibility, cottage officials said.
“This year we are promoting our new Civil War Weekend alongside the town of Wilton’s bicentennial celebration,” Friends of Grant Cottage Board President Tim Welch said. “We are thrilled to receive this grant which will fund additional professional help to assist in the planning of this signature event and will allow us necessary support to turn it into an annual event.”
U.S. Grant Cottage state historic site is the said to be the final home of Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War commanding general of the U.S. Army and 18th U.S. President. Impoverished by a Ponzi-style swindle and dying of throat cancer, he moved to the cottage on June 16, 1885. With the love and support of his family, his publisher Mark Twain, and the nation at large, he completed “Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” only days before his death on July 23, 1885. The two-volume publication ensured his family’s financial security and gave the world acclaimed memoirs of a U.S. president and historic military figure.
The Grant Cottage is owned by the State and operated by The Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
The grant, announced in March, is one of 21 awards totaling $450,000 for organizations dedicated to the stewardship and promotion of New York’s state parks and historic sites. The grants, funded through the EPF, will be matched by almost $200,000 in private and local funding and will support projects to strengthen Friends groups and enhance public access and recreational opportunities at state parks and historic sites across the state, officials said.
The Park and Trail Partnership Program grants are administered by the State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and Parks & Trails New York, a statewide nonprofit group.
Officials said Friends groups—nonprofit organizations often made up entirely of volunteers—are essential to the stewardship and promotion of our state park system. These dedicated groups raise private funds for capital projects; perform maintenance tasks; provide educational programming; and promote public use through hosting special events.
“The state’s investment in grassroots Friends Groups will complement Gov. Cuomo’s extraordinary commitment to the revitalization of the entire state park system,” Parks & Trails New York Executive Director Robin Dropkin said. “These grant funds will enable groups to leverage more private and federal funding, marshal more volunteer power, and augment the state’s historic investment in parks. We look forward to seeing the transformational results from these innovative and important projects.”
The Park and Trail Partnership Program grants are designed to: enhance the preservation, stewardship, interpretation, maintenance and promotion of New York state parks, trails, state historic sites and public lands; increase the sustainability, effectiveness, productivity, volunteerism and fundraising capabilities of not-for-profit organizations that promote, maintain and support New York State parks, trails, state historic sites and public lands; and promote the tourism and economic development benefits of outdoor recreation through the growth and expansion of a connected statewide network of parks, trails, greenways and public lands.
The program is open to recognized Friends organizations whose primary mission is the preservation, stewardship, interpretation, maintenance and promotion of a specific New York State park, trail or historic site (or multiple such sites) under the jurisdiction of State Parks. More information about the grant program is available at ptny.org/our-work/support/park-trail-partnership-program.
More information on the Park and Trail Partnership Program can be found at www.ptny.org or by calling 518-434-1583.