This summer, we are trying to raise $10,000 to support field trips for the 2026-2027 school year. Long term, we want to add $1million to our Agency Fund at the Central New York Community Foundation to provide reliable support of the school program.

Over the past six years, we’ve transformed our school program. In 2019, about 500 students visited the Erie Canal Museum on a field trip. In 2025, that number was nearly 3,000. We got here because a handful of local foundations believed in us early, providing $42,500 in startup support to cover admission and transportation for schools that couldn’t afford it on their own. That investment proved the model works.

Now we need to make it last.

This summer, we’re asking our community to contribute $10,000 toward field trips for the 2026–2027 school year. Combined with $10,000 already committed by local foundations and additional grant applications in progress, we’re working toward a total of $40,000 for next year.

You can choose to have your donation support the 2026-2027 school year or add to the school program long term sustainability.