Decker Foundation

The Dr. G. Clifford and Florence B. Decker Foundation operates as a quintessential community anchor funder — deeply embedded in Broome County, NY, and oriented toward catalytic, one-time investments that strengthen established local institutions. Its mission is to support bona fide charitable organizations in education, medicine, medical research, and cultural and human services, with a strict geographic boundary: serving Broome County residents is a prerequisite, not a preference.

The foundation's giving philosophy centers on organizational capacity-building through capital investment. Across 130 tracked grants totaling $6.74M, the clearest pattern is funding for construction, equipment purchases, infrastructure upgrades, and innovative new programs — not recurring operations. Landmark grantees include United Health Services Foundation (9 grants, $2.41M, projects covering a 6-story addition, a childcare center, and general capital needs), Binghamton University Foundation (5 grants, $2M, for anatomy models, simulation center renovation, and speech pathology space), and Lourdes Hospital Foundation (7 grants, $211.5K, including a robotic Medtronic surgical device). These relationships demonstrate that the foundation rewards institutional credibility and project specificity, not proposal eloquence.

For first-time applicants, the mandatory pre-submission meeting with Executive Director Gerald Putman is not negotiable — the written guidelines require it, and submitting without completing this step will disqualify an application. Call (607) 722-0211 to schedule. Use this conversation to vet project fit, signal organizational stability, and understand whether current board priorities align with your ask. Organizations with an established footprint in Broome County's nonprofit ecosystem — recognized by United Way, with completed capital projects on record — will enter that conversation with more credibility.

The foundation does not fund endowments, religious activities, ongoing operating costs, travel, or direct grants to individuals. Proposals must be positioned as discrete, time-limited investments. For innovative program proposals, articulate clearly how the program sustains itself financially after the grant expires — the foundation explicitly values building organizational independence, not dependency.

Relationship progression tends to be linear and patient. Organizations like the Broome County Arts Council ($184K across 8 awards) and Family Enrichment Network ($22.5K across 4 grants) illustrate how smaller, consistent engagements build credibility toward larger capital requests. Approach this funder as a multi-year institutional partner, not a one-time transaction.

Over the decade from 2011 to 2023 (plus 2024 ProPublica data), the Decker Foundation has sustained remarkably consistent grantmaking. Annual grants paid ranged from $1.24M (2012) to $1.91M (2020), with a ten-year mean of approximately $1.59M per year. Total giving including program-related investments typically exceeds grants paid by 20-30%, reaching $2.24M in 2020 and $2.08M in 2023. The 2024 filing confirms $2.02M in charitable disbursements — holding steady.

Across 130 tracked grants totaling $6.74M, the average grant is $51,811. However, the distribution is dramatically skewed: the top two grantees alone — United Health Services Foundation ($2.41M) and Binghamton University Foundation ($2.01M) — account for 66% of all tracked giving. Remove them, and the median award across the remaining grantees is approximately $3,000-$7,000, reflecting a large portfolio of small annual grants to community organizations.

The practical grant range breaks into three identifiable tiers: - Anchor investments ($100,000-$757,527): Reserved for major capital campaigns at established healthcare and higher education institutions. Examples include $250,000 to Children's Home of Wyoming Conference (community center reconstruction), $150,000 each to Samaritan Counseling Center (property purchase) and YMCA of Broome County (window installation), and $129,000 to the YMCA in a separate capital campaign. - Mid-tier project grants ($15,000-$99,999): Infrastructure upgrades — HVAC systems, vehicles, clinical space renovations, specialized equipment. Rural Health Network of SCNY ($86.8K across 4 grants), Vines ($105K across 4 grants), and Gigi's Playhouse ($151K across 2 grants) populate this tier. - General support and small capital ($1,000-$14,999): Annual giving to community arts, civic, and social service organizations. Recipients like Binghamton Boys & Girls Club, Madrigal Choir, and Vestal Historical Society receive $1,000-$3,500 per year across multiple years — signals of sustained community relationships rather than one-time gifts.

Geographically, 127 of 130 tracked grants went to New York state organizations (essentially all Broome County-based); 3 went to DC-based entities. By program area, healthcare and higher education dominate: the UHS and Binghamton University Foundation relationship alone represents 65.6% of all tracked giving. Human services (United Way, Children's Home, Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network) account for roughly 14%; arts and culture (Broome County Arts Council, Binghamton Philharmonic) account for approximately 7%; community civic organizations fill the remainder.

The Decker Foundation occupies a distinct niche in the Southern Tier philanthropic landscape: a well-capitalized private foundation with deep institutional relationships, a strict Broome County geographic mandate, and a strong preference for capital investment over operational support. The table below compares it to similarly sized regional funders using publicly available 990 and foundation directory data (years vary by filer).

Three analytical observations stand out. First, the Decker Foundation's geographic restriction to Broome County is the most concentrated of any comparable-size endowment in the region — making it the highest-impact local funder for Broome-focused nonprofits by a significant margin. The Community Foundation for South Central NY covers a broader multi-county footprint, which disperses funding more widely. Second, unlike open-portal community foundations, Decker's required pre-submission meeting creates a meaningful access barrier that effectively filters for organizations with existing community credibility and staff capacity for relationship cultivation. Third, at approximately 5.3% payout of net assets, the foundation operates at the IRS minimum distribution threshold — applicants should not anticipate asset drawdowns enabling materially larger grant cycles in the near term.

The most recent 990 filing (2024, via ProPublica) is the strongest signal of current foundation health: $2,017,951 in charitable disbursements against $31,892,647 in net assets, consistent with multi-year trends and confirming operational stability. The asset base has declined modestly from a 2019 peak of $33.6M — a function of running disbursements slightly above investment income in some years — but remains well-capitalized.

The most significant governance change visible in recent filings is a board leadership transition: James E. Leonard CPA, previously Vice Chairman, now serves as Chairman. Nicole Huff has been elevated from Trustee to Vice Chairman. Longtime Chairman John Fitzsimmons no longer appears on the leadership roster. Executive Director Gerald Putman continues in his role at $180,000 compensation (2024), up from $122,000 in 2015, reflecting 15 years of consistent leadership.

Important disambiguation: several web search results surfacing 2025-2026 news reference 'Decker College' at Binghamton University — a health sciences college that bears the Decker family name but is a separately governed institution. Decker College's expansion (inaugural doctoral cohorts in OT, PT, and SLP in 2026; 391 new students enrolled fall 2025) suggests continued capital need at Binghamton University Foundation, one of the Decker Foundation's anchor grantees. Applicants should understand this relationship when gauging competition for large grants.

No public announcements of new programs, modified priorities, or revised application guidelines were made by the foundation itself in 2025 or 2026. The application cycle and guidelines appear unchanged.

The single most critical preparation step is scheduling the required pre-submission meeting with Executive Director Gerald Putman before investing any significant drafting time. Reach him at (607) 722-0211. Come prepared with: the organization's mission and Broome County service history, the specific project (not a program area — a defined deliverable), total project budget and current confirmed funding, and a clear explanation of why this qualifies as a capital investment or genuinely new initiative rather than ongoing operations. This conversation also functions as your best intelligence channel: Putman can signal whether the project fits current board priorities and suggest whether to target a near or distant board cycle.

Timing is consequential. The four annual board cycles have hard submission deadlines: March 1 (April board), May 1 (June board), September 1 (October board), and November 1 (December board). The September 1 cycle is often the strongest choice — it aligns with many nonprofit fiscal year starts and positions for a November backup if revisions are needed. Missing a deadline by even one day forces a 2-3 month delay.

For grants over $5,000, prepare ten complete, physical copies of the full application package. This includes: organization history, mission, personnel qualifications, board member names with institutional affiliations, current IRS exemption letter, current and prior-year certified financial statements, operating budget, capital budget, and a detailed project budget that clearly delineates Decker's requested portion versus all other confirmed or pending funding sources. For construction or renovation projects, two contractor bids — not estimates, bids — are required.

Language alignment matters. Frame your project in the foundation's documented vocabulary: 'capital investment,' 'Broome County residents served,' 'organizational capacity,' and 'income-generating program' appear repeatedly in funded grants. Quantify community impact with specific numbers tied to Broome County. Avoid generic impact language.

Common disqualifiers to avoid explicitly: any operating budget line items framed as 'program costs,' travel expenses, service populations outside Broome County, missing the pre-submission meeting, and requests positioned as annual renewals or 'continuing support.' Religious programming for religious purposes is also ineligible, even from otherwise qualified organizations.

After a grant is awarded, maintain the relationship through timely progress reports and final financial accounting. The foundation's longest-tenured grantees — UHS Foundation, Binghamton University Foundation, Broome County Arts Council — all maintain consistent reporting disciplines that compound credibility over successive grant cycles.