The Hoyt Foundation

What The Hoyt Foundation does

The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc. is a private 501(c)(3) charitable foundation headquartered at 70 Front Street, Binghamton, New York, established in 1970 by Willma Cornell Hoyt following the death of her husband Stewart Hoyt. The foundation operates a structured grantmaking program that distributes funds to qualified nonprofit organizations serving residents of Broome County, New York across five focus areas: Arts, Humanities, Education, Health, and Human Services. Its endowment, built on the Hoyts' early investments in IBM and supplemented by a $9 million bequest from Willma's estate in 1982, is currently valued at approximately $24.5 million, with cumulative grants to the community totaling over $33.2 million since 1971.

The foundation operates with a lean three-person staff — CEO Catherine A. Schwoeffermann, Executive Assistant Jacqueline A. Ashman, and Finance Manager Emily Wall — under the governance of a Board of Directors that reviews grant applications in June and November. Grant acquisition follows a relationship-led process requiring prospective applicants to engage in a telephone inquiry with the CEO at least one month before application deadlines, followed by an in-person meeting prior to formal proposal submission. In 2025, the foundation awarded approximately $717,450 across roughly ten nonprofit recipients, with notable awards to Broome County Arts Council ($260,000), Tri-Cities Opera ($75,000), American Civic Association ($70,000), and Earlville Opera House ($60,000).

The foundation has no commercial products, services, or technology infrastructure; its sole revenue source is investment returns on the endowment. It explicitly restricts grantmaking to Broome County, excludes general operating support, economic development, and ongoing maintenance projects, and enforces a four-cycle waiting period between consecutive awards to the same organization.

Name

The Hoyt Foundation

Legal name

Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://hoytfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hoyt Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) charitable foundation established in 1970 that awards grants to nonprofit organizations serving residents of Broome County, New York in arts, humanities, education, health, and human services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation / Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Charitable grantmaking
• Community foundation
• Nonprofit grants
• Arts education funding
• Human services grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Binghamton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The foundation is funded by an endowment established from the estate of Willma Cornell Hoyt. Annual grantmaking is supported by investment returns on the endowment, which was established with assets based on early investments in IBM and supplemented by a $9 million estate contribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Hoyt Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation that makes grants to qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations located in or serving residents of Broome County, New York. Grants support special projects, capital needs, and technical assistance in the areas of arts, humanities, education, health, and human services, funded by an endowment derived from the estate of Willma Cornell Hoyt and the Hoyts' early investments in IBM.

Product overview

The Hoyt Foundation is a charitable grantmaking organization that does not offer commercial products or services. It focuses on distributing grants to nonprofit organizations in Broome County, New York, in the areas of arts, humanities, education, health, and human services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nonprofit Grant Program (Broome County)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $33 million in grants distributed since 1971 to benefit Broome County residents
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: Large global foundation making grants across multiple focus areas; comparable only at the level of mission and structure (endowed, multi-issue grantmaking) but operates at vastly larger scale and broader geography.
• New York Community Trust: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S., operating across New York City with endowment-driven grantmaking to nonprofits; broader in geography and scale but functionally comparable as a perpetual grantmaking institution.

Regional players

• Rochester Area Community Foundation: New York community foundation with similar endowment-driven grantmaking across arts, education, and health; comparable institutional model and focus areas though it serves a larger metropolitan area.
• Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes: Regional community foundation serving Upstate New York with similar grantmaking, donor-advised funds, and competitive grant cycles; comparable structure and endowment-driven model though broader geography.
• Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region: Upstate New York community foundation with comparable mission, endowment-based grantmaking, and area-of-interest funds spanning arts, education, and health.
• Adirondack Foundation: Upstate New York community foundation with competitive grant cycles, donor-advised funds, and discretionary grantmaking supporting nonprofits across multiple sectors; comparable structure and mission in a rural New York context.
• Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation: Upstate New York family foundation making grants in health, education, and community services, comparable in mission and small-staff operating model though broader geographic reach.
• The Decker Foundation: New York-based private foundation funding education and community programs, structurally similar to the Hoyt Foundation as an endowed family foundation deploying grants to nonprofits.

Direct peers

• United Way of Broome County: Local nonprofit fundraising and grantmaking organization operating in the same Broome County market, channeling donations to health and human services agencies with overlapping grantee profile.
• Community Foundation of the Twin Tiers: Community-focused grantmaking foundation serving a similar Upstate New York region with comparable donor-advised and competitive grant programs to local nonprofits, directly comparable in mission and geographic scope to the Hoyt Foundation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hoyt-foundation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hoyt Foundation