About the Manhasset Community Fund

Just after the end of World War II the Manhasset Community Fund was born. The oldest records of the Fund are from the Manhasset Branch of the "National War Fund" suggesting that with coming of peace, the community's giving turned from war support to helping local charities. Yes, in 1946 the first Manhasset Community Fund campaign began and raised a then-staggering $38,000 in just one month . . . remember a ride on a NYC subway cost just a nickel.

That first year the funds were donated to the Community Service Center, Manhasset Girl Scouts, Manhasset Health Center, Nassau County Boy Scouts, Police Boys Club, St. Francis Cardiac Guild, SCA Halloween Fund and USO. Did you know that back then, what we now know as St. Francis Hospital was a sanitarium for children with cardiac illness, and North Shore Hospital did not exist yet? Things do change in over 60 years!

The concept of the Community Fund however, has remained a simple one. With one donation, our Donors support many of the local charities and organizations that work to help people right here in town. Although the Fund's directors and charities have changed over the years, the purpose of the Manhasset Community Fund remains the same. We support vibrant local programs for children, the elderly, the less fortunate, and the disabled that are making a difference for the people of Manhasset.

In July 2003, the Greentree Foundation, founded by the late Mrs. John Hay Whitney of Manhasset, established the "Greentree Good Neighbor Fund" at the Manhasset Community Fund. This fund is to be allocated by the Manhasset Community Fund to organizations addressing priority needs in the Town of North Hempstead. Since its inception, the Greentree Foundation has made annual donations to this program supporting over $650,000 in grants to date.

The Greentree Good Neighbor Fund and the grants made from it are separate and distinct from the Community Fund's traditional work of raising money to support the charities that serve Manhasset. That work continues unabated and remains, as it has for 60 years, the Manhasset Community Fund's primary purpose.

The Manhasset Community Fund's Board of Directors consists of about 20 volunteers from all areas of Manhasset. They meet regularly to discuss fundraising, monitor the agencies receiving support and review the actual use of the grants it awards. The Budget and Admissions Subcommittee annually allocates the monies raised and reviews monetary requests from new organizations. Additionally, every year, at least one director visits each agency to get a first hand look at the work they do. This process helps insure the most effective use of our donor's generosity.

Our fundraising relies on our familiar Annual Campaign Mailing, our participation in the Champions for Charity Holiday Shopping Benefit and the success of various fundraising events throughout the year. We hope everyone in the community will join in to help us support the programs and charities that work right here in Manhasset by supporting the Manhasset Community Fund.

With a single contribution to the Manhasset Community Fund, our generous donors support many worthy causes including those that benefit Manhasset's children, senior citizens, the sick and the needy.This year, MCF is supporting the following organizations:

Please visit the Funded Organizations page to learn more about these organizations.