Community Foundation receives record $6 million donation

The Utica OD reported that the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties received its largest donation ever on Monday — nearly $6 million.

The funds — which came from the Mele Foundation after it dissolved and sold its assets — will be used to establish the Mele Family Fund, a donor-advisory fund that will be awarded to area nonprofits, said Anne White, director of marketing and communications for the Community Foundation.

“It’s a wonderful gift,” she said. “A fund like this – I think it represents a lot of hope for the community.”

The Community Foundation typically receives about $2 million to $4 million per year in donations, but the last three years have been “extraordinary” – with a total of $23 million, said Peggy O’Shea, president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation.

Mele Companies first was established by Emedio Mele in 1912 in New York City and moved to Utica in the mid 1950s. The jewelry box maker once was one of the area's major employers. Read more here.