Grant Opportunities in the
St. Johnsville-Fort Plain Area

Salt Springville Community Restoration

Since 2012, the Adam & Nellie Horn Foundation has supported several restoration projects for the Windfall Dutch Barn, including a roof restoration and weatherization of the Barn itself. A series of repairs to the stone foundation of an adjacent multi-use building, resurfacing of walkways and driveways, and repainting of directional signs at the roadway complete the necessary renovations to this fine example of pre-Revolutionary architecture.

A restored structure located in the hamlet of Salt Springville, NY, the Barn served as a resting place and feeding station for 3,000 of Gen. Clinton's troops during its Revolutionary War wagon march to the Susquehanna River.

Fast-forward to the 1970s and the Barn's new owner, Louise Porter Moore. A Quaker peace activist, Ms. Moore offered sanctuary to young men of draft age who lived and worked on the property and renovated the Barn. The renovation was completed in 1976.

The property was donated to Salt Springville Restoration in 1978 by Ms. Moore. It has since served the community as a performance venue and cultural gathering place during the summer months. The Windfall Dutch Barn is also available for private and public special events.

Fort Plain Central School

When the members of the Young Speakers Club – approximately 18, 4th Grade students in Fort Plain's Harry Hoag Elementary School – wanted to improve their writing, spelling, and presentation skills, they turned to the Adam & Nellie Horn Foundation.

"Our students, one-third of whom currently read at the 1st-grade level, will use digital technology to improve their spelling, presentation skills, speaking and listening skills, and overall literacy," wrote Joan Dise, an occupational therapist for the School District and coordinator for the project.

The grant was made. And, all 18 students wrote to the Foundation to show what this project means to each of them. A sampling of the notes received demonstrates what kind of impact this grant will make in the lives and learning of these students.

Fort Plain Central School Student Letters

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2nd Chance Cat Rescue

When disaster strikes, it affects everyone in the community – including animals that call our neighborhoods home.

After the 2013 floods in St. Johnsville, 2nd Chance Cat Rescue made room for three, six year old cats that had been abandoned. Although the shelter was already close to capacity, they made room for these cats who had once been family pets.

According to Sherrie Keough, secretary/treasurer for 2nd Chance, the shelter typically houses 50 cats, nearly all of them older or special needs cats that are adoptable, but often passed over by families and individuals who may have their hearts set on a younger cat or kitten.

"2nd Chance is a no-kill shelter. It's our mission to help cats and the community by keeping abandoned and feral cats safe, warm, and cared for until they are adopted," said Keough.

In 2012, an Adam & Nellie Horn Foundation grant was used to provide dental and veterinary services for 35 cats and kittens that were then transferred to another shelter in Vermont, where all were adopted into new homes. In 2013, another grant from the Horn Foundation was used to install two outdoor runs for cats, enabling them to safely play outdoors. A 2014 Horn Foundation grant was used for medical supplies and bulk purchase of food for cats living at the shelter.

"Thanks to the Horn Foundation, our shelter's capacity to care for and re-home cats has been greatly enhanced," said Keough. "The Foundation has helped to create many happy endings for cats who might not otherwise have had a 2nd chance as family pets."