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About Us
NoVo in Kingston is a branch of the NoVo Foundation, responsible for stewarding the Foundation’s local grantmaking and special projects in the Kingston, N.Y. area, with a focus on Midtown Kingston. Like the NoVo Foundation, NoVo in Kingston is committed to centering the needs of the most historically and continuously marginalized.
“Our core focus will – as it always has at NoVo – remain unchanged… the life and agency of a Black girl. Her future is Kingston’s future.”
– Peter Buffett, NoVo in Kingston Managing Director & NoVo Foundation co-President.
Our History
Starting in 2013 with the purchase of the former Gill Farm and its transition to the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, NoVo has been working with a wide variety of partners to support Kingston to become a more resilient community. As part of this effort, NoVo has provided general operating support to long-standing non-profit agencies offering direct services, as well as emerging organizations and projects dedicated to improving or creating new systems needed to build resilience. The pandemic revealed the fragile state of the institutions the Kingston community and beyond rely upon, including the food system, energy supply, and methods of trading and exchange. The work of NoVo’s partnering organizations to help Kingston prepare for an uncertain future is becoming more apparent every day.
In addition, NoVo has made larger, one-time capital project investments in the community to strengthen critical infrastructure, including supporting key anchor institutions like the YMCA and People’s Place to complete major facility improvements, assisting TRANSART to complete the restoration of the historic Burger-Matthews House on Henry Street, and funding the rehabilitation of the historic octagonal-shaped Bonesteel House on Broadway to house Radio Kingston’s new studios.
In recent years, NoVo expanded its support to help build new and restore existing community resources by funding projects like the construction of the Institute for Family Health’s new Pine Street Family Health Clinic, the installation of a new commercial kitchen at the City of Kingston’s Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center, and the renovation of the Broadway Bubble Laundromat.
Now, ten years after NoVo’s initial investment in the Kingston area, the Foundation is deepening its commitment to the community by establishing NoVo in Kingston. In the coming years, NoVo in Kingston will be responsible for carrying forward NoVo’s local grantmaking and ensuring the completion of major capital projects in the Kingston area like The Metro.
How We Work
NoVo in Kingston is committed to continuing to build upon trusted relationships developed in the community over many years and completing the major capital projects currently in development. While we do not accept unsolicited proposals, we are always interested in learning more about how local community members and organizations are working to support Kingston to become more resilient. Please contact us at [email protected] to share your thoughts.
Our Philosophy
While our work and the work of our grantee partners encompass a wide range of initiatives, NoVo’s guiding tenets are a compassionate view of the world and the highest definition of philanthropy—in the roots of the words anthro and philo – “for the love of human beings.” The only way to create real change is with love at the center.
We recognize the inherent power and privilege of philanthropy, and strive to act as thoughtful stewards. We value the long-term partnerships and relationships we have built in Kingston, and we recognize that meaningful progress is only achieved in relationship with others.
About the NoVo Foundation
Established in 2006, the NoVo Foundation supports initiatives that promote a holistic, interconnected and healing vision for humanity. Visit NoVoFoundation.org for more information and a timeline of the Foundation’s history.