New York Attorney General Letitia James and The New York Community Trust (The Trust) announced $505,000 in grant funding for 28 community organizations to support pollinator conservation projects in historically underserved communities across New York. The grants are the second and final round of awards from the New York Pollinator Conservation Fund, a $3.45 million initiative created by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) using proceeds from a 2023 settlement with Bayer CropScience and Monsanto. Of the total award, $419,000 was funded by OAG’s settlement and $86,000 was contributed by the Trust, a community foundation that supports charitable work across New York and the fund’s administrator. This final round targets communities identified as disadvantaged under New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, ensuring that the fund’s benefits reach communities historically underrepresented in government funding programs.
Grassroots Gardens WNY is one of 28 organizations supported through this second round of awards. The funds will be used to transform vacant lots into pollinator habitats through native plantings, community partnerships, and public education. Two other Buffalo-based organizations also are being supported by this grant cycle. Buffalo Niagara River Land Trust will expand a pollinator garden on a remediated Buffalo brownfield site to increase habitat connectivity and volunteer stewardship. Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission will integrate pollinator education and native plantings into the Griot Stroll programming through culturally grounded environmental education.
Grant awards from this settlement also benefited our community during the previous grant cycle. In the first round of awards, announced in June 2025, Attorney General James awarded $3.3 million to 34 organizations statewide (an additional $600,000 was provided by The Trust). During that grant cycle, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper was awarded funding to expand pollinator habitats along a tributary to the Niagara River and convert underused lawn space in Sheridan Park into a habitat for native bees and other pollinators.
We are grateful for the support provided through this grant. For more information on this award and a full list of participating organizations, read the Office of the New York Attorney General’s news release here.
