At its May 29, 1950 meeting, the board of directors of the Community Chest and Planning Council authorized President Henry T. Dorrance to appoint a special committee to study the feasibility of establishing a philanthropic trust in Utica.  The committee’s two-year study included fact-finding about local bequests and their effectiveness in meeting community needs. The certificate of incorporation was prepared, approved by a State Supreme Court Justice and filed in the office of New York’s Secretary of State on December 17, 1952.         

The ’50s continued to bring noteworthy, albeit modest, “firsts” for the Foundation. In March 1953, the board held its first post-incorporation meeting in the trustees room of the Savings Bank of Utica. In October, the organization recorded its first donation, $25 from Vice President William Murray, to cover the cost of an accountant’s report. 

In January 1954, continuing the effort to educate the community, the Foundation published its first brochure. Titled For Lives to Come, the publication was comprehensive in its description of the Foundation’s purposes, operations, safeguards as a charitable vehicle and benefits for donors, including the tax advantages and ability to indicate preferences for causes their donations would support.In March of that same year,Rosamond G. Childs, Walter J. Matt and Julius Rothstein joined the board, becoming the first directors outside of the founding group. Childs, whose full story can be found within the ‘Stories’ link, would become one of the most influential figures in the Foundation’s history. Matt was president of the F. X. Matt Brewing Company and would serve on the board for 19 years. Rothstein, manager of the First National Bank Building, remained on the board until 1960.In 1956 Rosamond Childs made the first sizeable gift to the Foundation, $6,000, which established its first fund. The following year brought the creation of a second, much larger fund, when the assets of the former Utica Dispensary were liquidated and placed with the Foundation. Over $61,000 strong, the new fund prompted President Van Denbergh to say, “The Foundation is for the first time in a position to begin to carry out the purposes for which it was organized.”1957 also marked the establishment of the George E. Upson Fund, from the estate of the onetime city editor of the Utica Daily Press and later an officer of the Utica Provident Loan Association. In addition being such a large fund, it was the first fund originating from a non-board member. Although not restricting use of the fund, Upson made clear his interest in promoting the welfare of children.In 1958 Addison M. White was appointed to the board to take the place of John Train, who died in June of that year. White’s contributions to the Foundation over more than three decades would become incalculable and are also chronicled in the “Stories” link.

Van Denbergh’s assertion that the Foundation could now start carrying out its purposes came to fruition in the increased grantmaking that began to take place in 1959. Through 1958, The Foundation had made a total of just four grants, amounting to $425, all which went to the United Fund. By contrast, emanating largely from the Utica Dispensary Fund, seven grants totaling $2,000 were made in 1959 alone. Most benefited area hospitals, plus The House of the Good Shepherd.