Spotlight on Community Fund Executive Director Amy Korb
Amy and Andy Korb
By Katharine Outcalt
Feb. 3, 2021: The Community Fund’s Executive Director, Amy Korb, is an avid runner from New Jersey who is continually surprised to find herself in what she considers “my dream job.”
Raised in Ringwood, NJ, Korb graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in retail merchandising and textiles. Her first job took her to San Francisco, where she was a buyer for Macy’s.
After several years, Korb returned to the East Coast to further her career in product development and design, landing jobs with various high profile retailers, including Tommy Hilfiger and Federated Department Stores.
In New York, Korb met her husband Andy, an investment banker and now real estate developer. The two were introduced through mutual friends and shared a beach house in Fire Island one summer. After dating long distance for a few years, they were married and began their search for an ideal community to raise their family.
“Neither of us knew anything about Bronxville. We literally drew a 20-mile circle around a map of NYC and then closed our eyes and picked a point in the circle with my finger.” The area they chose was Cedar Knolls.
The Korbs eventually moved into the village when their children, Jack and Katie, were entering 5th and 2nd grades. In an effort to get to know her new community, Korb started volunteering with local organizations. This eventually led to serving as president of the Jr. League, governance roles with the Bronxville School PTA, and seats on the boards of the Bereavement Center of Westchester and the Community Fund.
In 2017, when then Community Fund Executive Director Melinda Burge made the decision to retire for a move to Steamboat, CO with her husband, many eyes turned to Korb to apply for the position. “I was a little nervous because I hadn’t worked in 10 years, and it was a totally different field. I had volunteer experience but never any business experience running a small non-profit.”
As Executive Director of the Community Fund, Korb is tasked with managing an annual fundraising campaign that supports 26 social service agencies and community programs in Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe. She works closely with community leaders and is constantly forging liaisons with the agencies that the Community Fund supports.
Korb credits Sheridan Denfeld, the Fund’s finance administrator and only other employee, in contributing to her success thus far, as well as the Fund’s 32 board members. “I have been very lucky because I work with a huge contingent of residents who really care what happens here and want to take care of others,” says Korb. It’s the “ultimate job,” adds Korb. “Everyone wants you to succeed, so I always feel like I have the backing of everyone who lives here.”
Karen Goldman-Hertz (l) and Lilly Newman (r) from the Maxwell Institute with Amy Korb (c)
How about the COVID-19 pandemic? At a time when just about everyone in the non-profit world is feeling the pinch, Korb coolly responds that “there has never been a more exciting time to work at the Community Fund.” Last March, as the world essentially shut down in response to the pandemic, the Community Fund, almost overnight, created an Emergency Community COVID-19 Relief Fund. To date, they have granted over $200,000 to local agencies with dire needs related to the coronavirus.
And is there anything Korb wishes she could improve, add or achieve? Yes, and it’s in the form of a first ever Youth Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe, which is already in the works. Founded last year, the group consists of teen volunteers who reside in Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe. Together they work on raising funds, identifying youth causes in the area, evaluating the needs, and allocating grant money. “It’s a mini Community Fund but for high school students,” says Korb. It’s an idea that Korb presented in her interview for the position in 2017, and she’s thrilled to see it in action and growing so quickly
While Korb spends her time these days working diligently on the needs of her community, the one thing she never loses sight of is her husband, two kids, extended family, and friends. These are her greatest cause – along with running, which really makes her happy.
Community Service Organizations Directory
Bronxville Beautification Council
Organized in 1982 and incorporated in 1993, the Bronxville Beautification Council (BBC) is a not for profit organization administered by a Board of Directors. Its mission is to enhance and maintain the natural and man-made beauty of Bronxville Village, with emphasis on the downtown business district of Bronxville. The BBC uses the dollars raised in its annual spring solicitation letter to residents to fund the mum, tulip and summer flower plantings downtown and at traffic intersections, as well as the summer hanging baskets. Every few years the group spearheads such major endeavors as the renovation of Leonard Morange Square on the west side of the railroad tracks and the beautification of the Lawrence Hospital traffic circle, which included the addition of plants and the building of the fountain that now makes a gracious western portal to our town. The BBC also works with other civic groups to monitor the aesthetics of retail signage, the consistency of sidewalk materials, and litter and graffiti. During Beautify Bronxville Week, the BBC sponsors a poetry reading and works with Scout groups on the annual village clean-up.
Bronxville Beautification Council
PO Box 127
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-779-6123
Bronxville Boy Scouts
The village of Bronxville has a long tradition of scouting. “The troops and packs of Bronxville have maintained the finest scouting organizations and have taught the boys of the Bronxville area to be leaders and outstanding members of the local, national and global communities.”
There are several Boy Scout Troops in Bronxville, including Troops 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Bronxvillle Girls Scouts
The Girls Scouts is “the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.” In Girl Scouts, “girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together. Through the many enriching experiences provided by Girl Scouts, they can grow courageous and strong.”
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was founded in 1998 to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of the village. The Conservancy furthers its mission through the presentation of programs, publications, lectures and special events that foster an awareness of the village's architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, and lends its support for projects designed to strengthen and preserve those legacies. Anyone who is interested in the Bronxville and its history can become a member; varying levels of membership are available.
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
PO Box 989
Bronxville, New York 10708
http://bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org/
Bronxville School Foundation
The Bronxville School Foundation, founded in 1991, is a non-profit organization independent from the school with the sole purpose of supporting the school. The Foundation raises money each year through donations from school families, community members, and alumni, among others.These contributions fund grants that provide cutting-edge technology, innovative programs and curriculum and other resources that are beyond the scope of public school funding.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0515
https://www.bronxvilleschoolfoundation.org/
Bronxville Women’s Club
The Bronxville Women’s Club offers lectures, exhibits and concerts. It also has a beautiful clubhouse which is available for rental for events.
135 Midland Avenue
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-3252
www.bronxvillewomensclub.org
Bronxville Youth Council
The Bronxville Youth Council provides volunteer and leadership opportunities for high school students in the village of Bronxville.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0500 ext 1789
Counseling Center
Founded in 1971, the mission of the Counseling Center “is to provide a wide range of psychotherapeutic and counseling services to individuals, couples and families by a staff of highly trained, experience and dedicated psychotherapists.
The Counseling Center
180 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-793-3388
www.counselingcenter.org
Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester & Tuckahoe
The mission of the Community Fund is “to support broad social services in Bronxville 10708, Eastchester and Tuckahoe through grants and technical support to local agencies and community projects. All money raised here in our community stays here in our community.”
15 Park Place
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-8808
www.thecommunityfund.org
Friends of the Bronxville Library
The Friends of the Bronxville Library is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to focus attention on the “Library’s services, facilities and needs” as well as sponsor projects and provide materials that are beyond the reach of the Library’s regular budget and perform other services.
Junior League of Bronxville
The Junior League of Bronxville is “an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”
Rotary Club of Bronxville
The mission of the Rotary Club of Bronxville is to “encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and to encourage and foster (1) the development of friendships within the community as an opportunity for service, (2) high ethical standards in business and professions, (3) the application of the ideal of service of each member to his personal and business and community life and (4) the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship.”
Senior Citizens of Bronxville
Senior Citizens of Bronxville is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and programs to seniors within the 10708 zip code area. “Programs cover a wide range of activities from educational seminars and cultural enrichment, to community services, bridge classes and exercise.”
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