Current News

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will open its scholarship application process to area students February 1. Students can apply using the online scholarship portal at cattfoundation.org/apply-for-scholarships. Students can complete one common scholarship application to become eligible for awards from some 65 scholarship funds.

Dr. Robert E. Hull was a lifelong learner who knew the value of higher education. His appetite for knowledge and desire to make a difference led him to a rewarding and successful career in Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Hull believed that you can do anything you set your mind to if you were willing to work hard as a student. He also understood that we live in a world with an unequal playing field and not everyone has the same chances to be successful because of inequalities in our system.

The popularity of the sport of disc golf has exploded, especially over the summer months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the efforts of a few local disc golf enthusiasts, the recently established Gargoyle Park Public Disc Golf Course Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will help bring the first public disc golf course to Cattaraugus County in the city of Olean.

For the past several months, Gift Tree coordinator Megan Davis has been concerned with how she would set up alternative plans for Thursday's drop-off of gifts if there had been a snow storm or shut-down from the pandemic.

At a time when agencies are seeing increased demand for mental and behavioral health services and are dealing with the strain of providing those services safely, the Mental Wellness Fund in Cattaraugus County provided a needed boost in the form of the grants, together totaling $4,484.

Mount View Cemetery has stood just outside of downtown Olean since 1847 and is the burial site of an unknown Civil War soldier and the home of Cattaraugus County's Veterans Field of Honor.

Ellicottville is a place beloved by the Wilday family. It is also a place that was important to young Kaleigh Wilday during her life.

Alfred Station, NY, October 29, 2020 - Beginning November 1st through November 11th, the Allegany-Cattaraugus-Chautauqua Fund for Women will be selling holiday plants (poinsettia, cyclamen, and Christmas cactus), with all proceeds to benefit the Fund for Women.  Holiday plants may be ordered online or through the mail; order forms can be found here:  https://www.accffw.org/fundraisers-events.  

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's second Nonprofit Link and Learn Seminar, "How to Discuss Planned Giving with Donors," will be led local attorney Tyler Threehouse on Nov. 13 via Zoom.

Despite the financial impact of the pandemic, area businesses have again stepped up to make possible a prize package of over $14,000 with the support of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation for Cattaraugus Gives in 2020.

The Ellicottville Skatepark Committee (SK8EVL) has set a new date for SOUP-to-SKATE, a fundraising event in support of the Ellicottville Skatepark Project. Originally planned for March, SOUP-to-SKATE was cancelled due to Covid-19. The rescheduled event will take place Sun-day, Nov. 8, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Ellicottville Town Center.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's Nonprofit Link and Learn Seminar Series will kick off Friday, October 23, with the webinar "How Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Can Ignite Your Cattaraugus Gives Campaign."

Nelson Beard's love for teaching took him across the globe - to South Korea and China to Hoke County, North Carolina - but he found a home as an educator in the Salamanca school district.

Nonprofit Networking Day, long hosted by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, will no longer take place, but area nonprofit professionals will have a new opportunity for education and collaboration through a series of CRCF-sponsored Zoom webinars this fall.

Kathy Jowsey was a beloved figure in Franklinville. In high school, she could be found in the stands at every game, cheering loudly. Car horns could often be heard around her house as passersby always wanted to greet their loved friend. Later in life, she could always be found around town, often recognized from afar by her distinct, jovial laugh.

Applications for the next grant funding cycle of the Community Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation are due October 21.

Last ski season, a couple of avid local snowboarders banded together and created the Alpine Surf Club. Sharing a passion for the winter sport, it was a fun and informal way of getting out each week to shred the slopes of Holiday Valley with friends.

Applications for this year's grants from the Mental Wellness in Cattaraugus County Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will be due October 1.

The Veggie Wheels program is entering the penultimate week of its sixth summer, having overcome the unique circumstances and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to support a healthier tomorrow for disadvantaged in Cattaraugus County.

Three area high school student athletes recently received scholarship awards from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Dylan Booker, a recent Allegany-Limestone Central School graduate received this year's award from the Deputy Wayne Krieger and Carol Krieger Memorial Scholarship Fund managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Six recent Portville Central School graduates received awards from scholarship funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Six graduating Olean High School and Portville Central School seniors recently received scholarship awards from scholarship funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation including two targeted for education majors.

Two recent area graduates received the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation-managed Laurie Anzivine Memorial Scholarship this year.

Tim Bushnell may not have begun his professional life as an educator, but teaching became one of his real passions during his life. The Timothy Bushnell Memorial Scholarship has helped ensure Bushnell's legacy for fostering learning in area students can continue since his passing in 2014. Now, the scholarship will continue to preserve that legacy for years to come under the management of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four area graduates and current college students recently received scholarships managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation to support them in their pursuit of a nursing education.

Three Ellicottville Central School graduates recently received scholarship awards from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four area graduates recently received this year's awards from the Burt Scholarship Fund, an annual scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Six recent Allegany-Limestone Central School graduates received awards from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, including three new scholarship awards.

Twelve recent Portville Central School graduates received awards from the Portville College Scholarship Fund, managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Seven Ten Broeck Academy/Franklinville Central School District students received Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation-managed scholarships this year.

Three Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School graduates recently received scholarship awards from funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

The Lounsbury Adaptive Skip program at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville has helped make the ski slope a place that everyone, even those with a physical or cognitive handicap, can enjoy.

Six graduating Olean High School seniors recently received scholarship awards from the Mary-Elizabeth Smith and Olean High School Class of 1961 scholarship funds managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Ten recent area graduates recently received the Gregory D. Spring Perseverance Scholarship, an annual scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Nine area graduates recently received awards from scholarship funds that support students pursuing business-related degrees and are managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

Four recent area graduates received the Jonathan Teuscher Scholarship, a four-year scholarship managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, together receiving $10,000, over the four years of the award.

With the support of nonprofit leaders in Cattaraugus County, the WNY COVID-19 Community Response Fund recently awarded a second round of microgrants totaling $9,000 to 11 organizations in Cattaraugus County that are providing services to Cattaraugus County residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 Response Fund for Cattaraugus County recently made possible over $42,000 in grants to organizations supporting Cattaraugus County residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as organizations who have seen a loss in revenue directly due to the pandemic.

Two area graduates recently received the inaugural Cattaraugus County Trappers Memorial Scholarship, managed by the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.