Current News

While school districts continue to adapt to a hybrid model of in-person and distance learning and work to meet the ever-changing education needs of students, the Wolfinger Family Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is making possible $2,000 in support for the Ellicottville, Smethport (PA) and Coudersport (PA) school districts.

Grant applications for funding from the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's Community Fund are due April 21.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will lead three Nonprofit Link and Learn webinars in 2021, continuing a successful program that began in 2020.

Twelve nonprofits, both local and national, recently received grant support from the Doris Reisner Endowment Fund and the Mike and Laura Bysiek Memorial Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

The grant application process for the COVID-19 Response Fund for Cattaraugus County, which has provided over $60,000 in COVID relief funding to date, will reopen to applications for its third round of funding on February 22.

Nine agencies recently received grant support from the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation's Community Fund, to support new projects and initiatives that provide for the changing and immediate needs of Cattaraugus County residents in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the third time since the beginning of the pandemic, philanthropic leaders in Cattaraugus County helped facilitate the distribution of microgrants from the WNY COVID-19 Community Fund Response Fund to organizations working on the front lines to provide relief to those most impacted by the ongoing pandemic, culminating in 36 grants totaling $45,000.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation board recently elected Jim Stitt Jr. and Sandi Brundage to its board of directors and named the Foundation's officers for 2021, including the election of Skip Wilday as board president.

Announcing the open period for grant applications through the Allegany-Cattaraugus-Chautauqua Fund for Women (ACC-FFW). Grant applications, for individual grants, are being accepted February 1st through March 15th, 2021. A thorough review of applications will precede award notifications on or around April 30th 2021.

BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York Blue Fund has announced $575,000 in grants to support several major health-based projects across Western New York, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on non-profit organizations. This grant cycle includes $100,000 in new Blue Fund microgrants to 75 organizations across the eight counties of Western New York, including Cattaraugus County.

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.