CRCF News

Tom Brokaw coined the phrase “The Greatest Generation” when he penned his book with the same title.  In it, he recounted numerous stories about a generation of Americans who came of age during the most turbulent time in the United States’ history.  They lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War...

As most of our local students who are seniors enter their last semester of high school, their focus is exploring their future opportunities. Many of these students are preparing to continue their education in some capacity.  They are visiting colleges, submitting college applications, filling out FAFSA forms and discussing their futures with family and friends...

 We are the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation— an independent philanthropic organization that serves the Chautauqua Region.  As a Foundation, we apply a variety of creative approaches to support local students, development efforts, and sustain community nonprofit organizations.  Our mission?  “…to enrich the quality of life in the Chautauqua Region”...

Elizabeth Warner was born in Jamestown in 1866.  She was a woman with a dream for the future of Jamestown’s women. The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation has been a component in making that dream come true.Miss Elizabeth Warner was a beautiful young woman who had completed her formal education at Miss Brown’s Finishing School...

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays have passed and the decorations and gifts are put away, we look all around us and realize that the most precious gift we may have been given was that gift of time with family and friends...

This booklet describes the various scholarship funds the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation administers and the criteria of each fund.

It only happens once a year. Applications for the Karl Peterson Fund/Lynn Foundation Fund are presently being accepted by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The deadline to submit a request is January 31st...

What does it mean to you when someone makes a promise? According to a specific definition, a promise is a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something…it is a vow. Sometimes promises are made lightly with no real follow-through; but’ if sticking to the pure definition of the word, promises are never to be broken. How does this relate to the Community Foundation?...

It’s that time of year!The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation is distributing a “sleigh full of gifts” to our local organizations.  The Foundation has made a list and checked it twice, and this month we will have delivered over $385,000 in grants to 65 charitable organizations and churches...

Christmas has become so commercial.  Even before Halloween is over and before we have had a chance to think about Thanksgiving, it seems as though we are exposed to the Christmas giving whirlwind which has become traditional of the festive season.  What has happened to the true meaning of the holiday and the real spirit of Christmas giving...

Dear Friends,

Daily, we are intrigued by the diversity of donors who commit to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.  Each fund at the Foundation, like the individual who created it, has a personality of its own.  Matching each donor’s unique interests to that of a community need is our role, as administrators, to the over 500 charitable funds housed at the Foundation...

It was about this time of year in 1994 when Mr. Richard O. Hartley of Lakewood contacted the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation to create a new fund to benefit the youth of the community. Through his generosity, the Richard O. Hartley Safe House Fund for Chautauqua County was created...

 As you prepare your Thanksgiving feast with thoughts of your many blessings this coming Thursday, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation would like to extend a deep, heartfelt “thank you” to our many friends who have made life a little bit easier for our local families and non-profit organizations...

Christina and her family had just moved to the quaint little town.  Having adjusted to their new surroundings, they decided to plan a trip back “home” for the holidays. With her and her husband, Michael, working full-time and their two children immersed in school activities, a trip home would be a nice break. The family couldn’t have been more excited. However, Christina had been hampered with a nagging cough for over a month and decided to make an appointment to see a doctor...  

“Enriching the quality of life in the Chautauqua region.” This is a simple mission that the Community Foundation has worked to fulfill for 31 years. With each passing year and each additional dollar awarded back to the community, the Board and staff at the Community Foundation believe this mission is...