Community Service Grants Revamped > Chautauqua Region Community Foundation

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Community Service Grants Revamped
Monday, November 26, 2007

By Jared Lindell

Most local area non-profit organizations are no strangers to the Community Foundation’s Community Service Grants process. Some of the non-profit organizations awarded 2007 Community Service Grants include: Chautauqua Lake Rowing Association, Harmony Historical Society, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Farman Free Library, Association of Ellington, Jamestown Audubon Society, Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Lucile M. Wright Air Museum, and the Valley Historical Society.

However, all area non-profits need to be aware of a new spin to this process. The Foundation will now offer three Community Service Grant cycles throughout 2007-2008 and every year to follow. The first deadline for application is December 15, 2007. The two additional grant cycles in 2008 will have deadlines of April 30, 2008 and August 31, 2008.

Formerly, the Community Service Grants process had one fall deadline each year. All organizations looking for funding the following year needed to have their grant applications in by the fall date, which made it difficult for organizations that did not know the precise scope of their funding needs for the following year. After some discussion, the CRCF Board and staff felt that having only one Community Service Grant cycle was not as responsive to the needs of the non-profit community as it needed to be. This is why the Board chose to establish three grant cycles spread throughout the year, as opposed to the previous one cycle.

The benefit of having multiple Community Service Grant cycles is two-fold. First, it will allow the non-profit community to submit grant applications when they actually need funds, rather than submitting an application months in advance without possibly knowing the full scope of the project they need funding for. Secondly, having multiple grant cycles will allow the Foundation to be more responsive in terms of providing monies to specific projects, as opposed to concepts, and doing so in a timely manner, rather than months before projects have been started.

As far as applying for the 2007-2008 Community Service Grant, the process is completely the same as it has been in previous years. Your organization needs only to fill out a Community Service Grant application, provide an additional two-to-four page expanded report of your project, and provide all the necessary financial and tax information regarding your organization. For a full description of what is needed to complete a Community Service Grant application, go to www.crcfonline.org, and then click on the “Grants” section of the left-hand menu bar.

As previously mentioned, the first Community Service Grant deadline is December 15, 2007. For those who will need funding during the first portion of 2008, get your applications in by this date. Again, all application forms and information can be obtained online at www.crcfonline.org or acquired by visiting the Foundation office at 418 Spring Street, Jamestown. You can always contact the Foundation staff as well at 661-3390, with any questions about the new process. The CRCF Board and staff hope these three new cycles will service your needs better for years to come.

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