By Rose S. Prinzi

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. These grants are made possible by Designated Endowment Funds administered by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. Designated Funds support specific non-profit organizations as identified by the original donor.

Throughout the year, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation administers several types of endowment funds to benefit the community.  They include:  Field of Interest Funds granted monthly, Community Service Funds granted three times a year, with Scholarship and Designated Endowment Funds which are distributed annually.  It’s like Christmas all year-long at the Foundation.

These Endowment Funds are perpetual in nature and are designed specifically to be a long-term financial resource with the assurance that the principal will not be spent.  An endowment fund is a simple and efficient way to enhance financial sustainability for an organization. 

Any non-profit organization or individual can establish a Designated Fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.  In order for an endowment fund to be activated, the fund must attain a minimum of $5,000 within five years of its inception.
 
An example of a Designated Fund would be the ASHF/Jennie Vimmerstedt Fund. 
David Blossom thoughtfully established the ASHF Fund in 1987 to support the American Scandinavian Heritage Foundation to help secure a permanent funding source for the organization.  Today, contributions from interested individuals continue to be accepted to this fund by the Foundation.

The ASHF was later renamed the ASHF/Jennie Vimmerstedt Fund in honor of Jennie Vimmerstedt.  Miss Vimmerstedt was a lifelong resident of Jamestown and a well-known reporter for The Post-Journal. As a dedicated civic leader, she was involved in many local organizations.  (By the way, it is only fitting to mention that for 17 years, Miss Vimmerstedt spear-headed The Post-Journal’s Christmas Happiness Fund known today as the Jamestown Area Christmas Friendship Fund.)

As much as we would like to name all the organizations that are beneficiaries of our Designated Fund grants, the following are just a few examples: American Cancer Society, American Heart Association of SWNY, Babe Ruth League, Chautauqua County Humane Society, Inc. SPCA, Jamestown Audubon Society, Inc., First Lutheran Church, Centaur Stride, Inc., Creche, Inc. James Prendergast Library Association, Meals on Wheels of the Jamestown Area, St. Susan Center, and Hospice Chautauqua County, Inc.

This is the most wonderful time of the year at the Foundation. So, in honor of the season, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation’s Board of Directors and Staff would like to extend a deep, heartfelt thank you to all our many donors and to wish all our community friends a very Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year. 

HO! HO! HO! 

For more information about the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, call 661-3390 or go to www.crcfonline.org.