During the week of Nov. 12 through 18, Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF) will join more than 700 community foundations across America for Community Foundations Week. For more than 20 years, this effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of these philanthropic organizations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.
The public is invited to celebrate Community Foundations Week with NCCF at an Open House on Nov. 16 at the SUNY Incubator on Central Avenue in Dunkirk from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"Community foundations impact lives, solve problems, and improve futures," said Peter Clark, NCCF President. "In a down economy, with limited resources and a growing need for services to help families in need, we are more determined than ever to bring our community partners together to find innovative and effective solutions to some of our most challenging social problems."
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According to Clark, Community foundations are independent, public entities that steward philanthropic resources from institutional and individual donors to local nonprofits that are the heart of strong, vibrant communities. This year NCCF has given out grants and scholarships totaling $348,143. Representing one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy, every state in the United States is home to at least one community foundation that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues.
Launched in 1989 through a proclamation by former president George H.W. Bush, the first Community Foundation Week included a congressional briefing about the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community problems.
The NCCF was incorporated in 1986 as a tax-exempt charitable organization. Since its establishment, the NCCF has distributed more than $8.6 million in the community through its various grant programs. It is an organization inherently committed to enriching the northern Chautauqua community and encouraging local philanthropy. For more information on the NCCF, visit www.nccfoundation.org or call 366-4892.
