The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation has awarded $47,874 to 15 local non-profit organizations through the Community Grants Program.

The Community Grants Program is a biannual program that awards grants to non-profit organizations seeking funds to improve the northern Chautauqua County community.

A volunteer committee of community representatives thoroughly reviews each application submitted. In many cases, site visits are performed as well.

The committee then prepares recommendations to the NCCF Board of Directors.

Grants Committee members include Helen Baran, Jack D’Agostino, James Holton, JoAnn Kaufman, Priscilla Koch, Kristine Morabito, Deborah Pacos, Alberto Rey, Peter Ryan and Monica White. Priscilla Koch serves as chairman of the committee and Peter Clark is the NCCF President.

Spring Grants approved by the NCCF Board of Directors include: Centaur Stride for a multi-use youth program pavilion; Child Advocacy Program for office support; Dunkirk Historical Lighthouse and the Dunkirk Historical Society for Canal Street String Band performances; Northlake Family Recreation Center for a scoreboard; Ahira Hall Memorial Library for youth programs; Chautauqua County Historical Society for the procurement of a Historic Structure Report; The Great Lakes Experience for the 2014 Dunkirk Great Lakes Experience Festival; Dunkirk Historical Society for the Eggers Community Art Project; Kids in Distressed Situations for a Chautauqua County Rural Ministry Collaborative Youth Project; Girl Scouts of Western NY for a leadership experience program; Westfield Memorial Hospital Foundation for a diabetes self-management education program; Chautauqua Striders for a Mentoring Program; Chautauqua Adult Day Care for a wheelchair capacity bus; Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus for 1891 Fredonia Opera House performance expenses; and Boys and Girls Club for a Garden of Giving Program.

The Community Grants Program awards grants twice a year. The next deadline to submit a letter of interest is Sept. 1.

For more information on making a gift to one of the NCCF’s unrestricted funds or to obtain more information on NCCF’s Grant Programs, visit the NCCF’s website, www.nccfoundation.org, or contact the NCCF office at 366-4892.

The Northern Chautauqua Com-munity Foundation is committed to improving the northern Chautauqua community through the promotion of local philanthropy, targeted grant making, local scholarships and leadership. Since 1986, the organization has distributed over $9.4 million within the community in the form of grants and scholarships.