Cattaraugus Gives
Cattaraugus Gives
Consider donating to a local organization during Dec. 3rd’s fundraising blitz
Do you have a favorite community-based charity you love to support? Or perhaps you have a favorite cause you’d like to help like E.A.R.S. or the SPCA, the arts, helping battered women, or the homeless and hungry in our backyard, sports, Mercy Flight, community beautification, the new adaptive playground in Ellicottville, the EVGV Trail, Ellicottville Rotary, and even the completion of the Route 219 corridor, but don’t really know how to help? Here’s the good news: if you go online to cattaraugusgives.org you will find over 300 organizations and funds to whom you can donate for your own pet cause. You can do that at any time throughout the year.
However, the fun and challenge and excitement and suspense of giving comes on Tuesday, December 3rd from midnight until Tuesday 11:59pm when donors can give to their favorite charities that join the campaign (currently, over 80 are signed up) and possibly earn prizes for their charity, like Cutco Corporations Overall Most Donors top prize of $2,500 or Villaggio Restaurant or Rocket Cup gift cards for individuals donating (check out the many prizes on the website) just for donating on Giving Tuesday!
Cattaraugus Gives 2024, an initiative of the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation (CRCF), is a day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Established in 1994, it is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in our region. CRCF has a 20-member board of directors and primarily serves Cattaraugus County but also has funds established with donors in Pennsylvania and other New York counties. The Community Foundation currently manages some 300 funds and scholarships, totaling over $30 million in assets. “The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the region’s most trusted and responsive leader in supporting philanthropy at all levels to enrich our community.”
We learn this from their site: “Community foundations are public nonprofit organizations funded by contributions from individuals, corporations, and private foundations. Today they make up one of the fastest growing sectors of philanthropy in the United States. Community foundations help strengthen their communities by making it possible for a wide variety of donors to create permanent, named funds to meet needs in their communities. They routinely work with families, individuals, attorneys, and estate and financial planners to design gift plans that fit every economic situation, ensuring that donors receive the most benefit from their charitable contributions and that their philanthropic dollars are fully used.
Any individual can contribute any amount of money to any fund at a community foundation. For endowed funds, the foundation then invests the gift for growth and income and uses the generated earnings to make grants to help build the community. Community foundations operate on the principle of perpetuity, meaning that gifts made to the foundation’s endowed funds will continue to grow in value while the earnings from the funds are used to make grants.”
Cattaraugus Gives is set to take place on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Led by CRCF, Cattaraugus Gives is a 24-hour online fundraising event joining nonprofits from across the Cattaraugus County community in both competition and collaboration. Since 2019, over $1 million has been raised to support area nonprofits. In 2023, 87 participating nonprofits together raised over $305,000.
Anyone may donate. Donations through the Cattaraugus Gives 2024 online portal to charitable nonprofit organizations are tax-deductible and cannot be refunded. Contributions may be made via credit and debit card only. Donations will be received and receipted by GiveGab.
Important reminder: The smartest day to donate is Tuesday, December 3rd until 11:59pm where donors can increase the value of their donation by helping their favored organization win prizes from over $20,000 sponsored by local businesses and CRCF, not to mention those gift cards won by lucky donors throughout the day.
I encourage you to go online and take the time to explore the entire website. You will be amazed to find that there are over 100 opportunities for scholarships on the site along with those donation sites closer to home. Bonus: since this is the time of the year when year-end giving helps with your IRS tax bill, please consider making those important decisions before December 3rd and give generously to your favorite community cause.
"This event is more than just a day of giving - it's a testament to the powerful impact we can make when we come together to support the nonprofits that uplift and strengthen our region. Each donation, no matter the size, plays a crucial role in building a brighter future for everyone in Cattaraugus County." - Tyler Veno, Cattaraugus Gives Coordinator
Mark that date: Tuesday, December 3rd and carve out some time during the day to keep an eye on the leaderboard to see how your favorite charity is doing. You can always donate more than once! Please check the current list (84 and counting) to see if your favorite charity will be participating in Giving Tuesday, keeping in mind that others may still be joining.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
African American Center for Cultural Development
Allegany Area Historical Association
Allegany Little League
Allegany Public Library
Allegheny Highlands Council, Boy Scouts of America
Big 30 Athletic Fund
Cats Knead TNVR, Inc.
Cattaraugus Co. Dept. of the Aging/Meals on Wheels
Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation
CBA Vision Rehabilitation Services
CCA - Connecting Communities in Action
Challenger Learning Center of the Twin Tier Region, Inc
Chautauqua Cattaraugus Board of Realtors Scholarship
Chesnut hill cemetery
Christine Conner Memorial Scholarship
Citizens Advocating Memorial Preservation (CAMP)
Community Scholarship Fund (CRCF)
CRCF - Olean Parks Beautification Fund
Directions in Independent Living, Inc.
Dr. Lyle F. Renodin Foundation
Dream it. Do it. Cattaraugus County
Ellicottville Memorial Library
Ellicottville Playground
Ellicottville Rotary
Empire Animal Rescue Society
Enchanted Mountain Garden Club of Allegany
Enchanted Mountains Village
FeedMore WNY
Friends of the Library of Olean, NY
Genesis House Shelter
George and Marcia Pancio Scholarship Fund
Greater Olean Association of Churches
Greater Olean Hospitality Scholarship
Gregory D. Spring Perseverance Scholarship and Awards Fund
Hamilton Court #2, Order of the Amaranth
HomeCare & Hospice Foundation
Immanuel Lutheran Church and Childcare C
Intandem
Interfaith Caregivers, Inc
Jack Reading Memorial Fund
James and Valerie Brundage Scholarship Fund
JF20 Scholarship
Joyful Rescues
Joyful Rescues, Inc.
Leadership Cattaraugus Scholarship
Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
Literacy of Love, Inc
Little Valley Fund
Marjorie and Robert Schaumleffel Rotary Scholarship
Mercy Flight Inc.
Nannen Arboretum Society
OHS Class of 1983 Scholarship
Olean Business Development
Olean Community Theatre
Olean Food Pantry Inc.
Olean General Hospital Foundation
Olean Meditation Center
Olean Rotary Club
Olean Schools Foundation
Olean Sports Boosters
Olean Theatre Workshop
Operation Warm Hearts, Inc.
Pay-it-Forward
Pfeiffer Nature Center & Foundation Inc
Phoenix Humane Society of Greater Cattaraugus, Inc.
Portville Community Food Pantry
RAM Fund of Cattaraugus County
Salamanca Rail Museum Association
Santa Claus Lane
Shadows Veterinarian Relief Trust
Southern Tier Catholic School and Archbishop Walsh Academy
Southern Tier Health Care System
Southern Tier Symphony
SPCA in Cattaraugus County
St. Elizabeth Mission Society, Inc.
The Pink Pumpkin Project
The Salvation Army - Olean
Tim Bushnell Memorial Scholarship
Total Senior Care
Tracy Veno Memorial/Olean Professional Firefighters, Local 1796 Scholarship Fund
Tri-County Arts Council
Twin Tiers Disc Golf Association
Veggie Wheels
YMCA of the Twin Tiers