Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Community Impact Director Liz Jones said the CRCF and Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation are again co-sponsoring the philanthropic day, “Once again, non-profit organizations across Chautauqua County have registered, creating a fundraising page where they can accept direct donations the day of. So we encourage people to follow their favorite non-profits and listen for instructions and ways they can help support them on June 9.”

CRCF Executive Director Tory Irgang said a record number of organizations from across Chautauqua County are taking part this year with over 100 non-profits signed up, including WRFA and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

The Give Big CHQ day has raised over $1 million in the last four years for local non-profits.

Jones said the “716 Stretch Pool” is returning again with $25,000 sponsored by the CRCF and Northern Chautauqua Community foundation, “And so, organizations that are participating and registered can qualify to receive a portion of that $25,000. And the way that they qualify is that they receive 10 unique donors, that would be 10 different individual donors, and that is between the hours of 7:16 a.m. and 7:16 p.m.”

To take part in Give Big C-H-Q and to find more information about organizations taking part, including who is doing special match fundraising, visit givebigchq.org

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Chautauqua Region Community Foundation‘s Tory Irgang and Liz Jones about the upcoming Give Big CHQ day of giving.

The CRCF helped facilitate four public input sessions held this summer by the city on the draft master plan. Their report said 118 people attended those sessions with 8 responses received by email or telephone.

CRCF Community Impact Officer Liz Jones said four categories received the most engagement from people at the listening sessions, with housing stability and neighborhood revitalization having the most feedback, “And those could range from home improvement programs, the receivership program that was given as a sample program in the draft master plan, to the increased concern around when the eviction moratorium would be lifted, and housing insecurity and homelessness needs across the community.”

Economic and workforce development; resident health and well-being, and recreation and youth activities were the other categories receiving the most engagement.

Jones said equity was a cross-cutting theme across all discussions, “Equity should be the primary focus when considering how proposed programs or projects would impact all populations of our community, especially populations that have been historically under-served or marginalized. This includes people of color, residents living in poverty, people with disabilities, and older adults.”

Other themes across discussions included prioritizing community need and sustainability.

Community Foundation Executive Director Tory Irgang presented six recommendations based on the input sessions including that the spending of the federal monies should have personnel, whether internal or contracted, to oversee and report out on the process. Irgang said another recommendation was for the city to consider how to use the dollars to encourage new small businesses and increase the number of minority- women-owned business enterprises, “Since neighborhoods was probably the most discussed topic at any of the sessions, and looking at what it would take to stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods, you need people to do the work. And our city, while it has many talented people, we would not have enough resources to do all of the work that needs to be done in a really compacted time frame.”

The report recommended the city utilize community-based organizations to expand the scope of projects possible and to also use those groups to help run programs that expand the city’s reach.
Irgang said projects should be prioritized in how they can leverage the ARP funding with other funding sources in the community including philanthropic or Foundation dollars, “Many of the foundations are already investing in things that are able to do a slice, but perhaps with ARP funding they could be taken to greater scale. Along the same lines, we ask that you leverage the experience of community based organizations who have already learned and may have those lessons learned to share in doing more of the work.”

The last recommendation was that equity be considered for all aspects of the funding.
Council member at large Kim Ecklund said sustainability was one thing she’s heard repeatedly from the community, departments, and businesses, “It’s great to have a windfall, but if we’re going to add 26 miles of park improvements or whatever the case may be, I gotta add staff. One doesn’t come hand-in-hand without the other and that’s the general concern. It’s great to do these windfall things and we have plenty of things this city has neglected.”

Ecklund said the infrastructure of City Hall, fire station buildings, and other structures is very important when it comes to sustainability as well.

The report by the CRCF will be made available for the public to review on the city’s website at jamestownny.gov.

Council has not yet received a resolution to review on the proposed projects to be funded by ARP monies.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley talks to Chautauqua Region Community Foundation Executive Director Tory Irgang and Community Impact Officer Liz Jones about Give Big CHQ, which will happen June 10th.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

WRFA’s Jason Sample and Liz Jones stand with the GiveBigCHQ sign following the June 6 interview on WRFA.

The Give Big CHQ fundraiser is returning to Chautauqua County.

On Thursday CRCF Executive Director Tory Irgang and project coordinator Liz Jones from Chautauqua Region Community Foundation stop by and talk with Jason Sample about #GiveBigCHQ – a county-wide fundraising promotion taking place Thursday, June 13.

The region’s only 24-hour online fundraising event will take place Thursday, June 13 and hopes to raise as many dollars as possible for over 90 local, nonprofit organizations across the county. This year, nonprofit organizations located in, or who serve communities throughout, Chautauqua County are eligible to participate.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with our friends at the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation to make this year’s event a county-wide fundraising effort,” said Tory Irgang, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation executive director.

The foundations will once again be working with GiveGab, a leading expert in giving days, to develop and support its online platform. Nonprofit organizations will have the opportunity to build a fundraising page and campaign to spread their message through email and fun, creative social media posts.

Last year’s event generated nearly $90,000 to help support over 60 organizations throughout Southern Chautauqua County.

To preview all the organizations taking part this year, visit GiveBigCHQ.org.