The Leadership Cattaraugus Scholarship Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation will be accepting applications from aspiring leaders hoping to participate in the Leadership Cattaraugus 2024 cohort through Oct. 31.

The Leadership Cattaraugus board of directors established the scholarship fund in 2018 to make program tuition more affordable to worthy individuals applying to participate in the leadership program.

The 2024 Leadership Cattaraugus program will take place from January through October. Applications are now being accepted at www.leadershipcattaraugus.org. Scholarship applicants must also apply for inclusion in the 2024 cohort.

The application is available at cattfoundation.org/apply-for-scholarships. Applicants must email their completed application to foundation@cattfoundation.org by Nov. 10 to be eligible.

The fund provides scholarships to cover the lesser of 25% of the cost of tuition or $400.

Applicants must live in and/or work in Cattaraugus County and be employed by a small (fewer than 100 employees) government entity, nonprofit or small business independently owned and operated in Cattaraugus County.

Applicants are judged by criteria including, but not limited to, the following:

·         The individual is an existing or emerging leader as demonstrated by:

• Holds a leadership position in his/her organization or expects to move into a leadership position within his/her organization in the next six to 12 months.

o   Serves as a formal or informal leader in his/her community. Examples include:

• Serving as an elected official.
• Leadership in a civic or faith-based activity outside of the workplace.
• Coaching a sport.
• Coordinating a community activity/fundraising effort, etc.

·         Has a vested interest in creating sustainable vibrant Cattaraugus County communities as demonstrated by community volunteerism and other similar activities.

• Engages in or expresses willingness to engage in community service activities (volunteerism, community campaigns, service on a board, etc.)

The 2024 cohort will be the third cohort to take place since programming was cancelled through the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is currently working with 25  aspiring leaders from the nonprofit, for-profit and government community, said Leadership Cattaraugus Program Administrator Meme Yantetsko.

Donations can be made to the Leadership Cattaraugus Scholarship Fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, 301 North Union St., Suite 203, Olean, NY 14760 or online at cattfoundation.org.

The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is the area’s supportive, responsive and trusted community foundation. Established in 1994, CRCF is growing good by connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development, human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF (27.23), email foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).