The Chautauqua County Crisis Response Fund has made Safe Micro-Grants available to help nonprofits prepare to re-open and adapt services as needed to meet the requirements and recommendations of health and safety guidelines.

In the first round of Safe Micro-Grants awards, 17 organizations will receive a total of $8,203. Organizations include the Audubon Community Nature Center, Campus & Community Children’s Center, Centaur Stride Inc., Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, Chautauqua Striders, Community Helping Hands, Historical Society of Dunkirk, Infinity Visual & Performing Arts, Jamestown Center City Development Corp., Jamestown Community Learning Council, Lily Dale Assembly, Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County, Prevention Works, Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, The Relief Zone, Westfield Stray Cat Rescue dba The Thrifty Kitty, and the Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club of Jamestown.

Open Safe Micro-Grants are available to help nonprofits safely re-open. Supplies and materials may include personal protective equipment, cleaning, disinfectant and sanitation supplies, hygiene or supplies for health screenings, materials for re-configuring space, or other safety supplies for the protection of employees, clients, and visitors.

The Crisis Response Fund is accepting applications for these grants, up to $500. Requests are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed weekly. The grant application and additional information are available to nonprofits on the Chautauqua County Crisis Response Fund website at chautauquagrants.org/chautauqua-county-crisis-response-fund.

To date, awards of more than $243,000 went to help organizations meet immediate, emergency, and basic human needs in our community.

For the next phase of funding, a minimum of $600,000 is available to focus on providing general operational support grants to nonprofits that have either lost revenue due to COVID-19 or experienced an increased demand for their services during this time.