COMMUNITY
IMPACT

We support local nonprofits and transformational, collaborative projects with a focus on the following impact areas:

Community Connections at Findley Lake has been providing services to community residents for over ten years. These services encourage independence and allow residents to remain in their own homes in our community as they grow older.

A recent planning process and community survey identified a lack of senior housing as a need to give aging residents the option to remain in this community near family and friends as they age. If given the opportunity, older adults tend to choose to age in community.

In early 2024, the Findley Lake Community Foundation provided a grant to Community Connections for a comprehensive engineering, environmental, and planning study for the design of a pocket community at the south end of Findley Lake offering independent and environmentally sustainable living for seniors in our community.  The grant supplements additional support already provided by the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development.  In a few short months, Community Connections has already leveraged the initial support of the FLCF into additional funding for the planning of the pocket community.

In 2024, the Findley Lake Community Foundation provided a grant to the Alexander Findley Community Library to stabilize and extend the library’s Wi-Fi.  Not only does the Wi-Fi extension help with reaching all corners of the community center in which the library resides, but it also extends beyond the building to the parking lot.  This is an important community service for the many residents – farmers, home schoolers, Amish – who cannot visit the library during normal hours.

“One of the services libraries offer is free Wi-Fi. When people are unable to come to the library during open hours, having 24-hour access to Wi-Fi is important, especially for people who don’t have Internet at home. Our library is housed in the Mina Community Center, where people can also find the town clerk, town supervisor, town assessor, Community Connections, the Historical Society, Young at Heart, and the Town Court. Many evenings, the parking lot will be full of people attending baseball or soccer games. In other words, a lot of people use the Community Center every day, and the installation of an external wireless access point will increase the range of the library’s Wi-Fi, so people can use it in the parking lot outside the front of the building, at any time.”

~ Cala Glatz Manager of Alexander Findley Community Library

In May of 2024, the Findley Lake Community Foundation invited local nonprofit and civic leaders to discuss community priorities. The meeting brought together leaders making a positive difference for Findley Lake, the surrounding residents, and visitors. 

While the health of the lake is always a priority, we asked ourselves to identify other priorities to make our community safe, livable, and beautiful.  Although we identified several worthy initiatives, one that would have the greatest opportunity to leverage partnerships and ongoing funding with the broadest impact was the development of downtown Findley Lake. 

To that end, Findley Lake Community Foundation provided a grant to Findley Lake Forward, a 501(c)3 dedicated to the economic development of Findley Lake.  Founded with seed funding from FLCF, Findley Lake Forward supported a planning process for the revitalization of downtown Findley Lake in 2023.  The plan reimagines downtown Findley Lake with safer infrastructure, a more beautiful look that retains our current charm, easier accessibility, and a better foundation for future business growth and vibrancy.  The revitalization plan brings to bear public, private, and community resources to our downtown.

The FLCF grant, born out of our recent community meeting, provides support to adorn the downtown area with wine barrels filled with beautiful flowers.  This is a first step in the downtown revitalization project that is gaining steam and will move quickly into 2025.