Oct 23, 2020 By Messenger Staff 3 min read

The Community Foundation of Greene County (CFGC) recently announced a gift of $500 was given to the Greene County Emergency Response Fund by local Chuck Carnahan State Farm Insurance Agency.

The gift provides an impact on the fund, which has made more than 30 grants totaling $126,000 to local nonprofits.

“We are so grateful for the generous support by Chuck Carnahan State Farm Agency to the Emergency Response Fund,” said Jeff McCracken, chairman of the CFGC board of directors. “Their support for the fund is a testament to their commitment to our community. We are proud to partner with them to help our residents and nonprofits weather this crisis.”

The Greene County Emergency Response Fund was established by CFGC to address local needs resulting from emergency and disaster situations in Greene County.

Partnering with Greene County United Way, the fund is held by CFGC to address immediate, short-term and long-term needs in the wake of a county emergency and provide quick, flexible grants and resources to nonprofit organizations  working with communities, people and organizations in the area who are heavily impacted by local disasters and emergencies.

“We are excited to be able to provide this gift that helps the people in Greene County find ways to navigate this pandemic,” said Carnahan. “We believe it is important to help our community and give back, especially now.”

The Emergency Response Fund has raised $130,777, which includes this gift from Chuck Carnahan State Farm Insurance Agency, since it was established in March. A list of donors and grants awarded is available on the CFGC website.

Grants from the fund have been made to health, human services and other organizations to help ensure that basic needs are met, including food, housing and healthcare, as well as operational costs associated with re-tooling functions of those organizations serving the public address health protocols.

These initial gifts have been used to address the local needs caused by the COVID-19 virus.

According to Bettie Stammerjohn, CFGC executive director, there is just more than $4,000 remaining in the Greene County Emergency Response Fund. While many nonprofits have used grants to adjust their services and activities to best serve the needs of their customers while maintaining safe and healthy protocols, the continuing pandemic still impacts Greene County’s communities.

New gifts to the Emergency Response Fund will be used to address new COVID impacts, as the moratoriums end for housing evictions and utility shutoffs, and unemployment continues in the service industry may mean more needs for grants to address these issues, Stammerjohn said.

Gifts to the Emergency Response Fund may be made by check to the Community Foundation of Greene County, using the memo line to note Emergency Response Fund, and sent to CFGC, PO Box 768, Waynesburg, PA. Gifts may also be made by credit card using the CFGC Online Donation button on the website at www.cfgcpa.org.

The Community Foundation of Greene County, a private, nonprofit, charitable 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2000, is the central philanthropic vehicle in Greene County for donations of various types and sizes.

CFGC currently manages more than $6 million in assets through 95 permanent endowed and restricted funds while awarding more than $250,000 annually in grants and scholarships.

For more information about the Greene County Emergency Response Fund and CFGC, call 24-627-2010 or email cfgcpa@gmail.com.