A Bridge to the Future
For All of Us
The Allegany County Area Foundation (ACAF) offers an opportunity for everyone to invest in the present and future of Allegany County, NY. Support for the Foundation comes from local individuals, civic groups, businesses, and estates. We also receive a number of donations annually from persons who left Allegany County years ago but retain a fondness for their former home and want to support our local students, organizations and communities.
ACAF and the Allegany County United Way are working together to help those feeling the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Learn more about this effort.
News & Information
ACAF Grants Have Supported
Highlighted Funds
The Arts
Shake on the Lake
After School Programing
Youth Mentoring in Schools
Preserving Local History
College Scholarships
School Security Enhancement
Library Programs
What is the Allegany County Area Foundation?
Founded in 1983, the Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages donations and endowments (now $10M) and devotes the earnings from those funds to efforts that serve the educational, social, cultural and wellness needs of Allegany County residents. The Foundation awards scholarships to individuals and grants to community non-profits. It helps organizations secure their futures by managing endowment funds and works with individuals (and their advisors) – helping them to establish endowments that create a lasting benefit to their causes and interests.
Why a community foundation?
The community foundation movement started with the founding of the Cleveland (OH) Foundation in 1914. There are now 700 such organizations in the US, and 1700 worldwide. ACAF is in this tradition. Community foundations provide for the pooling of donations and efficient investing of funds and coordinated grantmaking for the benefit of a specific community or region.
What We do
The Allegany County Area Foundation was established in 1983, with scholarships our primary focus. That continues to be our main activity, though our grantmaking has increased significantly in recent years. We currently manage 37 scholarship and 23 grant programs that have been created through gifts and endowments from individuals, business and organizations. These funds and the students and programs they support are described on the pages of this web site.
Our annual support for Allegany County approximates $250,000 for scholarships, and $60,000 in grants. ACAF’s assets of $10,000,000 are invested with Vanguard and overseen by the Foundation’s Investment Committee.
What fund options does the Foundation have?
ACAF offers donors the opportunity to establish (or support existing) Field of Interest funds, Donor-Advised funds, general unrestricted funds, and scholarships.
ACAF Founder Peter Sprague: A man with a vision and on a mission
Judge Peter Sprague, founding member of the Board of Directors of the Allegany County Area Foundation had a vision and a belief…
Scholarships 2020
Allegany County produces many outstanding students and ACAF is pleased that we are able provide them with $275,000 in scholarships for this upcoming 2020-2021 school year. We encouraged recipients to send a photo. Shown below are several of these young adults that benefitted from the generosity of our donors.
More News
Cuba and Genesee libraries, GVCS, Wellsville Cemetery Project Benefit from ACAF Grants
(April 2021) Genesee Library, Genesee Valley Central School, Cuba Circulating Library, and the Wellsville American Legion were approved for grants at the Allegany County Area Foundation’s (ACAF) March 24 meeting. The Foundation’s Robert Christian Fund, which supports...
Shop With A Cop Grant Supports Foster Care Christmas Party
(Dec. 2019) When the Wellsville Kmart closed in March of this year, it effectively ended the local Shop With A Cop (SWAC) program. This summer, the SWAC Committee used its remaining resources to set up an endowed fund with the Allegany County Area Foundation. The...
ACAF Grant Benefits Pioneer Oil Museum
(Oct 2019) The Allegany County Area Foundation recently presented a $1000 grant to the Pioneer Oil Museum. This support came from ACAF’s Allegany Fund, which supports a variety of Allegany County non-profit organizations The Foundation funds were used to help pay for...
Grant Supports Friendship Library’s Virtual Reality Program
(OCT 2019) The Allegany County Area Foundation recently presented a grant to the Friendship Free Library for its new virtual reality program. The funds will be used to purchase Oculus Go headsets. This Tinker VR activity, which will serve 4th – 8th graders, has been...
