M&T BANK SUPPORTS CMLF WITH $10,000 DONATION

The Charitable Contributions Committee of M & T Bank recently awarded the Chautauqua Microenterprise Loan Fund (CMLF) with a gift that will allow the program to provide more loan capital to new and existing business owners in Chautauqua County.

On Monday afternoon, Bradley Dossinger, assistant Vice-President and the Western NY Regional CRA Officer for M&T Bank, will present a check in the amount of $10,000 to the Chautauqua Microenterprise Loan Fund at their offices in Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. on 17 Courtney Street in Dunkirk. Dossinger has worked with other microloan programs in New York State and assisted the CMLF to help make this gift possible. Also in attendance will be Jane Russo, Manager of the M & T Tops Dunkirk Branch and a member of the CMLF Loan Committee.

Bradley Dossinger, assistant vice president & WNY Regional CRA Officer for M&T Bank, presents a $10,000 check to CMLF coordinator Sarah Tranum at COI. Also pictured are, from left, Rebecca Condon, Dunkirk / Sheridan Empire Zone coordinator, COI Executive Director Roberta Keller, and Jane Russo, manager of M&T Bank Tops Dunkirk Branch and also a Microloan committee member.

The Chautauqua Microenterprise Loan Fund recently approved its fourteenth loan having disbursed over $105,300 in loan capital to area entrepreneurs. This is the second charitable gift that M&T Bank has made to this program. In August of 2000, the M&T Charitable Contributions Committee awarded the CMLF with a grant for $1,800, which allowed the program to purchase loan management software used to track and manage its loan portfolio.

Funded by a Small Cities Block Grant awarded to Chautauqua County by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. (COI) and the Dunkirk / Sheridan Empire Zone, the mission of the Chautauqua Microenterprise Loan Fund is to make capital and technical assistance available to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in Chautauqua County in order to create business opportunities and employment for low to moderate income individuals. Loans ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 are available to new and existing business owners in Chautauqua County.

If you are interested in applying for a loan with the Chautauqua Microenterprise Loan Fund or have any questions about the program, contact Sarah Tranum, CMLF Coordinator at (716) 366-3333 ext. 230 or visit their website at www.chautauquaopportunities.com.

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