Corning, NY- On Tuesday Corning Enterprises announced it would match all Buy Now, Shop Later purchases up to a total of $100,000 or a deadline of April 30, whichever came first. Corning’s Gaffer District is pleased to announce that the match has been met and another sponsor, Corning Credit Union, has stepped up.
The program was created to rapidly infuse cash into Gaffer District businesses during this devastating and unprecedented time of uncertainty and financial insecurity.
Chris Sharkey, president of Corning Enterprises, said, “We are thrilled. The community’s response to support our Gaffer District businesses has been nothing short of extraordinary. When we committed the $100,000 match to our businesses on Tuesday, we expected it to cover purchases for three weeks, instead we achieved that match in just three days."
Coleen Fabrizi, executive director of Corning's Gaffer District, said "This means $200,000 has been pumped into our small businesses in just a few days. What a testament to the incredible passion people from our community and beyond have for our downtown and our small businesses in particular. The response from the participating businesses has been one of immense appreciation and to quote one in particular, 'Thank you for making us feel essential.'"
Fabrizi also announced Friday afternoon Corning Credit Union pledged an additional $50,000 match to start immediately, "I never dreamed that the match program would expand, there are no words to express our gratitude to Corning Credit Union for their pledge, we are truly a blessed community."
“We were thrilled to learn that our community has responded so generously to support our downtown businesses,” said Gary Grinnell, Corning Credit Union President & CEO. “This has been an incredible bright spot and Corning Credit Union is proud to keep the matching donations going.”
Fabrizi said, "All monies donated to this fund will be used to make matching payments to business based on gift certificate sales in Corning's Gaffer District's Buy Now, Shop Later program (i.e. as long as the matching funds are available for every $20 gift certificate purchased, the business will receive $20 cash and $20 for the value of the purchased gift card)."
Go to gafferdistrict.com/buy-now-shop-later to see the list of participating businesses if you would like to purchase a gift card or certificate.
