They are everywhere, those philanthropists whose names grace our community institutions, and we think, “That’s not me. My puny bank account can’t make a difference.”
But your local community foundation has a message for you: You can leave a legacy. Your assets can live on, supporting the causes you care about. Each is different, uniquely tailored to local needs and values, but whether they’re in Lancaster, York or Harrisburg, community foundations amplify your voice and your dollars for lasting impact.
Adams County Community Foundation
- Total assets: $12 Million
- Grants awarded in 2016: $728,151
Everyone has “their own individual charitable giving style,” says Ralph M. Serpe, president and CEO of the Adams County Community Foundation (adamscountycf.org). “Because we’re able to create individual charitable funds within this large umbrella of a community foundation, your own style can shine through.”
Founded in 2007, ACCF has $12 million in assets. That’s relatively small, but the foundation grew by 35 percent in 2016, drawing on the passion of donors who “are deeply rooted to the land, their families and friends, and their experiences here,” says Serpe.
Hands-on philanthropy: ACCF accepts gifts to any fund, in any amount. Its fields of interest focus on education, the environment, and children and youth, plus a targeted initiative for affordable housing. Every November, the ACCF Giving Spree hosts a night of fun and education for community members and 70 non-profits. “We believe that philanthropy is a learned behavior,” says Serpe. “We want to give the people in Adams County the opportunity to teach children, family members, friends and coworkers how to be generous.”
Gateway to giving: ACCF requires $25,000 to start a named fund, but the foundation can help donors start pre-minimum disbursements, because “giving is not fun unless you’re giving it away,” says Serpe.
Best of all, he adds, community foundations stay focused on issues important to donors “independent of election cycles and independent of economic cycles. We’re trying to grow this permanent civic endowment so this local community can be in charge of its own charitable destiny.”
Lancaster County Community Foundation
- Total assets: Nearly $100 Million
- Grants awarded in 2016: $10 Million ($7 million generated through the Extraordinary Give)
For decades after its founding in 1924, Lancaster County Community Foundation (lancfound.org) quietly raised funds for community causes. But around 2008, the CEO and board of directors stepped into “the catalyzing of community resources, bringing together different segments at the intersection of business, education and nonprofit organizations, looking to find energy and solutions,” says executive vice president Tracy Cutler.
Maybe you’re familiar with Lancaster Foundation’s extraordinarily successful Extraordinary Give, which has raised $22.5 million since 2012. Still, the foundation isn’t defined by a single campaign.
Consider this: 90 percent of people make donations to the causes they care about. But only 7 percent have established provisions so the gifts continue after their lifetimes.
“People are very invested in their communities,” says Cutler. “But we haven’t had the collective conversation about how we make that impact last beyond today.
Gateway to giving: Donors can establish a named fund with $10,000 accumulated over five years. The foundation’s unrestricted endowment is its I Love Lancaster fund.
“There don’t have to be lots of zeros on the end of your income in order to participate,” says Jessica Mailhot, director of Forever Lancaster. “It can be done easily through lots of instruments.”
For fewer dollars, donors can contribute to an existing fund or one of Lancaster County Community Foundation’s field of interest funds in animal advocacy, arts and culture, education, food and agriculture, social enterprise, housing, historic preservation, human relations, refugees or water quality.
Lancaster County Community Foundation’s Great Social Enterprise Pitch (lancasterpitch.com) helps socially minded entrepreneurs hone their ideas, solicit crowdfunding and compete for cash and services.
“We’re trying to understand what’s meaningful in our community,” says Mailhot. “Our role is to embolden people and help them advance their ideas so we’re able to create a stronger base and foundation for everyone.”
The Foundation for Enhancing Communities
- Total assets: $90 Million
- Grants awarded in 2016: $4.3 Million
Founded in 1920, the Foundation for Enhancing Communities is looking toward its 100th anniversary. The Harrisburg-based TFEC (tfec.org) covers Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon and Perry counties, as well as the Dillsburg Area, with its Fund for the Future endowment. It also encompasses six regional unrestricted funds—the Greater Harrisburg Foundation, Mechanicsburg Area Foundation, Franklin County Foundation, Perry County Community Foundation, Camp Hill Community Foundation and Dillsburg Area Foundation.
“You can make a gift to any fund here, or you can create your own fund during your life, and/or create a fund upon your passing,” says president and CEO Janice R. Black.
Like the Lancaster and York foundations, TFEC serves as a “catalyst in the community,” says Black. “A community foundation, because of its neutrality, can bring people to the table to discuss important things and get conversations going.” Community dialogs on LGBT issues and homelessness have even incubated nonprofits that now stand on their own. “They started out as a little acorn and grew into a full-grown tree that is very, very sturdy,” says Black.
Hands-on philanthropy:
- The Women’s Fund is a “collective philanthropic movement” devoted to the causes of women and girls, says vice president of development and community investment Jennifer Doyle. Gifts of $1,000 and up (completed over five years) go toward creating a $1 million endowment, now about one-third funded, and toward annual grants for causes that included, in 2016, maternity and health care, homelessness, breast cancer, literacy, computer coding and enhancing resiliency in girls with ADHD. The popular Power of the Purse fundraiser spotlights female philanthropy in an atmosphere of fun, food and shopping.
- In partnership with Harrisburg Young Professionals, the Emerging Philanthropist Program educates emerging business and community leaders on the power of philanthropy. Each year’s class culminates with a $5,000 grant for a non-profit. Participants need only donate whatever is comfortable for them—there is no minimum—and help with fundraising and the program’s visibility. EPP’s Harrisburg Hoopla fundraiser pits teams against each other in a sort of grown-up field day.
York County Community Foundation
- Total assets: $141 Million
Grants awarded in 2016: $5.2 Million
Gifts awarded through donations in 2016: $4.7 Million
York County Community Foundation (yccf.org) is a strategic grant maker “focusing resources on key community needs and trying to move the needle in those areas,” says president and CEO Jane M. Conover. It works in partnership with leading community organizations, and those areas where the needle has moved include providing high-quality education in the city and county, revitalizing the city and municipalities, and expanding services to and changing attitudes about older adults.
The civic lights who founded York County Community Foundation “laid a wonderful foundation,” says vice president and chief development officer Bryan K. Tate. Today, the foundation keeps growing “because we’re including so many more people and so many more types of people who realize they want to leave a legacy in our community.”
Hands-on philanthropy: Many donors today want a say in deciding where their money goes. At York County Community Foundation, opportunities for hands-on philanthropy include YorIt and the Women’s Giving Circle.
YorIt stresses experiential philanthropy. Half of each member’s $600 entry fee goes toward an endowment fund. The other half supports a social venture challenge, open to competitors seeking funds to launch their ideas for a more vibrant York.
Women’s Giving Circle (yorkwgc.org) pools members’ entry fees, ranging from $500 to $1,500 and up. Members scrutinize community issues regarding urban revitalization, education and diversity. They enlist partners on the path to finding new approaches, and they identify opportunities through competitive proposals.
Gateway to giving: Tate walks donors through their options. Some design a fund while they’re living. Others design it now but fund it through their wills. Many people don’t have all of the $25,000 minimum needed to create a named fund, but they have five years to accumulate the money, and the foundation will help get them there.
Unrestricted donations can support the Fund for York County or the Fund for Greater Hanover endowments. Donations can also be devoted to field of interest funds in agriculture and land preservation, arts and culture, children and youth, community development, education, embracing aging, environment, and health and human needs.
“Through all of these cases, York County Community Foundation is here to help every donor create a charitable fund that supports what matters most to them,” says Tate.
