Washington County Community Foundation Inc

TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY BY PROMOTING AND FACILITATING PHILANTHROPY. THE WASHINGTON COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION (FOUNDATION) TYPICALLY RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE A PRESENCE OR RESIDE WITHIN WASHINGTON COUNTY.

GRANT-MAKING THE FOUNDATION OPERATES A BROAD GRANTS PROGRAM TO MULTIPLE GRANTEES WHICH IS NOT LIMITED TO A SINGLE FOCUS OR CAUSE OR EXCLUSIVELY TO THE INTERESTS OF A PARTICULAR CONSTITUENCY. EACH YEAR WE AWARD SOME GRANTS FROM DISCRETIONARY RESOURCES, THROUGH AN OPEN AND COMPETITIVE PROCESS THAT SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE CHANGING AND UNMET NEEDS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. MANY GRANTS ARE ISSUED TO ENABLE LOCAL CHARITIES TO INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY TO BETTER MEET THEIR MISSIONS THROUGH THE PURCHASE OF TECHNOLOGY, IMPROVED FINANCIAL REPORTING, MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, STRATEGIC PLANS, INCREASED STAFFING, ETC. THE TWO LARGEST CAPACITY-BUILDING GRANTS AWARDED IN 2021 WERE: $250,000 TO WASHINGTON COMMUNITIES HUMAN SERVICES FOR STAFFING AND REBRANDING; AND $150,000 TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES OF SOUTHWESTERN PA FOR A LINE OF CREDIT COLLATERALIZATION. ADDITIONALLY, DUE TO AN INFLUX OF DISCRETIONARY GRANT-MAKING DOLLARS, THE FOUNDATION RESTRUCTURED ITS ANNUAL COMPETITIVE GRANTS CYCLES SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPORT CAPACITY-BUILDING ENDEAVORS. A TOTAL OF $410,000 IN CAPACITY-BUILDING GRANTS WAS ISSUED THROUGH THE COMPETITIVE CYCLES, WITH AWARDS RANGING FROM $5,000 TO $50,000. THE RECIPIENTS INCLUDED 31 DIFFERENT CHARITIES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE GRANTS WERE ISSUED FROM A VARIETY OF COMPONENT FUNDS. THESE COMPETITIVE CYCLES ALSO PRESENTED THE FOUNDATION WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AREA THROUGH ITS SUPPORT OF THE MON VALLEY ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, WHICH RECEIVED $50,000 TO PURCHASE A FORMER BANK BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN MONONGAHELA. THE BUILDING WILL SERVE AS BOTH THE HOME OF THE MON VALLEY ALLIANCE AND CORRESPONDING MON VALLEY ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, WHICH WERE FORMERLY LOCATED IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. THE FACILITY WILL ALSO HOUSE THE MON VALLEY BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER, WHICH WILL BE A HUB FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, SUPPORT SERVICES, AND INCU-BATION FOR NEW AND GROWING BUSINESSES IN THE MON VALLEY REGION.GRANTS OF $127,597 WERE AWARDED TO LOCAL FIRST RESPONDER ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS. GRANTS OF $86,800 WERE AWARDED TO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO PURCHASE TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER MATERIALS. POST-SECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS TOTALING $289,650 WERE AWARDED TO LOCAL STUDENTS, THE LARGEST OF WHICH WAS $72,000 TO A SINGLE STUDENT. SCHOLARSHIPS OF $213,641 WERE AWARDED TO FINANCIALLY-NEEDY FAMILIES FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING ONE OF SEVERAL PRIVATE K-12 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE AREA. UNFORTUNATELY, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS HAVE BEEN NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THE UNPRECEDENTED DISRUPTIONS TO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. AS THE RESULT OF CHANGES IN ELIGIBILITY OR ALTERED EDUCATION PLANS, STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP REVERSALS TOTALED $79,505 IN 2021. THIS SUM REPRESENTS BOTH REFUNDS AS WELL AS THE CANCELLATION OF PAYMENTS THAT WERE EX-PECTED TO BE ISSUED OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS.IN ADDITION TO GRANT-MAKING FUNDS WHOSE SPECIFIC CHARITABLE PURPOSES WERE DEFINED BY THE DONORS AT THE TIME THE FUNDS WERE CREATED, THE FOUNDATION ALSO MANAGES FIVE PERMANENT POOLED GRANT-MAKING FUNDS, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY MULTIPLE DONORS WHO SHARE A COMMON CHARITABLE INTEREST. THE ARTS FUND BENEFITS ARTS EDUCATION, ARTS APPRECIATION, AND CULTURAL AND HISTORIC PROJECTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. THE MOTHER'S FUND SUPPORTS DISADVANTAGED WOMEN AND CHILDREN. THE VISION FUND SUPPORTS VISION SERVICES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SUPPORTING VISUALLY-IMPAIRED YOUTH FROM BIRTH TO AGE 18. THE ANIMAL FUND SUPPORTS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE CARE AND PROTECTION OF ANIMALS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE ACORN FUND SUPPORTS EMERGING AND UNMET NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP THE FOUNDATION WORKS TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AND ALSO SERVES AS A LEADER AND CONVENER. THE FOUNDATION PROVIDES VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO AREA CHARITIES, BOTH IN A GROUP SETTING AND ON AN INDIVIDUALIZED BASIS. SINCE 2013, THE FOUNDATION HAS HOSTED A COUNTY-WIDE DAY OF GIVING FOR ELIGIBLE CHARITIES SERVING WASHINGTON COUNTY TO SECURE UNRESTRICTED FINANCIAL SUPPORT. CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED ON WCCF GIVES DAY ARE INCREASED BY A PERCENTAGE OF A $100,000 BONUS POOL. THE WCCF DOES NOT CHARGE ANY FEES TO THE CHARITIES OR TO THE DONORS TO FACILITATE WCCF GIVES. WCCF GIVES 2021 RESULTED IN GRANTS OF MORE THAN $1,500,000 TO LOCAL CHARITIES.THE FOUNDATION'S CLOSE TO HOME DISASTER & EMERGENCY FUND PROVIDES GRANTS TO HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER NONPROFITS SERVING WASHINGTON COUNTY, IN RESPONSE TO LOCAL DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. SINCE THE ONSET OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, SUPPORT HAS BEEN ISSUED TO ADDRESS IMMEDIATE NEEDS, SHORT-TERM NEEDS, AND LONG-TERM NEEDS RELATED TO THE VIRUS. IN 2021, GRANTS OF $220,000 WERE AWARDED FROM THE FUND, AND INITIATIVES RELATED TO HOUSING RE-CEIVED THE TWO LARGEST GRANTS. BLUEPRINTS RECEIVED A GRANT OF $50,000 FOR ITS HOMEOWNERSHIP PANDEMIC RELIEF PROGRAM AND CONNECT RECEIVED A GRANT OF $50,000 FOR ITS SECURITY DEPOSIT PROGRAM.THE FOUNDATION ALSO ADMINISTERS THE HEART OF GIVING STORYBOOK PROJECT WHICH SEEKS TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE IMPORTANT WORK BEING DONE BY CHARITIES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. STORIES, WHICH ARE OFTEN WRITTEN BY FOUNDATION VOLUNTEERS, ARE INCLUDED ON A DESIGNATED WEBSITE OF THE FOUNDATION, AND ARE SHARED IN VARIOUS PRINTED AND ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS. THERE IS NO COST TO CHARITIES FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE STORYBOOK PROJECT.

DONOR SERVICES THE FOUNDATION WORKS TO EDUCATE AND ENGAGE DONORS IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING COMMUNITY ISSUES AND GRANT-MAKING OPPORTUNITIES. WE ACCEPT AND ADMINISTER A DIVERSITY OF GIFT AND FUND TYPES TO MEET THE VARIED PHILANTHROPIC OBJECTIVES OF OUR DONORS AND THE NEEDS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. AS A SERVICE TO DONORS, WE MAINTAIN ON OUR WEBSITE A SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF MORE THAN 100 REGISTERED 501(C)(3) LOCAL CHARITIES PROVIDING SERVICES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, WHICH HAVE BEEN VETTED BY THE FOUNDATION. THROUGH SEVERAL PRINTED AND ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS, THE FOUNDATION HELPS TO EDUCATE DONORS REGARDING EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS BEING OFFERED BY THESE CHARITIES. WE ALSO PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE AND RESEARCH SERVICES TO DONORS REGARDING AREA NON-PROFITS.