Community Foundation of W. Pa. Eastern Ohio Awards $7.8M

SHARON, Pa. – The goal of the Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania & Eastern Ohio in 2018 was to help donors fill gaps in community needs, says its executive director, Kyle English.

Over the course of the year, the foundation recommended more than 2,100 grants to the 700-plus funds under its purview, and awarded more than $7.8 million.

Among the examples he points to for helping donors meet needs is the Lawrence Community Foundation, one of the foundation’s affiliates, which provided grants to agencies that work with foster children.

“To quote one of the program’s creators, ‘The thank you notes from the children brought us to tears,’ ” English says. “This past, year our fund holders were given the ability to log in to their own portal through our website where they could see their fund’s balance, view outstanding grant applications and recommend a grant immediately.”

In addition, more than $700,000 in scholarship money was awarded to students in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Among other awards were a grant to the Shenango Valley Urban League to fund a program to help high school students learn how to code, a grant from the Zekelman Fund to eliminate the wait list for a Sharon program that ensures elementary students have food to eat on weekends and awards by the Weller and O’Brien family foundation to provide meals at the Farmington Senior Center.

Meanwhile, the Ross Griffin Memorial Fund hosted its first fundraiser and made its first scholarship awards to college students and awards to centers that focus on counseling services for children.

“We abide by principal that anybody can be a philanthropist, and are excited to help community members choose their impact in 2019,” English says.

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