St. Boniface receives over $103,000 from Sicheri grants

/in /by
Tom Jesberger ECCF President, Janet Dellaquila, SBS Teacher; Paula Fritz Eddy ECCF Executive Director and Fr. Ross Miceli, Pastor.  Students in front are Annaliese Doran and Chase Slaughenhaupt.

Recently, the Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF) leadership had the opportunity to visit the St. Boniface pre-school. The Community Foundation provided a $68,819 grant this year for the school and for tuition assistance for the students attending the Montessori based pre-school program. In addition, ECCF granted another $34,369 to St. Boniface Church for their Faith Formation programs. These grants were made from the Frank and Josephine Sicheri Family Fund, a designated fund administered by the Foundation. 

In 2017 ECCF received an estate gift from the Zita Sicheri. Zita donated a good portion of her assets to the Community Foundation to establish the fund, in honor of her parents. The fund was designated for the sole purpose of support to the St. Boniface Catholic Church and School in her community. This fund will provide an annual gift to the church and the school, along with a donation for tuition assistance for students attending the school. 

Zita was a very private person. The written announcement in the press of Zita’s passing was short but her life was long. In the quietness of dying, she gave herself and her possessions back to God. Her and her sisters’ years of labor and frugality will greatly impact catholic education for the St. Boniface parishioners and students whose lives will be touched by her generosity. Zita was born in Toby, the daughter of Frank and Josephine DiPre Sicheri.

The Elk County Community Foundation has been helping individuals and families realize their charitable goals for over 20 years. Through the Foundation, donors can create funds to support causes they care about. It’s like having your own private foundation – but a lot easier. Funds can be started with just a minimal donation. Most can be set up in just one meeting, and your gifts are tax deductible. To find out more, call the Elk County Community Foundation at 834-2125 or visit their website at www.elkcountyfoundation.org.

Growing The Viola Fund

/in /by
Read more

ECCF open grant applications are due January 15

/in /by
Ridgway YMCA received a grant in 2020 from the Elk County Society for Special Services Fund to purchase Ipads for their preschool program

The Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF) is accepting grant applications through January 15, 2021 from 501c3 organizations who wish to apply for funding from The Harrison and Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family Fund, the Elk County Society for Special Services Fund, or the Elk County Development Fund and Fund of the Future. 

The Harrison and Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family Fund is an open grant that supports worthy projects that provide services for the residents of our communities. Their goal is to ensure that the Fund continues the good works that both Mr. & Mrs. Stackpole had done in our community during their lifetime and to support the philanthropic causes that were important to both of them.

The Elk County Society for Special Services fund is designated for any nonprofit agency which provides services for the purposes of providing Pre-K education. The application should improve programs that are already established or develop new programs. This fund will not cover direct operating expenses of an agency, rather it hopes to enhance already established programs.

The Elk County Development Fund and Fund of the Future generally look to support community development initiatives that will enhance the economic and community wellbeing of Elk County. Projects should include activities that are innovative and have a plan to sustain themselves.

For instructions on how to apply for a grant go to our website at www.elkcountyfoundation.org. Please call our office at 834-2125 with any questions. ECCF is a non-profit organization that strives to strengthen our region through development, stewardship and grant making as it works with donors to achieve their philanthropic goals.

Harrison and Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family Fund awards grant to PH Auxiliary

/in /by
Penn Highlands Elk President, Brad Chapman; Chris Lynn, Stackpole Family Advisor; Paula Fritz Eddy, ECCF Executive Director; Therese Skryzpek, Auxiliary Board member; and Jane Chapman, Secretary of the Penn Highland Auxiliary

The Harrison and Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family Fund, held at the Elk County Community Foundation, (ECCF) recently awarded a grant of $5,000.00 to Penn Highlands Auxiliary.  The Grant will be used to help support the 2020 Project Pinecrest Christmas Cheer. This grant will provide the dollars to purchase individual gifts for the residents and make available other holiday activities held at Pinecrest Manor.   

The Penn Highlands Elk Auxiliary supports a variety of projects throughout the year that benefits the health and well-being of the Community.   In addition to the annual holiday activities at Pinecrest Manor, they fill the Jaxon Bags (goodies and activities for families who are being transferred to Children’s Hospital); a Scholarship program (an award for high school students entering the medical field) and other programs as needed for the Hospital community.  The Auxiliary is able to do these projects annually with the support of the Peppermint Stick Gift Shop proceeds, in house Uniform Sales, the Penn Highlands Annual Christmas Giving and Angel Ornament Trees Campaign and grants like the one from the Harrison Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family.

Applications for the Harrison and Muriel Dauer Stackpole Family Fund are accepted and reviewed quarterly.  The next deadline is coming up January 15, 2020.  Please contact the Elk County Community Foundation at 814-834-2125 for specific deadline dates or check out their website under open grants at www.elkcountyfoundation.org.   The Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that manages over 175 endowed funds established by donors to support  area nonprofit organizations and scholarships. Donor gifts to the Foundations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Rockstar board presidents led 20 years of growth: part 2

/in /by
Tom Jesberger, on left, is congratulated on his election as Elk County Community Foundation Board President in 2019, by Gennaro Aiello, outgoing Board President.

While the first ten years of the Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF) established the framework for the organization and spearheaded its initial growth, the second decade has seen outstanding growth and expansion. Board Presidents who served during the last ten years expressed their strong support and belief in the mission of organization.

Dan Straub, serving as Board President in 2011, 2012, stated,”20 years ago I was invited to the St. Marys Country Club to hear a presentation from William Conrad, Jake Meyer and Rich Masson regarding the creation of a Community Foundation. It seemed like a worthy endeavor and I remember thinking to myself that such an organization could be very beneficial to our community.  I was eager to become involved and from that day forward did just that. Fast forward to the present day and it is with great pride that I see what has transpired to be not only a very positive part of Elk County, but also the surrounding communities.”

Don Valone, a Ridgway resident, took over as president in 2013 and 2014. In reminiscing about his term, Don said, “As a past president of the Foundation I find myself feeling the gift of satisfaction and reward. We started with a contribution from the Stackpole-Hall Foundation and continued to grow for the next 20 years from many donations from the wonderful giving people of our area. Many different funds and scholarships have been established to assist different groups and individuals to achieve their goals. It was during my presidency that we began talking with McKean County about joining us as an affiliate. This affiliation was finalized early in 2017. Our administration’s main challenge was to ensure the ground work was put in place for the governance of the affiliates in its formative years. I am happy and encouraged to see this new partnership flourish as it has.”

ECCF’s next Board President was local attorney, Jake Meyer. “I learned the value of giving to the community from my parents, particularly my father who served on many boards. I tried to follow in his footsteps in helping to establish the Elk County Community Foundation and to serve as a board member since its inception and president in 2015-2016. When president, I wrote that ‘the strength of a community is determined by its members’ who create a mission and vision, develop relationships and make commitments. It was true then and is true now, particularly in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic.  Our local community is strong. When I was president, 18 new charitable funds were created, and 74 grants and 187 scholarships were awarded. Executive Director Paula Eddy, the staff and board members worked diligently to make that happen. The ECCF community was strong then and continues to be now as the number of funds, grants, and scholarships grow.”

Gennaro Aiello, a resident of Ridgway, was Board President in 2017, 2018. “It was an honor and a privilege to serve as Community Foundation President. I was fortunate to witness the tremendous impact Foundation grants have on the quality of life for our region. The Community Foundation affords everyone the opportunity to be part of this philanthropy and create a legacy of their own”, said Gennaro.

Tom Jesberger, current board president, has served in the role during 2019 and 2020. Tom stated, “the Elk County Community Foundation, although well known in certain circles, is still unknown to a large number of individuals.  I was in the latter group until I became a board member.  The foundation, being in existence a young 20 years, has helped numerous individuals through scholarships and grants. ECCF has given away over $6 million dollars in the last 20 years, and has reached a threshold where it gives out over $500,000 every year to help local non-profits and students wanting to further their education.  A large portion of the dollars in the foundation were donated by ordinary individuals, so ECCF is a great way for anyone to leave a legacy and pay it forward to the future of Elk County and the surrounding area.”

Today, the Elk County Community Foundation is a highly regarded community institution due to the dedication and expertise of these board presidents and all members of the foundation’s board and staff, along with the acceptance of the mission of the foundation by the general public. The mission of ECCF is to strengthen our region through development, stewardship, and grant making as donors achieve their philanthropic goals. Contact ECCF at 834-2125 or eccf@elkcountyfoundation.org for more information.