ECCF is Awarded the PANO Seal of Excellence

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By Amy Cherry
Staff Writer for The Daily Press

2010 has proven to be a benchmark year for the Elk County Community Foundation. In addition to celebrating their 10th anniversary and $1 million awarded in grants, the Foundation has been awarded the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) Seal of Excellence for successfully completing the Standards of Excellence certification program.

“I really think we’ve made an impact in the community,” said Paula Fritz-Eddy, Elk County Community Foundation executive director. “We’re becoming more recognizable. The board has done a superb job.”

On Friday afternoon, State Representative Matt Gabler (R-Elk/Clearfield) was on hand to present the foundation a framed certificate of achievement issued by PANO.

The Foundation voluntarily opened itself up to scrutiny by a jury of its peers who examined the ECCF for compliance with PANO’s standards.

Williams Medical Scholarship Awarded

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Recently, the Joseph A. Williams Medical Scholarship was awarded to Tim Vollmer of St. Marys, by the Elk County Community Foundation. Tim is the son of John and Patty Volmer and is pursuing a degree from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a 2004 graduate of Elk County Catholic High School. This scholarship was named for Joseph A. Williams who had worked in the lumber industry for over 67 years. Mr. Williams was always interested in civic matters and he held leadership positions with numerous community organizations including Andrew Kaul Memorial Hospital.

Farmers National Bank Presents Check to ECCF

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Recently Famers National Bank presented a $2,500 check to the Elk County Community Foundation. These funds will be included in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) which then will make grants available to area public schools to support innovative educational programs that do not fall within the typical academic program

The funds for these innovative programs are administered and distributed through the foundation, which has been designated to serve as an Educational Improvement Organization by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. In 2009, through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program and the Elk County Community Foundation, St. Marys, Johnsonburg and Ridgway Area School Districts were able to apply for grants for programming.

Ridgway Area School District Johnsonburg School District purchased a Smartboard, computer and projector for a classroom along with training for the teachers. Finally St. Marys School District purchased 7 Promethean Boards for the Middle school classrooms for the use of integrating technology, particularly the digital videos from Discover United Streaming.

Any entity authorized to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and subject to certain taxes is eligible to apply to be involved with the EITC program. Tax credits are limited to 75 percent of the business’ contribution with a maximum of $100,000 annually. If a business agrees to make the same contribution for two consecutive years, it may receive a tax credit equal to 90 percent of its contribution.

Interested participants must submit a brief application to the DCED. The application can be found at www.inventpa.com. The foundation also has applications and further information available to assist with the business application process.

Elk County Community Foundation Announces New Scholarship

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Recently the Elk County Community Foundation, (ECCF) awarded nearly $63,000 in scholarships to area students. Each scholarship is unique to the field of study, eligibility and community it serves. This year the Foundation has a new scholarship from Ridgway Area School District, which they have just turned over to the Foundation to administer. The Josh Launer Memorial Scholarship has been awarded in the past, but the School District decided to transfer the funds to the Foundation because it was the most cost effective way to manage these funds and would produce the most available dollars to the students.

The Josh Launer Memorial Scholarship was established in Josh’s memory and is a tribute to his life by his family and friends. Josh was a student at Ridgway Area High School. He enjoyed both the outdoors and anything with motors. Josh faced many challenges while in school, mainly health related, but he found that he could still manage to do, try and work hard in school. He overcame these challenges to reach his graduation in 2005 from Ridgway Area High School. Shortly after graduation, Josh underwent a heart transplant. Unfortunately, after a long battle with his health problems, Josh passed away in the fall of 2005. He is greatly missed by many. This scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating senior from RAHS that has demonstrated an ability to overcome challenges handed to them and wishes to continue their education at the college level. This year’s recipient of the Josh Launer Memorial Scholarship is Shane Munson.
In addition to the dollars these students will receive from these scholarship funds, they may receive matching dollars from PHEAA through the PATH (Partners for Access To Higher Education) program. As one of only 35 approved organizations that are PATH partners, the Elk County Community Foundation will submit each student who receives one of the scholarships that they administer to PHEAA for additional matching funding. To be eligible, the student must be enrolled in an approved Pennsylvania College or career school and be PHEAA approved. Last year, students that received ECCF scholarships received nearly $27,500 in additional grants. This is one of the reasons that many donors come to the Foundation to establish their scholarships. This program can potentially double their scholarship award through the PATH program.

The Community Foundation also assists donors who have an interest in starting a scholarship fund, whether as a general purpose or in the memory of a deceased family member or friend. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the foundation for further information on the matter.

32 South St Marys Street, Suite 4, P.O. Box 934 – Saint Marys, PA 15857 – Phone: 814-834-2125 – Fax: 814-834-2126 – Email: eccf@windstream.net

Women Who Care Grant Applications Available

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www-news.pngThe 2010 Women Who Care Grant Application will be available starting May 1, 2010 with a deadline for submission of July 15th, 2010.

The purpose of the Women Who Care (WWC) organization is to strengthen the local communities by engaging and educating women in philanthropy and issues that are important to families. The funds that were collected for the WWC will be distributed to various local charitable organizations through a grant application process. Eighty-five percent of the funds collected will be awarded each year, ten percent of the funds will become part of an endowment and five percent will cover the administrative expenses. This first year the Women Who Care realized or $14,000 with 97 members. The granting dollars available for this granting cycle will be $12,000.

Eligible awards will be limited to nonprofit organizations with current 501 (c) (3) status, schools or municipalities who serve the residents of Elk County. Requests must not duplicate the work of other local organizations, and must reflect sustainability and/or other ongoing support. Awards will be given up to $6,000. The awards may be less than the amount requested, and may consider providing matching or challenge grants.

Top grant applications will be presented to the full members at its annual meeting in the fall. At that time each Women Who Care member will have the opportunity to vote for the project(s) to be funded. A short presentation by the agency will be required at that time.

Inquiries/questions and requests for applications can be directed to Paula Fritz Eddy of the Elk County Community Foundation at 814-834-2125 or by email at eccf@windstream.net. The Women Who Care organization was established last year as a project of the Elk County Community Foundation.