Elk County Community Foundation Grants $1,000,000 over the past 10 years!

Recently, Elk County Community Foundation reported that the grant given to the Ridgway Volunteer Fire Department for the purchase of their new tanker’s equipment marked the $1 millionth dollar granted since the Foundation was established 10 year ago. The Ridgway Firemen plan to help host an Open House commemorating the Foundation’s Anniversary. The event will take place at the Central Hose Company on 30 North Broad St., March 24th from 6 to 8 pm. A short presentation will take place at 7 pm. This event is open to the public!

During the 1990’s a group of business and civic leaders worked together to explore and discuss establishing a Community Foundation in the Elk County Area. After thorough research it was determined to establish a Community Foundation. The Foundation was organized in 1999, and a year later was incorporated and classified as a non-profit organization. At the time Bill Conrad of Stackpole-Hall Foundation described the Elk County Community Foundation as something that “provides individuals with an opportunity to financially provide for charitable and community organizations that they believe in and want to see endure in the long term.” Also at the time of inception the founding President of the Foundation was Richard Masson who described the foundation as a “chance for an individual to see their charitable intentions carried on from generation to generation”.

The Elk County Community Foundation connects people who care with causes that matter. For the Fire Department the person who cared about them was Sara-Jane Stackpole who, in her estate plans, designated dollars to the Elk County Community Foundation to be use for the special needs of the Ridgway Volunteer Fire Department. This is just one of 68 permanent charitable funds the Foundation manages that improve the quality of life in Elk and surrounding counties. Revenues from these funds provide grants and scholarships to nonprofit organizations and students, just as the donor intended.

The Foundation is growing with each passing year, and it will continue to help generation after generation. Meanwhile, the Foundation continues to enable individuals to achieve their philanthropic goals intelligently, creatively and effectively. If you have question or want to be a part of the future of our area, contact Paula Fritz Eddy at 814-834-2125 or www.elkcountyfoundation.com.