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Allentown, Pa., May 18, 2022—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation recently distributed more than $185,000 in general operating grants to area nonprofits serving youth and families as part of its foundation-directed community investments grantmaking.

The Community Foundation manages several different area-of-interest funds that are focused on supporting Lehigh Valley youth and families, including The Edward & Inez Donley Fund; Walter & Alma Bastian Fund; Outdoor Recreation Fund for Youth; Robert D. & Gwendolyn-Jane Romeril Campership Fund; Lucille F. Driver Fund, and support from Roger and Kathy Yott.

“The Community Foundation’s goal in awarding these grants is to offer flexible funding to organizations that provide comprehensive approaches in engaging youth and their families in seeking a pathway for meaningful life aspirations,” explained Megan Briggs, LVCF’s Director of Community Investments.  “Guided by the communities they serve, these organizations prioritize either mental health needs in young people or focus on youth leadership development.”

Organizations receiving grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 in 2021-22 are:

• Bethany Christian Services (Bethany) of Greater Delaware Valley (GDV)
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley
• Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, Inc.
• Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
• Camelot for Children
• Casa Guadalupe Center
• Cedar Crest College
• Cohesion Network
• Community Bike Works
• Community Services for Children Inc
• Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology, Inc.
• Family Connection of Easton
• Fine Feather Foundation Inc. (fiscally sponsored by Holy District BIC)
• Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania
• Greater Valley YMCA
• Lehigh University Community Service Office
• Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living
• Lehigh Valley Girls Rock
• Mercy School For Special Learning
• Mikayla’s Voice
• Pinebrook Family Answers
• Pratyush Sinha Foundation
• Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley: I Can Be Program
• REACH LV Youth Recovery Center, a division of Recovering Adolescents and Friends Together, Inc.
• Resurrected Community Development Corporation
• Shiloh Baptist Church DBA Greater Shiloh Church
• The Children’s Home of Easton
• The Fe Foundation
• Third Street Alliance for Women & Children
• Unidos Inc
• United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley

The grants applications were evaluated by the Youth & Families Advisory Grant Committee which included both content and context experts in the field of youth and families. The committee representatives included several diverse perspectives including age, geography, race, ethnicity, income, and gender. Applications were evaluated based on the organization’s area of focus, the population they serve, and how they are guided by the community in proving transformational youth services in an equitable manner.  Learn more about LVCF’s foundation-directed grantmaking – click here.

Building a Better Future, One Person at a Time

Allentown, Pa., March 15, 2022—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) announced the establishment of the Andrew Budraitis Foundation Scholarship that will award two $7,500 scholarships annually to recipients majoring in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) field and attending a college in the greater Lehigh Valley Area. The scholarships will support one Lehigh Valley veteran and one non-veteran, both with priority given to those with financial need.

The scholarship is established in memory of Andrew Budraitis, a lifelong resident of the Lehigh Valley, and is intended to pay tribute to him and remember his life. “When we lost my dad last November, I wanted to be a part of something that would honor him and pay tribute to the life he lived,” explained Brian Budraitis. “We all thought what better way to do that than to start the Andrew Budraitis Foundation Scholarship. I’m grateful for our partnership with the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and all of the help they have provided us along the way.”

Budraitis served in the United States Army, 82nd Airborne Division until 1981. After being honorably discharged at the end of his term, he worked temporarily at a sod farm before eventually being hired by Air Products and Chemicals. While there, he took night classes at Muhlenberg College, earning his bachelor’s degree within 9 years. His hard work and dedication paid off. He excelled within his career at Air Products, leading to global, senior Director positions within Information Technology.

“My husband Andy was an incredible leader and mentor to others—and a veteran,” explained Alyssa Budraitis. “I saw first-hand, the careers he greatly helped and supported throughout his career in the STEM field. As a non-traditional student, it took him many years at night to get his college education. He valued and encouraged others to get their degree as well.”

“Our family grew up in the Lehigh Valley and spent our lives here. In working with the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and creating a foundation in Andy’s name, it enables us to honor him and give back to our local community and our veterans in a way that is important to us.” Alyssa noted.

A Selection Committee will choose the scholarship recipients each year based on an application process administered by the committee. Two scholarships will be annually awarded to one high school senior graduating from a school within the Lehigh Valley, or any individual who has already graduated from a school within the Lehigh Valley, who plans to attend a two or four-year post-secondary institution.

“We are so pleased that the Budraitis family chose to establish their scholarship fund at the Community Foundation,” said Carrie Krug Nedick, LVCF’s Director of Donors Services. “It’s inspiring to see families like theirs preserve the memory of their loved ones in a way that helps others. It is so fitting that this scholarship will help students by providing that added financial assistance that’s needed to make a college education possible.”

The application period is now open for the 2022 veterans scholarship and closes on April 30, 2022. To learn more about applying for a scholarship or making a donation to the Andrew Budraitis Foundation Scholarship Fund, visit: https://budraitisfoundation.org.

Allentown, Pa., March 10, 2022—The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is proudly supporting Artist Bart Cooper’s exhibit and related programs titled, “Heroes: My heroes actually have real superpowers,” an installment of Cooper’s powerful artwork depicting ten Black women and their impact on American and world history.

“When we saw the Heroes collection and learned more about Bart Cooper’s efforts to engage and educate the community about the impactful roles powerful Black women have played throughout history—we were eager to help make it a success,” said Erika Riddle Petrozelli, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We are so pleased that Faces International, in partnership with ArtsQuest and the United Way of the Lehigh Valley were able to bring an exhibit that is so creative and powerful to our area. Bart Cooper’s ability to generate conversations on social justice and equity by applying the lens of popular culture to illustrate the strength and resilience of these women is a ‘superpower’ onto itself—we couldn’t be more impressed by this work.”

Through his work, Cooper strategically intertwines the real with the fictitious characters of modern-day heroism through the contemporary use of mixed media to create portraits of powerful black women, matching them to suitable Marvel characters to highlight the connection between America’s favorite comic characters, and the country’s history of brave and impactful Black women leaders. “Their intelligence, their trials and tribulations, their willingness to lead shows strength and resilience. These people had powers and practiced them rigorously, and not only for themselves, but for others,” says the artist, Bart Cooper.

The Heroes Exhibition presenting partners are Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and PPL Corporation. Community partner sponsors are Crayola, Moravian University, United Way Women United, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Capital Blue Cross and People First Federal Credit Union.

The exhibition opens on March 18 and will be free to the public seven days a week at ArtsQuest’s Banana Factory Arts Center. The exhibition will be accompanied by virtual seminars exploring topics such as: What is Fine Art, The Business of Art and the Impact of Art, spread across March, April and May. To learn more about the “Heroes” project, programming and artwork, visit heroeslv.com.

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, a southwestern neighboring country. Several officials and analysts called the invasion the largest conventional military attack in Europe since World War II. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a refugee crisis across Europe has already amounted with more than one million Ukrainians fleeing the country during the first week of the invasion.

This list is an abbreviated list of organizations that come recommended by the Council on Foundations.

You can view the full list here. 

U.S.-based organizations to donate to:

• Center for Disaster Philanthropy responds to humanitarian needs, particularly among internally displaced peoples and refugees.
• Direct Relief distributes donated medicine and medical supplies to Ukrainian healthcare providers.
• GlobalGiving supports humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where refugees have fled.
• King Baudouin Foundation United States – Sending resources to 3 “boots on the ground” organizations in Ukraine: People in Need – Ukraine, Caritas – Ukraine, and Polish Red Cross
• United Nations Foundation – Ukraine Humanitarian Fund – Your donation will help the UN and our humanitarian partners operating in Ukraine through the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund – one of the quickest and most effective ways to directly support urgent humanitarian relief on the ground..

The organizations on this list are ones that were recommended by local churches or LVCF fundholders.

Local Recommendations:

• United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Inc.  – Your donations will be used for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment sent to our contacts and volunteer network in Ukraine.
• The Jewish Federation – Through the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley – The Jewish Federation is participating in a continental special campaign to assist Jews in Ukraine.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee: Ukrainian Emergency Relief Fund – In more than 1,000 locations across Ukraine, JDC provides a lifeline for an estimated 40,000 Jewish elderly and 2,500 poor Jewish children and their families through its network of care services
• International Rescue Committee: Ukraine – Over 1 million refugees have been forced to flee Ukraine. Help the IRC send vital supplies to displaced children and families.

Upper Bucks Community FundAllentown, Pa., March 3, 2022—The Upper Bucks Community Fund of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation issued $35,680 in grants to area nonprofit organizations. The Fund consists primarily of two area-of-interest funds. The Richard E. Gasser Fund and Erwin J. and Gertrude K. Neusch Fund are for organizations and programs primarily serving the Palisades, Pennridge and Quakertown School Districts in the Upper Bucks area.

These grants were made at the recommendation of the advisory committee for the Upper Bucks Community Fund, a geographic affiliate of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. “The Upper Bucks Community Fund Advisory Group carefully considered each application in accordance with the fund’s priorities,” said Megan Briggs, Director of Community Investments at the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. “After a very thorough discussion about all the excellent applications, the Advisory Group worked together to recommend the final grant awards. Each member contributed their own depth of knowledge about the Upper Bucks region again this year to award projects and programs that will increase the quality of life for Upper Bucks residents.”

The following organizations received grants for programs from the fund in 2022. The funded programs are listed as well.

• Advocates for the Homeless of Upper Bucks (AHUB): Outreach Care (ORC)
  Outreach Care Homeless Ministry – 1
• Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
  DEI training on LGBTQ equity for youth-serving organizations in Upper Bucks County
• Cooks Creek Watershed Association
  Cooks Creek Watershed Stream Invertebrate Catalog
  Cooks Creek Watershed Educational Map
• Durham Historical Society
  “Durham Valley’s role in the ever-changing industrial history of the area:  pre-Colonial to today”
• KidsPeace
  KidsPeace Foster Care Community Education
• Lenape Chamber Ensemble
  Lenape Chamber Ensemble – Children’s Concerts in the Round
• National Inventors Hall of Fame, Inc.
  Camp Invention STEM Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship Programs
• Palisades Community Chorus
  Winter Concert 2022:  “Together at Last!”
• Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
  Upper Bucks Outreach for FreeWill, Shakespeare for Kids and WillPower*
• Phoebe Richland Health Care Center
  Senior Resident Engagement for Phoebe Richland Continuing Care Retirement Community
• Quakertown Alive!
  A​rts Alive! Fine Arts Spring Festival 2022
• Quakertown Historical Society
  Burgess Foulke House/The Museum/Liberty Hall Computer & Printer Replacement
• Riegelsville Public Library
  Art for Kids in the Summer
• The “Drop” at the Quakertown Community Center
  The Drop at the Quakertown Community Center

About the Upper Buck Community Fund of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation

The Upper Bucks Community Fund of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, a geographic affiliate of Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, consists primarily of two area-of-interest funds. The Richard E. Gasser Fund and Erwin J. and Gertrude K. Neusch Fund are for organizations and programs primarily serving the Palisades, Pennridge and Quakertown School Districts in the Upper Bucks area. Recently added to Upper Bucks umbrella, The Bucks County Free Library Endowment Fund is an agency fund that benefits the seven-branch county library system with locations in Bensalem, Doylestown, Langhorne, Levittown, Perkasie, Quakertown, and Yardley-Makefield.

Learn more about the Upper Bucks Community Fund on the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation website.

Allentown, Pa., January 31, 2022—The Council on Foundations (COF) today announced Megan Briggs, Director of Community Investments, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, as one of 51 philanthropy professionals chosen for participation in Career Pathways, a leadership development program designed to diversify the talent pipeline for executive-level roles in philanthropy. In this highly selective program, mid- to senior-level professionals from diverse backgrounds enhance their leadership skills, expand networks, and build their field-level expertise to advance equity and strengthen the philanthropic sector’s impact. The members of the spring and fall classes will represent the tenth and eleventh cohorts in the program’s history.

“This opportunity will allow me to learn from and connect to my peers around the country who are in similar roles in how we collectively address the challenges facing philanthropy as we look toward the future,” said Megan Briggs. “I look forward to representing the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation in collaborating with national peers, especially during this specific moment where the industry is focusing on philanthropy’s role in centering equity and working to address issues exacerbated by COVID, all while a new generation of philanthropists is emerging.”

In addition to the core functions of the program, this year’s cohort will gain skills to lead in a remote environment, authentically connect to their leadership vision and values, and uncover solutions to advance equity in the sector. Upon completing the program, participants will join the dynamic network of Career Pathways alumni leaders making strides in philanthropy. “I am hopeful that this program will provide a way for a diverse set of philanthropic leaders to build important relationships as we continue to navigate the challenges and successes together,” Briggs added.

“I am full of hope and excitement to see the impact of our 2022 Career Pathways on their organizations and the field of philanthropy at large,” said Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations. “I believe the contributions made by these changemakers will be significant to our sector and applaud each of the new participants for their choice to step forward in service of trust-building and equity.”

The Career Pathways program is generously supported by the Kresge Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Walmart Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Council on Foundations fosters an environment where philanthropy can thrive and cultivates a community of diverse and skilled philanthropic professionals and organizations who lead with integrity, serve as ethical stewards, and advocate for progress. Learn more at cof.org.

Allentown, Pa., January 27, 2022—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation recently named Robert (Robby) L. Wax, Esq., to its Board of Governors. Wax is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at St. Luke’s University Health Network. He will serve on the Community Foundation’s Finance Committee. 

Wax represents St. Luke’s University Health Network in connection with various transactional matters, including physician practice acquisitions, joint ventures, employment agreements and real estate acquisitions, and for providing general advice concerning litigation matters, intellectual property issues and healthcare regulatory matters.

Wax joined St. Luke’s in 2004 following seven years in a large, multinational law firm based in Philadelphia, one year as a law clerk for the Honorable Herbert J. Hutton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and three years as an adjunct professor at the Temple Law School, where he taught a class entitled, “Business Mergers & Acquisitions.”

Wax is a graduate of the Goizueta Business School of Emory University and received his law degree from The James E. Beasley School of Law of Temple University, summa cum laude, where he served as the Articles Editor for the Temple Law Review. He is a proud graduate of William Allen High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The Board of Governors at Lehigh Valley Community Foundation provide administrative, programmatic, and fiscal oversight in support of the organization’s mission. Members of the Board serve as ambassadors, promoting the Community Foundation as a vehicle for philanthropy and a leader of community improvement.

About Lehigh Valley Community Foundation

For more than five decades, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation has helped donors with their charitable contributions with a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach. LVCF is a philanthropic hub for the Lehigh Valley—who knows and navigates the landscape of the Lehigh Valley’s community needs to connect people who care to causes that matter.

With a diverse and respected Board of Governors, the Community Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  The Foundation is cause-neutral and supports all areas of community needs in the Lehigh Valley and beyond in compliance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. To learn more, visit: www.lehighvalleyfoundation.org.

Allentown, Pa., January 24, 2022—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation President and CEO Erika Riddle Petrozelli, CPA, was recently appointed Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association’s Board of Directors.

The Pennsylvania Association of Community Foundations (PACFA) is a network of 31 individual community foundations, all working to enhance the quality of life in the regions they serve by growing permanent endowment funds, through creative and thoughtful grantmaking, tailored donor education and through dynamic community leadership partnerships.

“I am appreciative of the opportunity to sit alongside a diverse group of community foundation leaders to connect the field and share resources,” said Erika Riddle Petrozelli.  “I am confident that we will have more eyes on the high quality and interesting work we are doing here in the Lehigh Valley, and we will also have more opportunity to connect and learn from others.”

“We are delighted to see a talented leader like Erika Petrozelli join the PACFA board,” said Michael Batchelor, President of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association.  “Her insights will help us better serve our members and strengthen community philanthropy throughout the Commonwealth.”

Learn more about the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association at: https://www.pacfapartners.org/.

Allentown, Pa., January 18, 2022—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation recently named Lisa Marie De La Rosa to the Assistant Director of Accounting position.  She assists the Vice President & CFO in managing and processing the core financial transactions of the Foundation (gifts, grants, and charitable funds) through use of the Foundation’s information management system.

De La Rosa’s responsibilities include coordination with the Donor Services team regarding gifts and charitable funds; coordination with the Community Investments team regarding grants transactions; reporting to the Board of Governors and others as needed; and assistance with the human resources functions.

Prior to joining the Foundation, De La Rosa has held various finance/accounting roles in educational organizations including serving as Senior Manager of Finance at Blue Engine, Inc., and Interim Accountant at GEMS Education.

Originally from New York City, De La Rosa relocated to the Lehigh Valley in 2020. She is a graduate from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Allentown, Pa. January 10, 2022–Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) announced that the application period is now open for Entry to Program Stream, a new general operating support grant opportunity for small arts organizations and non-arts organizations or units of government with a history of at least one year of providing consistent arts programming or arts services in Pennsylvania and average annual revenue less than $200,000.  

The application period also is open for Program Stream, an existing funding opportunity. Entry to Program Stream and Program Stream grants may be used for operations, programs, or projects.  

Entry to Program Stream offers a new pathway to attaining long-term general operating support. Grantees that receive funds through Entry to Program Stream for one to three years may qualify to be recommended for Program Stream. At this time, grant amounts for Entry to Program Stream are estimated to be a maximum of $2,000, while Program Stream grant amounts are estimated to be a maximum of $3,000. This is subject to change.  

“We thank the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for partnering with the Community Foundation to offer this opportunity for additional small art organizations and programs to get in the PPA stream of funding,” said Monique Moreno, Grants Associate at the Community Foundation. “These small, but important multi-year grants can make a difference in the life of an arts organization—now is the time to get in the stream.” 

Both Entry to Program Stream and Program Stream are funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency under the Office of the Governor, and administered regionally by the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), PCA’s statewide network of re-granting partners.  

Interested organizations should apply through their respective PPA partner organization. The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation serves as the PCA’s PPA partner organization for Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Monroe counties. 

Additional details on how to apply can be found online at: https://bit.ly/3ds6eop or visit the www.lvcfoundation.org. 

 Applications to Program Stream deadlines on January 15, 2022. Entry to Program Stream and are due February 15, 2022.