Allentown, Pa., May 26, 2021—The Edward and Inez Donley Fund at the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) recently distributed $90,000 to sixteen area nonprofit organizations. Grants from the fund support organizations that promote self-sufficiency and achievement for marginalized children, individuals, and families by increasing education and literacy support.
Nearly all of the grants were awarded as general operating grants. Organizations receiving grants from the Edward and Inez Donley Fund include:
- Allentown School District (ASD) Foundation
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley
- Minsi Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America
- Boys & Girls Club of Allentown
- Communities in Schools of the Lehigh Valley
- Community Bike Works
- Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania
- Housing Association & Development Corporation
- Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, Inc.
- Northeast Community Center
- Pinebrook Family Answers
- Da Vinci Science Center
- The Literacy Center
- The Neighborhood Center
- United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
- Valley Youth House Committee, Inc.
The Edward and Inez Donley Fund was established in 2018 with a $2 million dollar endowment from the Donley Foundation, a private grant-making foundation that was founded in 1987 through the generosity of Edward and Inez Donley and has a long history of providing grants to organizations who share their mission throughout the Allentown-Bethlehem area of the Lehigh Valley.
The fund at the Community Foundation largely supports previous Donley Foundation grantees in general operating awards. This approach applies to the FY2021 year only in order to ensure that the foundation transitioned support for these previously funded organizations responsibly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “As we look ahead to the future of grantmaking from the Edward & Inez Donley Fund we are adopting a foundation-wide strategy of community investment in youth and families as a main focus area of our foundation-directed grantmaking,” noted Megan Briggs, LVCF Director of Community Investments. “Through our community leadership activities, we continue to build relationships with organizations that exhibit strong leadership, effective programming, and forward-thinking strategies.”
“At the Community Foundation, we offer the perfect solution for philanthropists, including other Foundations, who are looking for an effective vehicle to support community nonprofit organizations in any number of ways,” said Erika Riddle Petrozelli, Chief Executive Officer at LVCF. “As an alternative to a nonoperating private foundation, charitable funds are a flexible way for philanthropists to manage their charitable giving, creating an enduring, multigenerational family legacy with maximum impact. We are pleased that the Donley Foundation chose us to direct their charitable giving to help improve the lives of people in the Lehigh Valley.”
About the Donleys
Edward Donley was president and CEO at Air Products from 1966-1978, CEO from 1973-1986 and chairman from 1978-1986. He retired in 1986 but continued to serve on Air Products’ Executive Committee until 1992 following his term as chairman and CEO. With his wife, Edward Donley maintained a strong philanthropic presence in the Lehigh Valley. The Association of Fundraising Professionals, Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter, presented the couple with its distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy in October 2011. See the full biography. Learn more about the Donley Foundation at: https://www.donleyfoundation.org/.