Author: michael@lvcfoundation.org

Allentown, Pa., January 17, 2023—Jihan Solomon joined the staff of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation in December 2022.  As Business Administrator, Jihan provides support for the Chief Executive Officer, Board, and Finance Department.  In addition, she is also responsible for Business Office Operations.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Jihan spent 12 years as an Accounts Payable and Billing Specialist at Computer Aid, Inc.  In addition to her accounting duties, she assisted in testing and implementing the Spend Management modules for the Workday Financial ERP. Part of her time there, she volunteered in the SHS Exploratory Program as an assistant and instructor. 

For several years, she participated in the Email Buddy Program and volunteered at the CAI Learning Academy.  Before joining Computer Aid, Jihan spent 5 years in the Banking industry, part of which included becoming a Walt Disney Cast Member for Partners Federal Credit Union in California.    

Jihan is a native of the Lehigh Valley and graduated from Penn State University with a A.A. in Business Administration.

Allentown, Pa., January 17, 2023—Amy Sams joined the staff of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) in January of 2023 as Donor Services Associate.  Under the leadership of the Director of Donor Services, Amy is responsible for managing, tracking, and stewarding relationships with current and prospective fundholders, and their advisors.  She also assists with Board events and activities. 

Prior to joining the Foundation, Amy developed and managed adult programs at The Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley.  Most recently, Amy worked in academic foundations and success, as well as civic and community engagement at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pa. 

Amy serves the Lehigh Valley community through her volunteer activities with ArtsQuest, The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, Civic Theatre and Congregation Keneseth Israel in Allentown.

Amy Sams is a native of Allentown and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. degree in Marketing. 

Allentown, Pa., January 26, 2023—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation recently named Leigh Ehrlich, CPA, CHFP, MBA, to its Board of Governors. Leigh is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Hospital Operations at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). She will serve on the Community Foundation’s Finance Committee.

In Leigh’s role at LVHN, she is responsible for driving improvement in financial performance working closely with the senior leadership for the thirteen hospital facilities. In addition, Leigh spearheads Network initiatives that drive improved margin performance through revenue enhancement and/or expense reduction and market growth.

Leigh joined LVHN in 2015 following a 15-year tenure in Big 4 accounting followed by a corporate finance role at Catholic Health East/Trinity Health.

Leigh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, concentrating in accounting from East Stroudsburg University and earned her MBA at Lehigh University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. 

Leigh is also a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional. She serves on the following boards: Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, Women’s 5K Classic, Lehigh Valley Anesthesia Services and Lehigh Valley EMS.  She serves as treasurer for Lehigh Valley Anesthesia Services and Lehigh Valley EMS.

Leigh is a Lehigh Valley native and graduated from Pen Argyl High School.  She currently resides in Lower Macungie with her husband Bill and three daughters.

Allentown, Pa., December 1, 2022—The Upper Bucks Community Fund of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation issued $35,600 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.

Two of the grants will address the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) problem in the region. The invasive insect native to northeastern Asia was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and since has devastated the Ash Tree population in the United States. In 2012, the Emerald Ash Borer was confirmed in Bucks and Montgomery counties. EAB is very destructive and kills Ash trees quickly, within 1 -2 years. The leafy canopy of infested ash trees will begin to look thin. EAB chews through the tree’s water and nutrient-conducting tissues, strangling the tree. If there is a high population of EAB in the tree, the leafy canopy in ash trees will start to die. A third to a half of the branches may die in one year. The Bucks County Horse Park and the Heritage Conservancy are receiving 2022-23 grants from the Upper Bucks Community Fund at LVCF that will support efforts to remediate the problem by removing affected trees in the region.

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’s 2022-23 grant cycle. The funded programs are listed as well.

• Bucks County Horse Park
  Bucks County Horse Park, Inc. Emerald Ash Borer Remediation

• Durham Historical Society
  Archival effort to protect, display and share historical artifacts

• Heritage Conservancy
  Ash Tree Remediation and Forest Stewardship Project at Fuller-Pursell Nature Preserve

• National Inventors Hall of Fame, Inc.
  Camp Invention STEM, Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Programs in Upper Bucks County

• Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
  FreeWill and WillPower Tour to Upper Bucks (Quakertown and Palisades School Districts)

• Riegelsville Public Library
  Art for Kids in the Summer

• Valley Choral Society
  Bringing the Faure Requiem with an Orchestra to the Upper Bucks Area

• YMCA of Bucks County
  Quakertown Branch After School Arts Program

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.

Erika Riddle Petrozelli, President and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation recently spoke with Cornerstone | Independent Asset Management on a podcast “Cornerstone Unplugged,” about the importance of community foundation, her career path to LVCF, and a variety of related topics.

The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation helps donors with their charitable contributions using a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach. Joining the Foundation in 2014 as Director of Donor Services, Erika focused on maintaining and expanding philanthropic relationships of the Foundation and was named the CEO in 2021. She has also served as Vice President of Philanthropy, contributing to strategic decisions and community leadership activities, particularly during the pandemic. Erika is also a CPA that provides professional knowledge and advice about charitable giving to a wide range of Lehigh Valley residents, from individuals and families to their trusted advisors and local businesses. She was recently named Vice Chair of the board of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Alliance.

Erika Riddle Petrozelli explains what attracted her to the nonprofit Erika talks about her role evolution inside the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation:

• The Foundation’s involvement in other nonprofits
•  Who are the primary investors in the Foundation, and how does the process work?
• Erika talks about the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) Study Group and its importance to the Foundation 
• What is capacity building, and how does it impact the Foundation? 
• Erika explains the dollar amount, percentage, and gift you can give to the Foundation
• What’s next for the Foundation?
• Things Erika does for fun to unwind and what it was like working during the pandemic

Click to listen to the the Podcast

From Cornerstone

Would you like to make charitable contributions, leave a legacy, and impact the world? What’s the best way to achieve your goal? Many people are willing to help their communities and support the causes that matter to them. There has been a rise in nonprofit organizations and community foundations to help. And now, Erika Riddle Petrozelli shares how she’s running a community foundation that helps donors with charitable contributions using a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach. 

In today’s episode of Cornerstone Unplugged, join JP Cavaliere and Stephen Link as they sit down with Erika Riddle Petrozelli, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, to discuss what it takes to run a community foundation. Erika explains how she got into the nonprofit space and her role in the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, the Foundation’s role in other nonprofits, endowment, how capacity building impacts the Foundation, and how people can invest with the Foundation. 

About Cornerstone

Cornerstone is one of the nation’s leading independent investment consulting firms. They are committed to building and preserving the assets of institutions and wealthy families, now and into the future. Their success is rooted in navigating complex financial decisions on behalf of their clients, and their mission is right in their tagline: Insight. Influence. Integrity. Learn more at: https://cornerstone-companies.com/

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Erika Riddle Petrozelli on LinkedIn
Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
Stephen Link on LinkedIn 
JP Cavaliere on LinkedIn 
Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management
Cornerstone Unplugged podcast 

Click here for a complete list and review of Cornerstone/s disclaimers 

Allentown, Pa., October 3, 2022— Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) announced the 2022-23 grant recipients for both Program Stream and Entry to Program Stream initiatives. LVCF is the regional partner agency of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Through the Partners in the Arts program (PPA), LVCF works with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to distribute grant awards for projects or programs involving artists throughout Region 5, which includes: Carbon, Monroe, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Program Stream is an invitation-only grant opportunity which provides ongoing support to arts organizations and arts programs with an established history of funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Once admitted to this funding stream, organizations receive consistent general operating support for arts programming. 

Entry to Program Stream is a grant opportunity which provides general operating support for small arts organizations and non-arts organizations or units of government with a history of at least one year of consistent arts programming in Pennsylvania and average annual revenue less than $200,000. 

Both Entry to Program Stream and Program Stream grants may be used for operations or programs.  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. The amounts are subject to change depending on state funding.

“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 Saunders Moreno, Assistant Director of Community Investments at the Community Foundation. “These small, but important multi-year grants can make a difference in the life of an arts organization—we are pleased to welcome these organizations into the stream.”

Those organizations receiving Entry to Program Stream grants for 2022-23 include:

• Delaware Water Gap Celebration of Arts, Inc.
• East Stroudsburg University Art Department
• Fusia Dance Company
• Interlace Cultural y Desarrollo Integral Mexicano de LV, Inc.
• Mock Turtle Marionette Theater
• Puertorrican Culture Preservation, Inc.
• Repertory Dance Theatre
• Ukrainian American Heritage Foundation of the Lower Anthracite Region

Those organizations receiving Program Stream grants for 2022-23 include:

• Appalachian Fiddle & Blue Grass Association
• Bach and Handel Chorale Inc
• Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission
• Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
• Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem
• Godfrey Daniels
• Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange
• Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild
• Mikayla’s Voice
• Moravian University
• Penn State Lehigh Valley
• Pocono Bluegrass & Folk Society
• Pocono Concert Chorale
• Pocono Youth Orchestra
• SATORI
• Shawnee Institute Ltd
• SouthSide Film Institute
• The Allentown Band
• The Arts Community of Easton, Inc.
• The Camerata Singers
• WDIY 88.1 FM
• Young People’s Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley

These grants are supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), its regional arts funding Partnership. State government funding comes through an annual appropriation by Pennsylvania’s General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the state’s PPA Partner (Lehigh Valley Community Foundation for Region 5].

Learn more about Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant opportunities on the Community Foundation Website.

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