Foundation-Directed Leadership Grantmaking
In LVCF’s Foundation-Directed Leadership Initiatives, the Foundation is a community partner that creates a better future for all by pursuing the community’s greatest opportunities and addressing the most critical challenges, inclusively uniting people, institutions, and resources from throughout the community, and producing significant, widely shared and lasting results. In these initiatives, the Community Foundation provides funding, devotes staff time, and utilizes other resources to further LVCF’s three main focus areas in Early Childhood and Childcare, Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, and Capacity Building. Please view the specific funding and initiatives under each focus area below.
Capacity Building
The Community Foundation believes in supporting a strong, equitable nonprofit sector. In working towards this vision, we dedicate our staff time, funding and resources to partner with leaders, organizations and systems to fulfill that vision. In the upcoming 2025-2026 year, the Community Foundation plans to implement the following strategies and programs to further our vision.
Funding:
- The Trusted Response Fund – The Trusted Response Fund provides flexible support for the strategies, programs, and partnerships nonprofits need most right now. By investing in people, tools, and systems, the fund helps organizations plan, adapt, and stay resilient in a rapidly changing environment.
Convening:
- The CORE Fellowship – A two-year capacity building process designed to bring Lehigh Valley nonprofit leaders together to center equity in themselves, their relationships, their organizations, and the Lehigh Valley non-profit sector.
- CORE Alumni Network – A continued gathering and development of leaders who have participated in the CORE Fellowship, for the purpose of realizing our shared vision of a strong, equitable nonprofit sector.
- Nonprofit Learning Collective – Intentional convening of a diverse audience of nonprofits, funders and local stakeholders for in-person resource offerings focused on capacity building and connection.
Early Childhood
In 2022, LVCF named early childhood has one of the foundation’s three key focus areas due to a growing early childhood crisis locally and nationally, interest from LVCF’s fundholders, and an opportunity to provide leadership in this critical area. LVCF provides funding for early childhood organizations, raises awareness about this issue, serves as a backbone convenor for the Lehigh Valley’s Early Childhood Action Collaborative, and utilizes LVCF’s other resources and connections to make an impact in this issue area.
• Early Childhood (Overview)
• Early Childhood Grantmaking – LVCF distributes nearly $200K annually in general operating grants to area nonprofits for early childhood services.
• Early Childhood Education Collaboration
Arts, Culture & Creative Economy
The staff of the Community Foundation participates in several collaboratives that are important to promoting and providing arts & culture in the region. The Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is the regional partner agency of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Through the Partners in the Arts program, 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. This program enables the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to reach a wider audience by increasing access to funds for organizations and artists across the state, thereby increasing statewide audience exposure to arts activities. Learn more…
The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grants are divided into two grant programs:
ASK MEGAN | Learn more about the community investments/grants opportunities at LVCF
Megan Briggs
Vice President of Community Investments
Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
840. W. Hamilton Street, Suite 310
Allentown, PA 18101
610 351-5353, ext. 21 | megan@lvcfoundation.org