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.