Passion Grants
Passion Grants convert The Community Foundation’s donors’ passions into impact through supporting programming in a broad range of focus areas including: human services, the environment, restoring historical structures, clean water, human rights/inclusion, the arts, preschool child development, and projects in Eastern Lancaster County.
The John J. Snyder Fund is a specific type of passion grant meant for the preservation of historical buildings. This fund has a separate application and evaluation criteria.
*Applications for the 2020 Passion Grants and John J. Snyder programs are now closed. Look forward to this program again in 2021.
These projects turn love of community into lasting change!
See if any of these grants might be right for your organization:
HUMAN SERVICES:
Ada F. Harr Fund:
$30,300 available, grant range $10,000 – $30,300
Provides home health or custodial care to people living in their homes who are affected by illness or disability in Lancaster County.
Apply for this grantKatherine K. Gaeth Fund:
$26,000 available, grant range $10,000 – $26,000
Funding for human service support that provides a direct benefit to clients, such as housing needs and home modifications, utilities, home care assistance, and food access.
EASTERN LANCASTER COUNTY:
Anne C. & W. Franklin Ressler Fund:
$26,900 available, grant range $10,000 – $26,900
Supports programs working with residents in Eastern Lancaster County, exclusively in the geographic regions of Conestoga Valley School District, Eastern Lancaster County School District, and Pequea Valley School District.
ENVIRONMENT:
Lancaster Environmental Fund & Shuman Family Downstream Solutions Fund:
$31,140 available, grant range $10,000 – $31,140
Encourages environmental protection, conservation, and environmental education efforts.
• Preserve and protect the natural resources and environment of Lancaster County.
• Increase the awareness of the public of the need to manage and conserve natural resources and to protect the environment.
• Investigate, explore, study, and evaluate new, useful, and efficient methods, procedures, and technologies relating to resource conservation, waste management, and protection of the environment.
HUMAN RIGHTS/INCLUSION:
Patrick Kenney, Jr. Memorial Education Fund & K.L. Shirk Memorial Fund:
$15,000 available, grant range $7,500 – $15,000
Supports programs that fight hate and bigotry while seeking social justice for the most vulnerable members of Lancaster County, through internships, scholarships, workshops, and education.
VISUAL ARTS:
Florence Starr Taylor Fund for the Visual Arts, Lancaster Arts and Culture Fund, & Eloise Award Fund:
$15,000 available, grant range $7,500 – $15,000
Provides support to visual arts programs in Lancaster County, with a preference given for those that serve underrepresented or underserved groups in our community.
PERFORMING ARTS:
Sam and Verda Taylor Fund for the Performing Arts:
$26,800 available, grant range $10,000 – $26,800
Supports performing arts programs in the Lancaster County community, with a preference given for those that serve underrepresented or underserved groups in our community.
INFANT, TODDLER, AND PRESCHOOL CHILDREN:
Better Lancaster Fund:
$23,700 available, grant range $10,000 – $23,700
Supports programs that increase early childhood development for children from birth to age five.
Evaluation Criteria
• People and Places – Does the program or solution serve a wide array of people and/or focus on an under served or underrepresented group of people?
• Results – Does the application articulate ways the organization will measure the effect of the program or solution on a broad community level, and are the outcomes meaningful and feasible?
• Implementation Plan – How effectively does the application outline a plan for project coordination, utilization of funding, strategies, and timeline?
• Collaboration – Does the application incorporate meaningful collaboration or partnerships with other organizations?
• Strong Organizational Capacity – Does the organization demonstrate that it has the organizational capacity to successfully implement its proposed program or solution with or without course corrections along the way?
