We are pleased to announce our Fall 2024 Grant round recipients, awarding grants totaling $412,841 to 94 nonprofits across Bedford, Cambria, Somerset, and Indiana counties. Ranging from $500 – $16,000, the grants awarded will help meet a variety of needs for nonprofit organizations serving CFA’s four-county region.

“It is a pleasure to offer support to nonprofit organizations that are doing phenomenal work within our region,” said CFA President and Executive Director Mike Kane. “Our spring and fall grant rounds are a unique opportunity for us to hear directly from the nonprofits that are serving our communities daily. They provide us with a new perspective and insight on the changing needs of our region and identify concrete ways that we can help.”

The recipients were announced at a press conference on Wednesday, November 13 at the Bedford County Fairgrounds. More than $49,000 in funding was announced for Bedford County nonprofits to support a variety of projects including technology and equipment upgrades, park improvements, conferences, STEM education, and nursing programs.

In Cambria County, more than $130,000 was awarded to nonprofits supporting multiple projects that will benefit youth in the community such as playgrounds, counseling services, library programs, weekend meal programs for students, early childhood education classrooms, and recreational activities. In addition to support for youth programming, other funded projects will provide support for the arts, local fire and ambulance companies, and cancer patients.

Nearly $110,000 will be distributed in Somerset County to support causes such as the arts, education, and poverty, as well as funding for playgrounds and upgrades for fire departments. Indiana County will receive over $45,000 to support twelve projects, including playground rehabilitation, safety training, youth recreation, technology updates, fire company upgrades, and poverty alleviation.

A complete list of the grants and projects for each county can be found here. This grant round, we are pleased to offer more funding than ever before to our fall grant round recipients due to the generosity of our donors.

“The amount of funding we were able to distribute this round sets a record for our spring and fall grant rounds,” said Associate Director Angie Berzonski. “This would not have been possible without the overwhelming support of several of our donor advised fund holders, who contributed $97,750 to support project requests, which even allowed some grantees to receive more funding than they had originally requested.”

During the fall grant round each year, we create a summary of the applications that were submitted and send it as a catalog to our donor advised fund holders. This gives donors an insight into the programs that are being prioritized by our region’s nonprofit organizations and donors can support the causes and issues that they care about most. This support is of great value to our Distribution Committee in helping to make the funding the Foundation has available for the grant cycle go even further in support of community needs.

“Through the Community Foundation, I have been able to use my donor advised fund to support causes close to my heart, ensuring that my contributions resonate far beyond my reach,” said Greg Glosser, CFA board member and donor advised fund holder. “CFA’s Donor Advised Fund Catalog makes giving through the fall grant rounds easy and effective. I have peace of mind knowing exactly which projects my contributions will be supporting.”

CFA has made it a point to raise more funding for our spring and fall grant rounds. Earlier this year, our Board of Directors allocated $100,000 to the Bedford County Community Fund. The Bedford County Endowment Committee and Advisory Committee are now working on a match campaign to provide even more grant funding for Bedford’s nonprofits.

“Our committees are dedicated to raising this match money so we can continue to award grants for our county for years to come,” said Dina McGee, Director of Bedford County Endowments. “Our local nonprofits work so hard to make things better for our community, the match challenge is an opportunity for us to give back to them.”