Community Foundation for the Alleghenies is pleased to announce the launching of the Ohio River Valley-Appalachia Collaborative Fund.

Over the past decade, natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania has expanded rapidly. The region now produces more natural gas than any shale formation in the United States. In recent years, the global petrochemical industry has targeted the region as a new hub for chemicals and plastics manufacturing, in part because of the extraction of ethane and other natural gas liquids from its shale formations.

The new fund will support nonprofit organizations working to protect the region’s environment, health and communities from shale and petrochemical development.

Donors to the fund may identify specific activities for support within the region or may elect to provide more general support under the advisement of a volunteer committee.

The intent of this fund is twofold. First, it offers environmental funders a mechanism through which they can invest in specific on-the-ground activity of interest to the funders. Second, it provides the opportunity to work in consultation with local subject experts who can assist in advising efforts to support environmental protection work, to create alternatives to petrochemical and shale expansion in the region, and to develop opportunities for economic transitions.

The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies manages 745 charitable funds. The Community Foundation’s vision is for an inclusive and engaged culture of philanthropy that grows an abundance of resources, achieving lasting impacts in a thriving region. Based in Johnstown, PA, it manages over $78 million in assets on behalf of its donors.

For more information about becoming a part of this effort, please contact Foundation President Mike Kane at 814-225-1247.