Lehigh Valley Community Foundation

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
Name	Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
Formation	1979
Type	Community foundation
Headquarters	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Region served	Lehigh Valley

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is a community foundation based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, serving the Lehigh Valley region. It operates as a public charity that manages endowments, awards grants, and administers scholarships across Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties. The foundation partners with local nonprofits, civic institutions, and private donors to support arts, health, social services, and place-based initiatives.

History

The foundation was incorporated in 1979 amid regional civic movements linked to urban renewal projects in Allentown, Pennsylvania, suburban development in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and industrial restructuring tied to the decline of companies such as Bethlehem Steel. Early board members and donors included leaders from institutions like Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College, and Cedar Crest College, alongside executives from firms such as Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., PPG Industries, and Hoffman Homes. During the 1980s and 1990s it expanded grantmaking in coordination with efforts by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Rockefeller Foundation, and regional initiatives modeled after the Chicago Community Trust and The Boston Foundation. In the 21st century the foundation engaged with philanthropic networks such as National Council on Foundations, Council on Foundations, and peer entities including The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and The Cleveland Foundation to adopt best practices in donor-advised funds, planned giving, and impact investing.

Mission and Programs

The foundation's mission centers on strengthening quality of life in the Lehigh Valley through strategic philanthropy, donor services, and community leadership. Program areas reflect priorities found in strategic planning exercises influenced by research from United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, demographic analyses from Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and health assessments used by Lehigh Valley Health Network. Programs include arts funding tied to partners like Allentown Art Museum and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, education scholarships coordinated with Pennsylvania Department of Education metrics and collegiate partners such as Lehigh Carbon Community College, workforce development collaborations with Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, and civic engagement initiatives aligned with Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce efforts.

Grants and Scholarship Funds

Grantmaking spans unrestricted community grants, donor-advised funds, designated funds, field-of-interest funds, and scholarship funds administered in collaboration with institutions such as DeSales University, Moravian University, and East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Scholarship portfolios include awards honoring families connected to local employers like Mack Trucks and community leaders tied to organizations such as SOCIETY for the Performing Arts and ArtsQuest. The foundation often issues competitive grant rounds alongside partnership grants with statewide funders like Pennsylvania Humanities Council and national funders including National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities when supporting cultural and educational projects.

Community Impact and Initiatives

Initiatives have targeted neighborhood revitalization in corridors of Allentown, Pennsylvania and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, workforce pipelines interfacing with Lehigh Valley International Airport economic zones, and public health projects connecting with Lehigh Valley Health Network and Saint Luke's University Health Network. The foundation helped convene coalitions with United Way of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties counterparts and regional civic groups like LVEDC and PennFuture for environmental and economic resilience. It has supported cultural festivals with ArtsQuest, community theaters linked to Community Music School, and food security efforts in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania and statewide programs such as Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association initiatives.

Governance and Leadership

Governance is provided by a board of directors composed of business leaders, nonprofit executives, and philanthropic advisors drawn from institutions including Lehigh University, Bethlehem Steel legacy organizations, St. Luke's University Health Network, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and legal firms practicing in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Executive leadership has at times included chief executives with backgrounds from philanthropic entities such as The Pew Charitable Trusts and management experience from regional hospitals and universities. The foundation employs committees for investments, grants, scholarships, audit, and governance, following policies similar to those of Council on Foundations members and benchmarking with National Philanthropic Trust practices.

Funding and Financials

The foundation's assets derive from individual endowments, corporate funds, legacy gifts, and pooled investments managed with advisers and custodians similar to firms used by Commonfund and Northern Trust. Annual distributions include programmatic grants, scholarship awards, and donor-advised recommendations, often coordinated during giving cycles that mirror practices at Silicon Valley Community Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust. Financial oversight includes audited statements prepared in accordance with standards followed by nonprofit fiscal overseers such as Grant Thornton and reporting aligned with guidance from Internal Revenue Service filings for 501(c)(3) organizations. The foundation periodically publishes community indicators and impact reports in partnership with regional data sources like Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and U.S. Census Bureau datasets.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania