Scranton Area Community Foundation

Second Round of Grants from NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund Awarded

04.20.20

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Scranton Area Community Foundation announces the second round of grants totaling $160,000 from the NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund distributed to 24 organizations. To date, a total of $240,000 has already been awarded in emergency grant funding through the NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund since its launch on March 26.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation created the NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund to rapidly deploy responsive and flexible resources to nonprofit, community-based organizations working with those who are impacted by COVID-19 and the related economic, social, and health-related consequences of the outbreak. The Fund has been supported by numerous foundations, funds, and charitable individuals including the Margaret Briggs Foundation, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, PPL Foundation, The Robert Cavanaugh Family Trust, M&T Bank, and many other individual donors and charitable funds.

Funding recipients in the second round include Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA, Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, The Arc of NEPA, and Women’s Resource Center, among many others.

View the list of all COVID-19 Response Fund grant recipients here

The third round of grants is expected to be awarded within the next two weeks and the cycle will continue on a rolling basis during the crisis and recovery phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, as funds allow.

The Fund is designed to expand local capacity to efficiently address aspects of the crisis, particularly to those that might be unable to secure resources elsewhere. The Foundation makes grant decisions on this fund from input from an advisory committee composed of partner organizations and representatives from the foundation, nonprofit, and civic sectors, based on available funds. Organizations can reapply to the fund as needed.

“To date, nearly $850,000 has been raised for the Fund, none of which would have been possible without the incredible generosity of our many funding partners and donors joining together to help in this unprecedented time,” said Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO of the Scranton Area Community Foundation. “The need amongst the nonprofit agencies and organizations in our communities, however, continues. Every donation to the fund helps, no matter the size,” she added.

>> Apply for COVID-19 Relief Funding <<

Support the NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund Here

In addition to establishing the NEPA COVID-19 Response Fund, the Scranton Area Community Foundation is maintaining a rolling critical needs grants pool and traditional grant funding pool. We have also implemented the NEPA Nonprofit Resources Google Group, a popular discussion-focused group created for nonprofit, civic, government, and funding organizations to be able to quickly share information, needs, questions, and resources with each other. Additionally, we have established a program of weekly webinars to help nonprofits, including training programs on crisis management, operations management, increasing fundraising revenue, and building sustainability, among other topics. Learn more about our response at safdn.org/covid19.

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