Private foundations quietly make difference

Central Penn Business Journal, Sep 21, 2007 by Olenchek, Christina

REGION

Private foundations add significantly to the coffers of Central Pennsylvania's community organizations. Yet their generosity is often expressed without much fanfare and public attention.

The Business Journal's list of private foundations includes 25 organizations that reflect a wide variety of charitable interests. Some are affiliated with local companies, while others are tied to prominent families.

Most of the funds for private foundations come from one source, whether an individual, a family or a corporation. They are different from public foundations, which normally receive their assets from multiple sources. Examples of pub1 ic foundations in Central Pennsylvania include the Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Dauphin County, the Lancaster County Community Foundation and the York County Community Foundation.

Foundations are a significant source of funding in the nonprofit world. The nation's more than 71,000 grant-making foundations gave $40.7 billion in 2006, according to the Foundation Center in New York. That's an 11.7 percent increase compared with 2005.

The increase comes even though many foundations squeezed their giving to the limit in 2005 as the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina resulted in a skyrocketing of requests forfunds, saidjosie Atienza, the Foundation Center's assistant director of research.

"They've been responding very well to the demands of increased needs," she said.

The Business Journal's list is ranked by the amount of money each private foundation awarded in 2005 or 2006, according to Internal Revenue Service tax documents. Topping the list is the Ferree Foundation. The Strasburg, Lancaster County-based organization awarded $1.8 million in 2005, including $200,000 to the Pennsylvania Academy of Music and $150,000 to Franklin & Marshall College.

Lancaster County boasts the highest number of foundations on the list: 10. York County closely follows with eight foundations. Dauphin County is home to four of the foundations, and three are based in Cumberland County.

The foundations support a variety of organizations, primarily those related to the arts, education, health care and religion. Various United Way entities receive support, as well.

Not all supported organizations are based in Central Pennsylvania. For example, the Graham Foundation contributed $1 million to the University of Michigan. The Armstrong Foundation donated $45,000 to the United Way of Southwest Alabama.

The Armstrong Foundation is the charitable arm of Lancaster County-based Armstrong World Industries Inc. The foundation gave money to the United Way of Southwest Alabama because the company operates a ceiling plant in Mobile, Aa., said Meg Graham, a company spokeswoman. The foundation also wanted to support employees affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The High Foundation, which supports various arts, educational and community organizations, has seen more groups coming to it seeking funds, said Robin Stauffer, executive director of the East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County-based foundation. That's because groups are seeing dwindling support from other sources, especially government agencies, she said.

Foundations typically operate quietly because there's no need for them to be loud and flashy. Since these foundations get their funding from families or corporations, they don't have to actively seek funds like United Way groups or other well-known nonprofits, said Philip Calhoun, executive director of the Ferree Foundation.

"We're on the giving end, not on the receiving and then giving end," he said.

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The top five

Here are the top five local private foundations identified by the Business Journal. A more detailed list of the top 25 is available on page 33. A list of the top 50 is online at ListCentral at www.centralpennbusiness.com.

1. Ferree Foundation, $1.83 million

2. Graham Foundation, $1.74 million

3. Tyco Electronics Foundation, $1.50 million

4. James Hale Steinman Foundation, $1.49 million

5. John Frederick Steinman Foundation, $1.44 million

SOURCE: INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

BY CHRISTINA OLENCHEK