Philanthropy is for Everyone
A feature piece from our Summer 2025 issue of the Lancaster Thriving Publication
Since 1924, the Lancaster County Community Foundation has partnered with ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Neighbors caring for each other, visionaries dreaming of a better future, and innovators on the front lines of change. All of them intentionally committing to create a stronger community. All of them philanthropists.
100 years ago, local attorney, Martin M. Harnish, worked with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce to establish one of the earliest community foundations in the nation. Today, we’re strengthening the movement that was started more than a century ago and working together to build a resilient, vibrant Lancaster County for everyone.
By connecting businesses, families and individuals from all walks of life to organizations and initiatives on the frontlines of impact, we harness the power of endowment to help shape a Lancaster County where everyone is valued, feels a sense of belonging, and has the opportunity to thrive.
How does it work?
Every year, our community’s endowment yields millions of dollars in grant opportunities, scholarships, and resources that meet emerging needs, create new opportunities, and shape our shared future.
The Community Foundation cares for a wide variety funds started by families, individuals, businesses, and organizations to support specific causes. At the same time, it is able to strategically respond to pressing community needs as they arise.
Our community’s endowment is invested for long-term growth, steadily yielding dollars to support the community year after year. These resources support causes from children and families, to health and education, the natural environment and farmland preservation, and from poverty-alleviation and affordable housing to the arts, culture, religion, heritage and history.
In 2024, the Community Foundation activated $15.3 million supporting 312 organizations with grants, 444 organizations through ExtraGive, 42 students with scholarships, and a special series of funding boosts for regional Chambers in celebration of our 100th year.
In fact, the Lancaster Chamber Foundation is currently activating some additional grant dollars to support the Community Benefit Organization Partnership. This unique program is strengthening the work of five local nonprofit organizations serving people throughout Lancaster County.
As part of the Lancaster County Community Foundation’s 100th-anniversary celebration, the Lancaster Chamber, along with several local chambers of commerce and business organizations, were awarded the Next 100 Year Boost Award, with grants of up to $5,000 each. These grants are designed to spark future-focused strategies and initiatives in communities across the county.
In alignment with our commitment to fostering an inclusive and inspiring environment, the Lancaster Chamber aimed to leverage the Next 100 Year Boost Award, graciously provided by the Lancaster County Community Foundation, to enhance the Truist Business Center on the 2nd floor of the Chamber’s office, serving as a visually stunning backdrop for group photos and a testament to the creative vitality and spirit of Lancaster County.
Together, we can shape our shared future
What makes a community endowment so powerful? All of us.
Philanthropy works best when we all have the chance to bring our perspectives, interests, and ideas to the table. For more than 100 years, we’ve been working with people throughout Lancaster County to build the community’s endowment, a powerful resource that helps us care for each other and our shared spaces.
In 2024, people from all walks of life contributed to the community’s endowment. From a gift of $5 to a $1.5 million contribution, people work with the community foundation to support causes they care about.
Whether you want to give today or in the future, our philanthropic advisors help you develop a plan that aligns your interest and intended impact with giving options and local causes.
In the last 10 years alone, 238 new funds have been established at the Community Foundation to support causes throughout the county. That’s 238 individuals, organizations, or collaborative groups that have all chosen to harness the power of endowment to create lasting impact!
Now, it’s our turn. We can shape the future of Lancaster County.
You give it. We grow it. For Lancaster. Forever.
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