{"id":304992,"date":"2026-10-12T10:48:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/304992\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T10:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:48:08","slug":"scranton-area-community-foundation-ups-investments-to-aid-nonprofits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/304992\/","title":{"rendered":"Scranton Area Community Foundation ups investments to aid nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scranton Area Community Foundation shifted its funding strategy to satisfy the evolving needs of nonprofit organizations across the region.<\/p>\n

The foundation approved more than $1.7 million in grant investments to support nonprofits in Northeast Pennsylvania through its Community Support Initiative in 2026 \u2014 more than four times the spending of a typical year, officials said. The foundation also moved away from a twice-a-year grant cycle to a more flexible, year-round approach centered on responding to community needs.<\/p>\n

Laura Ducceschi, the foundation\u2019s president and CEO, said the change represents a long-term goal to empower nonprofit groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought let\u2019s shape a grant process that isn\u2019t just a couple times a year, but really allows organizations to apply all throughout the year \u2014 not just for programmatic grants, but for grants that help sustain their operation to build infrastructure,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to continue this year, next year, and the year after that. We\u2019re hoping that helps to build stable organizations in our community. Our board said we\u2019re at the point where we\u2019re going to dip more into the resources we have to be able to respond to the community. Our donors being generous is why we\u2019re able to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funding aims to address human services, health and behavioral health, food security, education, youth development, housing, arts and culture, animal welfare and other needs, foundation officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took the time to do an inquiry process so (nonprofits) could give us an overview of what would be a transformative grant amount they could receive that would help them continue their important mission,\u201d Ducceschi said. \u201cWe wanted to know their urgent needs and some of the challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the organizations receiving 2026 operational support were Day Nursery Association, The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania, NEPA Youth Shelter, Telespond Senior Services, Maternal and Family Health Services, and Indraloka Animal Sanctuary.<\/p>\n

United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania will receive a $50,000 grant for three consecutive years, Ducceschi said.<\/p>\n

Terilynn Brechtel, chief operating officer for UNC of NEPA, stressed the grant will help the nonprofit keep partnering with other organizations to assist immigrants in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with a lot of individuals that often might find themselves in a situation, especially with the increase in ICE activity, where they\u2019re feeling more uncertain about what the future holds,\u201d she said. \u201cThis funding relief helped us collaborate with our partners to identify gaps in services or areas where individuals need financial support and allows us more flexibility in meeting the unique needs of clients. It\u2019s helping us provide direct assistance to families who sometimes have to make tough choices between paying rent or pursuing a pathway to citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes, we\u2019re working with individuals newer to the area who don\u2019t necessarily have the resources needed for mainstream funding. If the primary breadwinner isn\u2019t in the home when something happens, they\u2019re able to maintain their rent and utilities until they find some stability. It\u2019s really about leveraging each other\u2019s resources and strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizations receiving support through programmatic grants included Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeastern Pennsylvania, CHOP Out Hunger, Scranton Counseling Center, Immigrant and Refugee Communities of NEPA, The Wright Center for Community Health, Johnson College, Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, and the Autism Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

As a way to use its assets to benefit the community, the foundation also began offering short-term bridge loans to help nonprofits access affordable capital when delayed funding creates cash-flow challenges, Ducceschi said. And, unlike a traditional grant, those funds are repaid to the foundation and can then be used again to support future community needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started to see nonprofits are borrowing money at rates that are higher than maybe they would need to be in some cases, so we started to issue loans that would save them thousands and thousands of dollars,\u201d Ducceschi said.<\/p>\n

When foundation officials noticed nonprofits were again starting to see a potential cut in governmental and other resources, they knew it was time to time action, Ducceschi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we started noticing nonprofits were starting to see a potential cut in governmental, federal and other resources,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a lot of uncertainty, and they were still thinking about what that was going to look like. Over the years, we\u2019ve seen legislative budget impasses and how that impacts organizations. We said we\u2019re not going to wait until it happens, we\u2019re going to be ready to respond and do what we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael McHale teaches an English as a Second Language class at United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA on Cedar Avenue in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Grant funding from the Scranton Area Community Foundation will help UNC collaborate with other organizations to assist immigrants in the area. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"MichaelMichael McHale teaches an English as a Second Language class at United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA on Cedar Avenue in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. Grant funding from the Scranton Area Community Foundation will help UNC collaborate with other organizations to assist immigrants in the area. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Scranton Area Community Foundation shifted its funding strategy to satisfy the evolving needs of nonprofit organizations across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-304992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}