Fall Grant Cycle Offers Funding for Schools

The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) helps support education in a variety of ways, including grants from donor advised funds. The Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund, Idea Fund, and Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund are currently accepting grant requests to support local schools in the 2025-2026 school year. Applications are due by October 1 through CFFC’s online grant system: https://bit.ly/cffcapplynow

The Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund is accepting grant requests from $750 up to $10,000 to be considered for reusable education items to enhance the classroom. Any teacher, school counselor, or administrator in the Laurel Highlands School District or Uniontown Area School District is encouraged to apply.

The Idea Fund was created by a donor who strives to help teachers to achieve a level of creativity in the classroom that allows all students to succeed. All school districts in Fayette County are eligible to apply for an Idea Fund grant in the amount of $2,500.

The Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund is accepting grant requests from Uniontown Area School District’s middle schools or high school to enhance STEM teaching and learning. An award of $500 is intended to support teacher or student activities or the purchase of classroom materials.

“It’s always great to see the variety and creativity in the fall grant requests, and we’re happy to help connect our donors with those projects,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.

Last fall, these donor advised funds at CFFC awarded a total of $25,934 to support the purchase of LEGO® education kits, whiteboard and lab tables, library collections, technology, science equipment, and more.

Further details about the grant applications and previous grant awards can be found at www.cffayettepa.org.

GWP All-Member Spotlight: Renee Couser

Renee Couser, CFFC Executive Director, is spotlighted in the Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania quarterly newsletter!

Read the spotlight here:
🔗 https://gwpa.my.canva.site/q2-2025-all-member-spotlight…

Grantmakers of Western PA supports the philanthropic sector by offering resources, networking opportunities, and information to help improve the effectiveness and impact of charitable giving.

“Jolt of Excitement” with Drone Coding

“Jolt of Excitement” with Drone Coding

photo courtesy of Albert Gallatin Area School District

“The Drone Coding Curriculum is tailored for students in grades six through eight and gives students hands-on experiences building, programming, and flying real drones,” explained Jacob Magerko, STEM Teacher at Albert Gallatin South Middle School.

Students work together and use block coding to program a drone to take off, navigate through the air, and land safely at a desired destination. Magerko noted that this drone project gives students “a jolt of excitement” since there is immediate feedback when they complete their code and run it through the drone. Students get results or error messages instantly after executing code, which provides a unique hands-on and real-time learning experience.

photo courtesy of Albert Gallatin Area School District

The Community Foundation of Fayette County’s Idea Fund awarded a grant for this project in 2023. “The Idea Fund was created by a donor who wanted to help teachers achieve a level of creativity in the classroom that allows students of all learning styles to thrive,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.

In addition to enhancing classroom learning, Magerko said that the drone coding project has also “exposed students to a variety of careers that are associated with drones, that they did not previously know existed.”

Because of generous donors, Fayette County school districts and local students are able to receive support through various grant opportunities. You can help strengthen education and career readiness too! Call our office at 724-437-8600 x1 to learn more.

Scholarship for Laurel Technical Institute Students

The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is now accepting applications for the Laurel Business Institute Scholarship Fund in Memory of Ruth and Milton Decker. This scholarship is for current students attending Laurel Technical Institute Uniontown and will be applied to tuition and/or fee expenses for the Fall 2025 Trimester.

 

 

All other CFFC post-secondary scholarships are closed for the 2025-2026 school year. Applicants can view the status of their submissions by logging into their dashboard. If you have any questions, please contact Celena Valentine, Accountant/Scholarship Coordinator, at 724-437-8600 x2.