$36,603 in Spring Grants to Local Nonprofits

by | May 22, 2025 | CFFC News

The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) has selected eleven (11) projects for spring grant awards. The Building a Stronger Fayette Fund, CFFC’s general grantmaking fund, awarded $25,000. Four field of interest funds, which support specific areas of focus, awarded $11,603.

“The foundation is able to support a variety of organizations and causes, thanks to generous donors. Each of the awarded nonprofits is serving the community in a meaningful way, and we look forward to sharing more details about these projects in the coming months,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.

Participants and staff members at the Fayette County Community Action Agency’s Senior Center

 

Building a Stronger Fayette Fund: supporting projects/programming or nonprofit capacity building

These awards are made with combined funding from the Building a Stronger Fayette Fund; Fayette County Charities Endowment; Franklin K. and Jean Smith Family Fund; GIVE Fayette County; Levi Komarinski Memorial Fund; Thompson Fund.

Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA – Legal Advocacy Equipment

Dress for Success Pittsburgh – Employment Readiness

Fayette County Community Action Agency – Senior Activity Center

Fayette Friends of Animals – Spay/Neuter/Vaccine Clinics

Mary House, Inc. – Confidence in Dentistry Care

The Salvation Army – Uniontown Corps – Feeding Program Enhancements

Touchstone Center for Crats – Staff Expansion Equipment

Renee Couser, Tammy Barnhart, and Tanya Vokes with the Dress for Success mobile unit

 

Photo courtesy of FFOA: Luke Szymanski, Keeley Forrestel, Amanda Mehalic, and Rebecca Wardle outside of the Fayette Friends of Animal shelter

 

Burchinal Family Endowment Fund: supports charities that provide health and medical care for Fayette County residents

Wesley Health Center, Inc. – Health Services

Marilyn Weaver and Renee Couser at Wesley Health Center

 

Community Beautification Fund: supports landscape improvements (including but not limited to planting of trees, shrubs, and flowers) for community beautification projects

Borough of Dunbar – Flowers for Dunbar & Honor Roll

 

Mary and John J. Depcrymski Memorial Fund: supports organizations that provide transportation for Fayette County senior citizens

Crosskeys Human Services, Inc. – Transportation for Elderly Meals

Photo courtesy of Crosskeys Human Services: Bernie, a volunteer for Crosskeys’ meal delivery program

 

Jack and Diane Hughes Family Fund: supports projects and programs in the areas of community gardens and/or science/environmental education

Crosskeys Human Services, Inc. – Park and Garden Area

 

To learn more about the Community Foundation of Fayette County’s grants, visit the Building a Stronger Fayette page.

Fayette Friends of Animals

Fayette Friends of Animals

by | Jun 7, 2021 | Building a Stronger Fayette

If you know the names Hoover, Roxie, Mittens, and Cricket, then chances are you’ve recently looked into the animals available for adoption at Fayette Friends of Animals (FFOA). This no-kill shelter provides temporary shelter to stray, abandoned, or surrendered animals with a goal of finding permanent homes. Their community support was showcased during Fayette Gives 2020, a “day of giving” hosted by CFFC to support local charities. FFOA placed second on the leaderboard for number of donors.

Photos of animals available for adoption from the Fayette Friends of Animals website

“Fayette Gives supplemented a large portion of what we could not generate through normal fundraising events in 2020 due to covid-19,” said Dakota Bocan, FFOA Marketing and Programming Director. FFOA used this opportunity to raise money, share their mission, and engage with their passionate donors.

“Luckily, people turned to animals for comfort and companionship during the pandemic, so we were still able to find fur-ever homes for the dogs and cats in our care,” said Bocan as she explained that the need to care for animals is a consistent one. “We are forever grateful to our amazing community for still remaining so active even with the new health and safety procedures in place,” Bocan added.

Photo of Marge Dugan and Mollie Wilcosky with the Fayette Gives check

Alongside their pet adoption services, FFOA focuses on educating the public about spaying and neutering animals to ease the problem of pet overpopulation. They listed this in their Fayette Gives profile on the website, which is displayed when you click on a charity’s name before donation.

FFOA is already registered and listed on the website for Fayette Gives 2021, which will take place on November 16. Bocan said, “Fayette Friends of Animals is looking to get even more engagement this upcoming year, since our community base is continuously growing. We cannot wait to see what this year brings!”

#BuildingAStrongerFayette
#FayetteGives