by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jan 15, 2026 | CFFC News
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is accepting funding requests for five grant opportunities this spring. Interested nonprofits must apply through CFFC’s online grant portal by March 1 at 5:00 p.m.
The Building a Stronger Fayette Fund is the foundation’s unrestricted grantmaking endowment, which is accepting grant requests up to $5,000 for projects or 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 campaign; Levi Komarinski Memorial Fund; Thompson Fund.
The spring grant cycle also includes four Field of Interest Funds, which have a specific area of focus:
- The Burchinal Family Endowment Fund supports charities that provide health and medical care for Fayette County residents.
- The Mary and John J. Depcrymski Memorial Fund supports transportation expenses for Fayette County seniors.
- The Community Beautification Fund supports landscape improvement in Fayette and Greene Counties.
- The Jack and Diane Hughes Family Fund supports community gardens and science/environmental education.
“Last year, our spring grant cycle awarded $36,000 for computer equipment, employment readiness services, senior center programming, food distribution, flowers for an Honor Roll, and more,” said Jessica Hajek-Bates, Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to another year of charitable giving that addresses the needs of our community.”
For more details about these grant opportunities and criteria, visit the Nonprofits page at www.cffayettepa.org.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jan 1, 2025 | CFFC News
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is accepting applications for the spring grant cycle. Local nonprofits can apply for six grant opportunities, each with its own criteria. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2025.
Building a Stronger Fayette Fund: supporting projects/programming or nonprofit capacity building. These awards are made with the combined funding from the Building a Stronger Fayette Fund; Fayette County Charities Endowment; Franklin K. and Jean Smith Family Fund; GIVE Fayette County campaign, Levi Komarinski Memorial Fund; Thompson Fund.
Burchinal Family Endowment Fund: supports charities that provide health and medical care for Fayette County residents.
Catalyst for Change Grant: CFFC is looking for a big idea that can affect change and growth in Fayette County. There will be three steps for the selection process: letter of inquiry; full application; presentation to the CFFC board of directors. The project should be a true collaboration between two or more nonprofits, showing a collective effort to address county needs. The project should incorporate county-wide impact, both in the number of people impacted by the project and the geographic reach of the project’s impact. Projects will be viewed favorably if they spark economic growth and anticipate sustainability.
Community Beautification Fund: supports landscape improvements (including but not limited to planting of trees, shrubs, and flowers) for community beautification projects.
Mary and John J. Depcrymski Memorial Fund: supports organizations that provide transportation for Fayette County senior citizens.
Jack and Diane Hughes Family Fund: supports projects and programs in the areas of community gardens and/or science/environmental education.
Click here to apply through CFFC’s online grant system.
“In 2024, the foundation awarded $22,734 in the spring grant cycle, supporting ten local nonprofits. Those awards were made possible through generous donations to the Building a Stronger Fayette Fund, and through four field of interest funds with specific areas of focus,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.
Crosskeys Human Services was awarded $3,131 last year to support their meal deliveries to about 200 elderly community members. Their service area of Brownsville and Republic is very rural and widespread, traversing rough roads and unpaved driveways. “Two of our vehicles had to have major work due to the rocky roads that are traveled in the delivery of the meals,” said Sr. James Ann Germuska, Executive Director.
Photo courtesy of DVSSP from their Board Training
Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA was also awarded funding last spring. “It becomes problematic when we are trying to enter reporting information or complete time-sensitive tasks, and our outdated computers are running so slow that staff struggle to access the programs they need,” said Megan Hegedus, CEO. Their $2,500 capacity building grant enabled them to update the office computers at their Fayette County Safe House.
CFFC is including the Catalyst for Change Grant letter of inquiry in this year’s spring grant cycle. Money raised from the foundation’s Gala of Giving event has funded two $50,000 Catalyst for Change Grants so far. This year, applicants can request up to $75,000 for a collaborative, county-wide project.
Pictured from left to right: Bonnie Ryan, Karen Merryman, Beth Konick, Dawn Hunchuck-Piccolomini, Renee Couser, Carrie Willetts, Garnet Gordon, Meredith Aumer
“This past fall, we awarded a Catalyst for Change Grant to support new moms at WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital with car seats and training. In 2023, the first Catalyst for Change Grant was awarded to Main Street Theatre Company’s musical showcase for Fayette County high schools. We’re excited to see more creative, impactful projects for this year’s round of requests,” said Couser.
Applications must be submitted through CFFC’s online grant system, and more information can be found on the grants page at www.cffayettepa.org. Please direct questions to Rebecca Wardle, Communications & Grantmaking Coordinator, at 724-437-8600 x203.
Applicant Tutorial
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Feb 19, 2021 | Building a Stronger Fayette
The CFFC’s Burchinal Family Endowment Fund focuses on health and medical care. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, our need for front line workers who provide those services has been strongly reaffirmed.
Fayette Emergency Medical Services (Fayette EMS) is one of the local organizations who has put themselves at risk, worked extra hours, and continued to respond to calls day in and day out. They were awarded a $6,000 grant from the Burchinal Family Endowment Fund in 2020 to support general operations.
“While this has been an exceptionally challenging year for Fayette EMS, we are extremely proud of the continuous level of care we have been able to provide to the residents of Fayette County during the covid-19 pandemic,” stated Beth Burd, Director of Finance & HR Coordinator.
The grant application provides the option to request funding for a project/program or for operating support. Requests to support operations were popular in 2020, especially since the pandemic affected organizations’ typical programming, decreased revenue as a result of cancelled fundraisers, and added costs for personal protective equipment and sanitization.
“We are grateful to have been awarded the 2020 Burchinal grant to help us with the costs of PPE and other supplies needed to keep our staff safe and healthy so we can better serve our community, as well as the generous mask donations through the CFFC Mask Initiative,” added Burd. The CFFC has provided a total of 12,000 masks to Fayette EMS, and Mask Initiative requests are still being accepted on a rolling basis at www.cffayettepa.org.
Thank you to all first response and healthcare organizations who continue to serve the Fayette County community. We invite you to visit www.cffayettepa.org to review eligibility and apply for the 2021 Burchinal Family Endowment Fund.