PA Giving Pledge Inspires Charitable Giving in Estate Planning – Leave 5 for PA

by | Feb 20, 2025 | CFFC News

PA Giving Pledge

The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) has joined forces with forty (40) other Pennsylvania community foundations to launch the PA Giving Pledge, a statewide campaign to inspire Pennsylvanians to leave at least 5% of their estates to help future generations.

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association (PACFA), the newly announced PA Giving Pledge aims to scale Pennsylvania-focused giving with emphasis on generating sustainable financial resources for worthy causes and nonprofits working to address a range of issues in local communities.

“The PA Giving Pledge is a collective effort of PACFA community foundations across the state to improve the quality of life for our families, friends, and neighbors for generations to come. When someone leaves a percentage of their estate to the community foundation, they are leaving a legacy of charitable giving that will have a positive impact for years to come,” said Renee M. Couser, CFFC Executive Director.

The effort aims to tap into 5% of the estimated $418 billion transfer of wealth projected in Pennsylvania by 2030, according to estimates by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. “If 5% of that $418 billion was endowed through the pledge, it would generate $21 billion to benefit Pennsylvania communities and causes forever,” said Michael L. Batchelor, PACFA President.

transfer of wealth in PA

With the launch of the PA Giving Pledge, donors and professional advisors can now access an interactive website PAGivingPledge.org to find their nearest community foundation and to access county-by-county data that highlights the total estimated wealth transfer by 2030. PACFA members will be asking business leaders, professional advisors, and philanthropists in their communities to endorse the program to build further momentum.

Fayette County transfer of wealth

“There’s amazing potential with Fayette County’s estimated wealth transfer of $2.22 billion in the next 10 years. If 5% of that was pledged in estate gifts, it would translate to $5.56 million being available each and every year to support Fayette County nonprofits and causes,” said Couser.

Do you pledge to leave at least 5% of your estate to support future Fayette County generations?
Call our office at 724-437-8600 x1 to learn more about including CFFC in your estate plan.

Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Scholarship Displacement

by | Jul 14, 2022 | CFFC News

On July 8, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law HB1642, a sprawling public school system bill which includes a ban on scholarship displacement at public colleges and universities. This makes Pennsylvania the fourth state in the country to eliminate the practice of colleges and universities reducing a student’s financial aid package when the student receives a private scholarship.

A statewide coalition of scholarship providers, including the Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC), initiated the call for elimination of scholarship displacement in 2018. CFFC Executive Director Renee Couser explained, “As a community foundation, our duty is to carry out our donors’ intent when they entrust us with their charitable giving. When we award a scholarship to a student on behalf of a donor, and the university then reduces that student’s financial aid package, that essentially eliminates the scholarship’s benefit to the student and defeats our donor’s purpose in awarding the scholarship.”

The coalition included members of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation, the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable, and Pittsburgh’s Poise Foundation. State legislature and the governor took steps to address scholarship displacement, resulting in HB1642 being signed into law and going into effect immediately.

CFFC awarded over $195,000 to local post-secondary students for the 2022-2023 school year, from 54 scholarship funds. “We shared an information sheet about scholarship displacement to help educate applicants, and we include specific wording in our award letters that request our scholarships to be stacked on top of a student’s financial aid, instead of being displaced,” said CFFC Scholarship Coordinator Lee O’Neil. Now, this practice will be banned at public colleges and universities, and the conversation will continue to educate students, school administrators, and donors.

Read the Herald-Standard article