Philanthropy Erie is a town that gives. In just 12 hours on one summer day in 2013, Erie donated $1,720,842 during “Erie Gives.” This annual event, hosted by the Erie Community Foundation, raised funds for more than 300 local nonprofit agencies who received checks within two weeks of the event.
Erie Gives is just one of the ways that the community demonstrates its generosity. The Erie Community Foundation operates under the umbrella of a single charity, but it is a collection of charitable endowments with a mission to improve the quality of life in our region by evaluating and addressing community issues, building permanent charitable endowments and promoting philanthropic and community leadership.
With a market value approximately $180 million, it returned nearly $9 million to charities in 2012. Nearly 600 different charitable endowments are operating within The Erie Community Foundation, all created locally.
Capturing national attention in the fall of 2007, the Erie Community Fund received an anonymous donation of $100 million. This astonishing donation boosted Erie’s nonprofits and strengthened the community during a downturn in the economy when Erie’s poverty rate was twice the national average, at around 19 percent. Each of the 46 local charities specified by the mystery donor received between $1 and $2 million – for many, the largest donation ever received.
There is cooperation among organizations in Erie. Agencies such as the United Way of Erie County bring people together to help build a stronger community. With a mission that includes cooperation and partnerships, United Way of Erie County works to reduce poverty and create opportunities for everyone in our region. All funding decisions are made at the local level, and donations remain local. In 2012 alone, more than 100,000 people in the Erie region were touched by the efforts of United Way.
Philanthropic gestures from community leaders over the years have led to the establishment of the Asbury Woods Nature Center, the Blasco Memorial Library, the Erie Art Museum, the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park, and have been critical to the success of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center and the Presque Isle Partnership.
The strong commitment to philanthropy in the Erie Community shows no signs of waning. Erie is a community that cares – with a passion that motivates action.
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