Adams County Fund for the Environment Grant

The Adams County Fund for the Environment Grant, established by the Adams County Community Foundation, aims to foster environmental stewardship within the community. Grants of up to $5,000 are available to 501(c)(3) nonprofits for projects that educate the public on environmental issues and support local initiatives such as tree planting and recycling. This fund underscores the importance of community involvement in addressing ecological challenges.

NOTE: You may submit a letter of intent at any time. Full proposals are by invitation only and considered March 1 and September 1.
About the Community Foundation
The Adams County Community Foundation was incorporated in 2007 to succeed the Adams County Foundation, an organization founded in 1985 when a group of members led by Jack Phillips inspired their Rotary Club of Gettysburg to action. Adams County Foundation operated for 22 years. During that time the Foundation acquired six separate Charitable Funds totaling $500,000 and distributed $120,000 to Adams County charities. The Community Foundation is a public 501(c)(3) organization.
The purpose of the Adams County Community Foundation is to inspire people and communities to build and distribute charitable funds for Good, for Adams County, for Ever. The Community Foundation’s assets are managed by an investment manager and consultant, hired by the Board and overseen by the Investment & Finance Committee. From these investments, grants are distributed to local charities through several competitive grant making and scholarship application opportunities. With an 18-member Board of Directors, Adams County Community Foundation serves as a good steward of the monies of our donors and demonstrates accountability, transparency, confidentiality, compassion, inclusiveness and excellence in its work.
Across the country, community foundations offer their citizens an opportunity to become philanthropists, investing in causes they care about with certain assurances. They are assured that the charitable fund they create will be permanent and will forever meet the needs that are relevant to their original intent and the communities’ needs. They are assured that the community foundation will be good stewards of their charitable investments, selecting and maintaining good fund managers at reasonable cost with performance benchmarks in place. Because it is the community foundation’s responsibility to know the community, donors are also assured that only qualified charities will receive grants and that the grants they receive will be used for the good purposes for which they were intended. Finally, donors are assured that their name or the name of a loved one will live on through their fund.
The Adams County Community Foundation is a member of the Council on Foundations and the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations. The Community Foundation achieved certification under National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations®, overseen by the Council on Foundations. These standards attest to the Community Foundation’s adherence to sound practices not only in its financial management, but in all facets of its operations.
In recognition of Earth Day, the Adams County Community Foundation created the Adams County Fund for the Environment with initial support from donors interested in making environmental stewardship a shared community value in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
Objectives
The Fund’s grantmaking will support environmental education and local environmental projects.
Grants that aim to educate our community around environmental issues, like climate science, renewable energies and protecting our waterways.
Grants that support boots on the ground local projects like tree planting, litter pick-up, and recycling.
Funding
Currently up to $5,000 per year per nonprofit organization.

Eligibility

501(c)(3) nonprofits or organizations that qualify to receive deductible contributions as described in IRS publication 526.