The Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF) is pleased to announce a special $150,000 grants program from its Community CARE Fund (CCF) to support independent, community-based libraries in Washington County, as the libraries work to reopen after the pandemic. School libraries, medical libraries, and other libraries which operate as a part of another institution are not eligible to participate. Community libraries may submit one grant request of up to $25,000 using the Foundation’s online grant application available at www.wccf.net. Requests must be submitted by Saturday, May 15. Grants will be announced in June and will range from $5,000 to $25,000.
From left: Charleroi Area Public Library Representatives Patsy Brinker and Barbara Pepper are awe‐struck after receiving a $25,000 award through the WCCF's 2019 capacity-building grants cycle for libraries. WCCF Trustee Debra Keefer (right) made the presentation outside the Charleroi Area Public Library (formerly the John K. Tener Public Library).
“We are very pleased that our community libraries have reopened after being closed for so long because of the pandemic, and we wish to assist them as they begin to provide more in-person services to their patrons,” said Betsie Trew, President & CEO. “Many libraries were forced to cancel fundraising events during the pandemic, which has impacted their ability to operate at the same level as they did before the pandemic. And so, through this special grant cycle, we will entertain any grant request that an eligible library believes necessary for it to resume in-person services.”
Grants may be submitted for programming, capacity-building, general operations, or any other purpose, but applicants are expected to submit a clear, concise and compelling narrative which supports the grant request. The WCCF is prepared to work individually with interested libraries to determine the most appropriate grant request for that particular library. Interested libraries are encouraged to contact the WCCF at 724-222-6330 or allocations@wccf.net.
A 501(c)(3) charitable corporation with assets of more than $50 million, the Washington County Community Foundation is the largest publicly-supported grant making foundation in Washington County and has awarded more than $425,000 to community-based libraries in the past three years. The Community CARE Fund, a component fund of the WCCF created in 2017, has supported a wide variety of charitable causes in the community, including community-based libraries.