We help plant the seeds of community by assisting donors to carry out their charitable giving through organized philanthropy. By providing a convenient, flexible vehicle for our donors, we are able to help you make a permanent contribution to the community.

We gather information, track local agencies, and monitor the community to determine the unique needs of our community.   Our grant-making facility allow us to pool the charitable donations of many donors into a coordinated investment.   It is through these generous donor contributions that we are able to provide many services and resources that offer long-term benefits for the residents of Lackawanna County.

Scranton Area Foundation as a community foundation has three special features:

1. We Offer Personalized Services:
   • Educate people on charitable giving vehicles
   • Customize giving approaches to match personal interests and tax planning needs
   • Facilitate complex forms of giving
   • Share knowledge on community needs
   • Offer grant-making expertise and administrative services
   • Help people create personal legacies via named funds
   • Offer involvement in recommending uses of a gift
   • Provide the option to give anonymously
2. We Have Local Expertise:
   • We are a Local organization with local staff and board members
   • We have Knowledge of Lackawanna County community issues, opportunities and resources
   • We Monitor our unique community needs…
     • Arts and culture
     • Economic development
     • Education
     • Environment
     • Health
     • Human services
     • Recreation
     • Neighborhoods
   • We Gather information and track local agencies and programs
   • We Direct grants and resources to appropriate areas
   Making a difference where it is needed most
   
   
3. We Provide Community Leadership:
   • Act as a community catalyst
   • Build endowments to ensure grants are always available to support the community
   • Support high impact opportunities
   • Are governed by leaders with strong ties to our community
   • Foster development of new organizations and programs
   • Re-direct funds as community needs change

Our business is building community