Chester County Community Foundation
28 West Market Street
The Historic Lincoln Building
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382
United States
Mission
Connecting people who care with causes that matter, so their legacies make a difference now and forever
Most Meaningful Change
We have greatly diversified the base of people who are involved in ongoing legacy philanthropy, bringing more faces and voices in the community to the table.
1994 Year Founded
8 Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalent)
$47,552,823 Endowment Value
$2,295,233 Total Annual Grantmaking
Organization | Chester County Community Foundation |
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Address 1 | 28 West Market Street |
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Address 2 | The Historic Lincoln Building |
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City / Town | West Chester |
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State / Region | Pennsylvania |
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ZIP / Postal Code | 19382 |
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Country | United States |
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Continent | North America |
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Map Address (If Different) | 28 W Market Street |
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Map City / Town (If Different) | West Chester |
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Map State / Region (If Different) | PA |
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Map Zip / Postal Code (If Different) | 19382 |
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Map Country (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Phone | 610.696.8211 |
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Email | karen@chescocf.org |
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Website | www.chescocf.org |
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Organization Leader (Name, Title) | CEO |
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Primary Contact’s Name | Karen Simmons |
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Primary Contact’s Position | CEO |
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Year Founded | 1994 |
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Mission Statement | Connecting people who care with causes that matter, so their legacies make a difference now and forever |
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Organization Description | Community Foundation |
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Other Description | Did not answer |
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Approximate Size of the Population Serviced | 500,000 |
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Total Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 8 |
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Total Unpaid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 75 |
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Total Board Members | 20 |
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Organization’s Total Income in Last Fiscal Year | $6,000,000 |
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Organization’s Gifts Income in Last Fiscal Year | $8,038,150 |
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Organization’s Total Expenditures in Last Fiscal Year | $2,000,000 |
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Organization’s Grantmaking Budget in Last Fiscal Year | $2,295,233 |
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Does Organization Have an Endowment | Yes |
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Value of Endowment (or Financial Reserves) as of the End of Last Fiscal Year | $47,552,823 |
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Change in Financial Status Over Last Three Years | Significant improvement |
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Factors that Played a Role in the Origins of Your Organization |
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Community leadership | Played a centrally important role |
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Philanthropic gifts | Played a centrally important role |
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Grassroots activism | Played a slight role |
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Inadequate government services | Played a slight role |
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Changes in the political environment | Played a slight role |
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Changes in the economic environment | Played a slight role |
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Government initiative funding | No role |
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Foundation initiative funding | Played a slight role |
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Bilateral or multilateral initiative funding | No role |
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Favorable legal or fiscal policies | Played a slight role |
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Time Spent Working in Following Areas |
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Neighborhood | Fair amount of time |
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Locally | Lots of time |
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Regionally | Very little time |
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Nationally | None |
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Internationally | None |
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Rate Importance of the Following Functions |
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Grantmaking | Centrally important |
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Having local people as leaders in the organization | Centrally important |
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Seeking local donations | Centrally important |
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Having a gender balance in the organization | Slightly important |
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Board reflective of community diversity | Important but not central |
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Building an endowment | Centrally important |
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Serving donor needs | Centrally important |
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Acting as a fiscal intermediary for the community | Slightly important |
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Building inclusion and trust in the community | Centrally important |
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Pursuing equity | Important but not central |
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Accountability to local people | Centrally important |
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Raising money for grantmaking annually | Important but not central |
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Community development | Centrally important |
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In the Last Year, Extent to Which Programming and/or Grantmaking Involved Work in the Following Areas |
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Arts and culture | Little |
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Education | Fair amount |
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Environment | Fair amount |
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Health | Fair amount |
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Human and social services | Fair amount |
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Human rights | Little |
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International relations | Not at all |
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Religion | Little |
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Economic development | Little |
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Conflict resolution/bridging different parts of the community | Little |
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Information technology | Little |
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Strengthening local or regional government | Not at all |
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Housing | Little |
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Children | Fair amount |
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Water | Little |
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Alternative energy | Not at all |
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Disaster relief | Not at all |
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Advocacy with authorities | Not at all |
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Job training | Little |
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Nongrantmaking Services Offered to Community in Recent Years |
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Convening for issues of local concern | Occasionally |
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Promote collaboration between grantees | Occasionally |
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Promote understanding of public policy | Occasionally |
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Training/capacity-building for local organizations | Often |
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Advocacy | Never |
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Loaned staff | Never |
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Research | Occasionally |
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Community needs assessment | Occasionally |
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Leadership development | Occasionally |
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Internships | Often |
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Providing space for local organizations | Occasionally |
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Access to information technology | Occasionally |
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Publishing/knowledge sharing | Occasionally |
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Main Trends Over the Past Year in Geographic Area Served |
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Poverty | Getting better |
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Crime | Getting better |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Getting better |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Getting better |
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Social position of marginalized groups | Getting better |
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Responsiveness of authorities | Getting better |
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Appropriateness of public policies | Getting better |
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Value of community assets | Getting better |
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Quality of the environment | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Getting better |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Getting better |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Getting better |
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Gender equity | Getting better |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Getting better |
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Extent to Which Organization Can Claim Tangible and Measurable Achievements in the Past Three Years |
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Poverty | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Crime | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Social position of marginalized groups | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Responsiveness of authorities | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Appropriateness of public policies | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Value of community assets | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Quality of the environment | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Gender equity | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Some important achievements |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Some important achievements |
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Active Partnerships |
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Formal community associations and groups | Little |
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Informal associations of citizens | Little |
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Non-governmental organizations | Lot |
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Local government | Lot |
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National government | Not at all |
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Universities | Lot |
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Schools | Little |
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Businesses | Little |
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Other Institutions Helpful to Our Work |
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National association of grantmakers | Helpful |
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Regional association of grantmakers | Helpful |
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Global Fund for Community Foundations | N/A |
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Particular foundation | Helpful |
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Other organization | Did not answer |
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Involvement of Local People |
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Regularly survey local people about our programs | Yes |
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Local people are engaged in the delivery of our work | Yes |
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Local people control what our organization does | Yes |
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Have local people represented on our board | Yes |
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Have regular sessions where local people advise us what our programs should do | Yes |
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Actively engage local people as volunteers | Yes |
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All of our board is composed of local people | Yes |
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Account to local people about our successes and failures each year | Yes |
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Assistance in Overcoming Main Difficulties Faced in Developing Organization Further |
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Increased funding | Important |
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Better legal or fiscal environment | Very unimportant |
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More volunteers | Very important |
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Access to advice or technical assistance | Very unimportant |
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Better local culture of giving | Very important |
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Stronger civil society | Very important |
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More responsive authorities | Important |
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Other | Did not answer |
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Most Meaningful Change that Organization Has Helped to Bring About in the Last Three Years | We have greatly diversified the base of people who are involved in ongoing legacy philanthropy, bringing more faces and voices in the community to the table. |
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