The Foundation for Delaware County is unveiled
RADNOR » The Albright family of Garnet Valley was among those celebrating the newly renamed Foundation for Delaware County on Thursday.
Beth Albright said that she and her husband, Scott, established a donor advised fund as part of The Foundation for Delaware County, in part to share the joy of giving with their two children, Eric, 15, and Heather, 13.
“We’ve been very blessed in our lives, with our health, with a strong family,” Albright said at a cocktail party to launch the new foundation at The Inn of Villanova. The Foundation of Delaware County had “a very personal touch. We figured it was the right avenue for us.”
“Our most important community members we’ve got are the kids,” she said. “We want to make a difference in their lives. And that’s why I made this a family affair. We’ve already earmarked some of our fund for our kids and they’ve actually given out $1,300 to different causes that we downloaded from Charity Navigator. And they’ve chosen causes that they will give money to that are important to them.”
Later, Albright said that her children have chosen to give to charities focused on animal rescue, the environment, unwed mothers, childhood cancer and the Make a Wish Foundation. The daughter of their friends had a brain tumor so they have seen the effects of cancer, she said.
The new foundation began in 2016 with funds from the sale of the CrozerKeystone Health System, which are required by law to be reinvested into another charitable entity. Officials plan to give $1 million in grants this calendar year, said President Frances Sheehan.
The $57 million in assets, the new foundation, formerly called Crozer-Keystone Community Foundation, is the largest in Delaware County, said board Chairman Robert Bruce.
“And we’re just getting started,” he said. “We’re confident the assets of the foundation will continue to grow exponentially…I really anticipate this will be a $100 million operation in years to come.”
Frances Sheehan, president, said, It is “a new foundation, a new name, a foundation for all of Delaware County.” The foundation will continue to fund health-related nonprofits, focusing in the needs of children and those who are less well-off, she said.
She announced $330,000 in preliminary grants to kick off the giving. These include $30,000 to Senior Community Services in Folsom; $30,000 to Surrey Senior Services in Devon; $30,000 to Mercy Life in Darby; $30,000 to Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice in Radnor; $30,000 to Health Care Improvement Foundation, Philadelphia; $4,726 to Widener Community Nursing Clinic in Chester; $75,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Chester; and $100,000 to the Taylor Community Foundation in Ridley.
The foundation hopes to partner with government, other charities and businesses.
“It is an opportunity to give in Delaware County,” said Sheehan. Money will stay local to help people in this area, she said. “Our goal is to bring community members to the table.”
For example, the grant to the Health Care Improvement Foundation will help teach people hands only CPR. Some 350 in Delaware County died of cardiac arrest last year because no one nearby knew how to do CPR, Sheehan said.
Ed Hanway, a Media resident and board member, said that he’s been involved in many charitable causes. But “when the opportunity arose to be involved in something as impactful as this foundation is going to be to Delaware County, it was very easy to say yes. We have a tremendous opportunity, as you’ve heard, a tremendous board of directors, a tremendous staff. And yet yes, we have assets. But more importantly we have the commitment to make a difference for those who need it most.”
In addition to the new name, a new logo featuring a tree was also unveiled.
Requests for proposals will be available by April 30; grant requests are due June 30; and grant decisions will be issued Oct. 31. For more information: www.delcofoundation.org