Every day, countless people and organizations work to do good in Centre County. Mentors and counselors work with children, giving them a path to success. People and families in need find food, safety, and shelter through many helping hands. Beautiful streams and forests are protected and maintained by people who care about the future of the planet. Those with developmental disabilities find strength and purpose from community members who know they are more than a label. All around the community, artists find venues for performing and platforms for sharing their work and giving back, uplifting everyone.
All these things and more—accomplished through tremendous work by an impressive network of nonprofits and community organizations—help make Centre County a wonderful place to live for all. One thing is for sure: none of this work could be done without a lot of support.
For 40 years, Centre Foundation has helped to give these organization a solid foundation, by believing that everyone can be a philanthropist. Today, the foundation is celebrating four decades of making a difference with a campaign to make that impact even stronger.
A simple vision
It all started with former Centre County Judge R. Paul Campbell. When he retired after 20 years on the bench in 1977, he planned an organization that would work to galvanize support for Centre County nonprofit organizations: the Centre County Community Foundation.
Now known as Centre Foundation, when it celebrated its 40-year anniversary in November, it held $70 million in foundation assets and had invested over $31 million back into the community. That $31 million has made a big impact in Centre County.
Campbell’s plan was fully put in motion when the foundation kicked off in 1981 with an initial total investment of $150,000. But he couldn’t do it alone.
Campell and early supporters like Mimi Barash Coppersmith, Harold O’Conner, and Henry Sahakian worked to get support from community leaders. Through the years, others have carried on their work.
“Paul Campbell and the entire board did a good job of getting leadership in the community to come with us on the journey to make this happen,” Coppersmith told Centre Foundation as it celebrated its anniversary. “It seems like old hat today, but it was a big deal in little State College 40 years ago.”
In 1982 the first foundation fund was established by the Centre Communities chapter of the American Red Cross through an estate gift. The fund benefits the local chapter of the Red Cross.
Throughout the 1980s, the foundation continued to engage community members and donors, and its assets reach the benchmark of $500,000 by the turn of the decade. The more serious work of growing endowments began in the 1990s. These endowments give nonprofits a stable base of income from which to provide their services. The foundation believed that, with this consistent source of funding, nonprofit leaders could focus on serving the community in the best ways possible.
Foundation assets grew to $1 million by 1994 and $5 million in 1999. This growth continued into the new millennium, when new programs worked to further engage community members.
In 2011, the organization re-branded as Centre Foundation, and it began to utilize a powerful new tool to further its mission—social media and other online resources.
Centre Gives has become the foundation’s premier event. The annual 36-hour online giving event engages the whole community. This May, Centre Gives raised a total of $2,180,591 through 15,577 gifts to 200 participating nonprofit organizations. Since the event began in 2012, over $14.6 million has been invested into the local nonprofit network, supporting organizations in the areas of arts, animals, education, environment, and health and social services.
This year’s event concluded with the first Centre Gives Fest, held during the final four event hours on May 11 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza in State College. The celebration featured music, food, activities by several organizations, and giving stations, shining a light on the impact these groups make.
Started as a group of volunteers, Centre Foundation is now powered by a staff led by Executive Director Molly Kunkle and a very active board of directors. Its multiple programs allow donors to give through endowment funds to more than 475 causes that are close to their hearts.
The foundation serves organizations throughout Centre County, from the Bald Eagle Valley to Penns Valley and from State College to Philipsburg.
Right before the pandemic, the foundation’s assets hit the $50 million mark, and through the support of the community, the total has continued to grow. For area nonprofits, Centre Foundation was a valuable resource during those difficult times.
“We have really expanded from our humble beginnings,” says Development & Stewardship Director Kerry Tolton. “Centre Gives really helped make the community aware of Centre Foundation and who we are and what we do for nonprofit organizations in Centre County.”
Big-time impact
It is easy to see the impact of the Centre Foundation at work. All you have to do is ask the organizations it supports.
The Mount Nittany Conservancy was established around the same time as the Centre Foundation and has grown right along with it.
“As we’ve grown, we’ve looked to Centre Foundation as a stable, trustworthy, and permanent ally for supporting our mission of the conservation of Mount Nittany. We’re proud to have established multiple endowments with Centre Foundation and to encourage Penn Staters and townspeople who care about Mount Nittany to provide for its permanent conservation in part through growing Centre Foundation’s Mount Nittany Conservancy Fund. We look forward to our missions and organizations growing old together through the years, decades, and even centuries to come,” says conservancy Vice President Tom Shakely.
Centre Gives has become the largest fundraising event for Centre County Paws, and the support of the foundation was instrumental during the pandemic.
“Centre Foundation provided funds for nonprofits during the COVID pandemic, truly an incredible gift to all of us who were struggling,” says PAWS Director of Development Christine Faust. “Centre County is fortunate to have a community foundation that truly supports the area in which we live.”
Allayn Beck, executive director of the State College Food Bank, says that since the pandemic began, the community has stepped up to help in a big way, especially during Centre Gives.
“The money raised this year is especially helpful as we are continuing to see a growing need for food and an increase in food costs. Thank you to everyone who gave to the Food Bank, other organizations, and the Centre Foundation for hosting such a wonderful giving event for our community,” says Beck.
Deb Nardone, executive director of Clearwater Conservancy, says the environmental organization’s mission has been elevated in many ways by the support of the Centre Foundation.
“Our Centred Outdoors program, for example, which offers free guided hikes and walks at destinations all around Centre County, was made possible through a Centre Inspires grant in 2016. The program is now in its sixth season, and we have led thousands of people of all ages and fitness levels on adventures through local forests, along streams, and in nearby parks,” says Nardone. “Connecting local residents to the many benefits of spending time in the scenic and relaxing natural places all around us—benefits like reduced stress levels and a deeper appreciation for the natural world—would not be possible year after year without Centre Foundation and the many community partners and organizations the foundation lifts up.”
Amy Wilson, executive director of Mid-State Literacy Council, says the foundation’s contributions from an endowment and Centre Gives allow the council to provide literacy instruction to about 200 adult students every year.
“They have made a big difference to the community,” Wilson says.
40 for 40
Centre Foundation is celebrating its 40-year anniversary just like you would expect it to, by working to create more funds for more organizations.
The 40 for 40 campaign is doing just that, with a goal of starting 40 new endowments. The foundation will match up to $25,000 for each of those new funds, for a grand total of $1 million.
Part of the plan is to partner with organizations that have never had an endowment fund with Centre Foundation. To help facilitate that, the minimum amount to open a fund was lowered from $10,000 to $5,000. Once that fund is opened at $5,000, the organization has 30 days to raise as much as it can to get the full $25,000 match.
The campaign kicked off in November and runs until the end of this year or until the million-dollar match is met. As of early May, the campaign was more than halfway to its $1 million goal, with more than $630,000 of matching funds provided to 34 new endowments. Nine of those endowments were for new organizations, such as Centre Wildlife Care, the Performing Arts School of Central PA, and Out of the Cold Centre County.
“We have had a lot of interest from organizations and donors who are really passionate about their favorite causes and wanting to open endowments,” says Tolton. T&G
More information about Centre Foundation and the 40 for 40 campaign can be found at centre-foundation.org/ways_to_give/40-for-40-campaign/.
Vincent Corso is a staff writer for Town&Gown and The Centre County Gazette. This story appears in the June 2022 issue of Town&Gown.
