History

The Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF), a 501(c)(3) publicly-supported grant-making foundation, began operations in December of 1995 and ended that year with a mere $5,000 in assets. The WCCF reached the $5 million mark in assets in 2007 and currently manages close to $50 million in assets, representing more than 150 permanent and temporary funds.

The Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Washington County by promoting and facilitating philanthropy. Since its beginning, the WCCF has been focused on building an ever-increasing endowment to address changing community needs. However, the Foundation recognizes that some donors wish to address more immediate and pressing needs, so it manages a number of pass-through funds as well. The WCCF's purposes include helping donors accomplish their goals by professionally managing funds entrusted to it for today and for the future, and by distributing these funds as directed by the donor or the Board of Trustees in the areas of arts & humanities, community improvement & economic development, education, environment & animal welfare, health & fitness, human needs, and religion & faith-based programs.

The WCCF is audited each year by an independent, certified public accounting firm, files the Federal Form 990 annually, and is registered with the PA Charities Bureau. It was one of the first community foundations in the country to be approved for the Council on Foundation’s rigorous National Standards for Community Foundations, and was recently reconfirmed compliant.