LCCF Passion Grants

The Passion Grants program is administered by the Lancaster County Community Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that manages endowed funds to support community impact across Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Through contributions from donors over time, the Foundation has established multiple funding streams under the Passion Grants umbrella, each targeting a specific area of need such as human services, environmental protection, early childhood development, arts and culture, and social justice initiatives. The program reflects the Foundation’s mission to convert community passion into measurable, lasting impact through strategic grantmaking. The purpose of the Passion Grants program is to provide financial support to nonprofit organizations delivering programs and projects that benefit Lancaster County residents. Each funding stream within the program is tied to a specific donor fund with defined priorities, such as supporting home health care, advancing environmental conservation, promoting inclusion and anti-hate initiatives, or enhancing access to arts programming. Awards typically range from 7,500 to 37,000 dollars depending on the fund, with a total of approximately 210,000 dollars distributed across all Passion Grants in the current cycle. Funds are intended for programmatic activities rather than capital campaigns, new organization creation, or expenses incurred prior to award. Eligible applicants must meet strict organizational and compliance requirements. Applicants must be recognized as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations by the Internal Revenue Service, serve Lancaster County residents without discrimination, and maintain good standing with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations if applicable. Additional requirements include filing annual IRS Form 990, completing a recent independent financial audit or review, maintaining compliance with existing Foundation awards, and adhering to non-discrimination and anti-hate policies. Certain entities and uses are explicitly excluded, including schools, political campaigns, and religious activities that promote a specific belief system. The application process begins with submission of an Eligibility Screen through the Foundation’s online grant portal. This initial step requires basic organizational information and a brief project description and must be completed by May 6 at 11:59 pm. Following review within approximately three business days, eligible applicants are invited to submit a full application by the final deadline of May 13 at 11:59 pm. Applicants seeking feedback must adhere to earlier internal deadlines, including submission of the Eligibility Screen by April 8 and a draft application by April 15. The Foundation also offers optional virtual office hours sessions in March and April to support applicants. The full application requires responses to several structured narrative questions addressing project vision, equity and inclusion practices, implementation planning, use of funds, measurable goals, and collaboration with community partners. Each response has character limits and is evaluated by community reviewers using standardized criteria. Reviewers assess the strength of the project’s vision, its alignment with justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles, the feasibility of implementation, the clarity of goals and evaluation methods, and the degree of collaboration with other organizations. Award notifications are issued on July 17, at which point the grant funding period begins. Funded projects operate over a one-year period ending July 17 of the following year. Grantees are required to submit a final impact report by August 17 after the funding period concludes. While the program appears to operate annually, future cycles are expected to follow a similar timeline, with application openings in early spring and awards announced mid-summer. Applicants may contact Foundation staff, including Program Officer Rachael Hartman and Senior Program Officer Fran Rodriguez, for guidance throughout the process.

Align responses closely with evaluation criteria by clearly articulating community impact, demonstrating strong equity and inclusion practices, presenting a realistic implementation plan with defined milestones, and highlighting meaningful collaboration with partners