Scranton Area Community Foundation Launches 2026 Community Support Initiative

Nonprofit organizations across Lackawanna County are navigating a period of significant uncertainty marked by rising costs, staffing challenges, policy changes, funding delays, and increased demand for services. In response, the Scranton Area Community Foundation (SACF) has launched its 2026 Community Support Initiative, inviting nonprofit partners to share candid insight into the realities they are facing through a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) process.

The initiative is designed as a listening and learning effort—not a competitive grant application—to help the Foundation better understand sector-wide challenges and determine how future grant opportunities can be structured to respond thoughtfully, effectively, and equitably.

“Nonprofits are experiencing interconnected pressures that extend beyond any single funding source,” said Laura Ducceschi, Scranton Area Community Foundation President and CEO. “This initiative allows us to listen closely, identify shared trends, and shape our response in a way that reflects what organizations are truly experiencing right now.”

As the Foundation enters 2026, it does so having already taken deliberate steps to meet heightened community needs. After careful consideration, SACF’s Board of Governors approved deploying significantly more grant funding in 2026 than in a typical year, balancing urgent community response with long-term fiduciary responsibility.

That approach began in 2025, when the Foundation’s distribution (grantmaking) committee expanded its definition of critical needs to better reflect current realities—such as emergency operational support, coverage of unforeseen budget gaps, and bridge funding for sudden revenue shortfalls.

“As we face ongoing uncertainty, the role of a community foundation is both clear and complex,” said David Price, the Foundation’s Board Chair. “We must respond to urgent needs today while stewarding resources to serve this region for generations to come. Listening to our nonprofit partners is essential to doing both well.”

The Community Support Initiative is part of a broader strategy through which SACF is working to strengthen community stability and resilience. In addition to grantmaking, the Foundation continues to convene partners, explore mission-aligned investments such as flexible capital and bridge funding, and advance regional initiatives focused on workforce development, food security, health system monitoring, and place-based economic opportunity.

“We recognize that uncertainty places an added burden on nonprofit organizations,” Ducceschi shared. “We are grateful to our partners for taking the time to share their experiences. Their insight will help guide how the Foundation listens, learns, and responds in the months ahead.”

The Foundation is inviting Lackawanna County 501(c)(3) nonprofits to submit a brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) by January 31, 2026, sharing current challenges, emerging needs, and anticipated impacts in the next 6–12 months. Organizations can apply through the SACF grant portal at safdn.org/grants and learn more about the Letter of Inquiry process at safdn.org/SACF2026LOI.