Imagine being in a situation where you are looking for a home in York County, only to learn that thanks to one of the fastest selling housing markets in the nation, you are priced out of nearly everything available. Then imagine being connected to someone who not only understands your situation, but can help you navigate your search for affordable housing. Imagine a single organization having the ability to help you search throughout York County and beyond to find what’s available. Wouldn’t you feel a sense of relief and feel more connected to your community?
Thanks to a grant to Affordable Housing Advocates from York County Community Foundation, (YCCF) a new Housing Coordinator can now help individuals and families that are searching for affordable housing.
This story—along with countless others like it—demonstrates the importance of community foundations in this country. Foundations are uniquely situated to improve their regions through supporting innovative solutions and by creating powerful partnerships. From November 12 to 18, we celebrate Community Foundation Week, a time when we can share and reflect on the stories of impact over the last year.
You may not know the York County Community Foundation (YCCF), but you’ve likely felt its impact. In fact, in 2022 alone, more than 55,000 residents in all corners of the county were impacted by a grant from YCCF’s Fund for York County.
The York County Community Foundation and 1000+ other community foundations across the country help bring donors and residents together. Community foundations work to support the places we call home.
Here in York, we are focused on creating a thriving and equitable community. We work with generous donors and dedicated nonprofit partners to ensure that everyone in York County has the opportunity to thrive.
By analyzing local data and studying our community’s greatest needs, YCCF can focus our grantmaking to address those needs. Our efforts to build economic mobility for low-income individuals are collaborative and provide long-term solutions that transform lives and our community. For example, to solve challenges around housing, we’ve convened and funded the Collaborative for Stable Housing in York County. Led by Friends and Neighbors of Pennsylvania, the collaboration is pursuing innovative long-term solutions to ensure homelessness becomes rare, brief, and non-recurring in York County.
In recent years, it has become even clearer that people from all walks of life are facing homelessness and housing insecurity. The lack of safe, affordable housing leads to a multitude of challenges and impacts employment, education, and health. The Collaborative for Stable Housing seeks to weave together a broad network of nonprofit service providers to create a solid path to stable housing for those experiencing housing insecurity in York County. YCCF proudly supports efforts that address chronic barriers to economic mobility for people in our community.
As we enter the giving season, we know that you want your heartfelt giving to have the most impact. For that reason, we encourage you to give to a community foundation like YCCF. A gift to your local community foundation is an investment in the future of your community. We like to say that community foundations are “here for good.”
Looking that far into the future may seem like a daunting task, but it’s one that we all share. At YCCF we don’t think about the next election or business cycle, we think about the next generation and the ones after that.
During Community Foundation Week, I hope you’ll join us in recognizing our collective impact and the difference we can make together.
– Marky Kay Bernosky
Vice President of Development at YCCF
