Bridge Builders Community Foundations is dedicated to building a permanent legacy through transformative philanthropy for the communities we serve.
Bridge Builders Community Foundations provides the highest quality, reliable experience to donors at all levels of our operation.
We will honor and recognize the legacies of all donors to the Bridge Builders Community Foundations and assist in creating new charitable legacies for the people of our region.
We are committed to serving as the bridge between the private philanthropy of the past and present and the community needs of today and tomorrow.
We continually evaluate and monitor our internal processes to maintain our organization’s health. We make improvements when they are necessary with longevity and permanence in mind.
Planning is the common denominator for all of our values. It is the past, present, and future. Reviewing our history, planning becomes the blueprint for today and the design for the future.
We approach our work with the pressing needs of our community in the forefront of all that we do.
The Venango Area Community Foundation was founded on April 30, 1975. The first discretionary fund was created within the Venango Area Community Foundation portfolio in June 1976 by Galena Rew Harrington and Mary E. Rew, both of Franklin, who were two local community volunteers who wanted to make a difference. They started that initial endowment with a gift and trust transfer totaling almost $80,000.
Today that endowment still exists as the oldest continued endowment in Bridge Builders Community Foundations’ portfolio, and distributes approximately $5,000 annually to local causes every year.
The Venango Area Community Foundation changed its name to Bridge Builders Community Foundations in 2006 and created affiliates to serve the Venango, Clarion, and Forest counties to leverage assets, fund management, and giving.
It took a long time to evolve as a community foundation and to become the umbrella foundation serving our four area affiliates.
Through economic upturns and downturns, staff changes, and social impact over the years we have been able to uphold our values and stay true to what we were founded on over 40 years ago.
