What Lehigh Valley Community Foundation does

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) is a 501(c)(3) community foundation headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that manages more than 300 charitable funds totaling approximately $130-140 million in assets on behalf of individual donors, families, nonprofits, and professional advisors across the Lehigh Valley region. Founded in 1967 as the Bethlehem Area Foundation and regionalized under its current name in 1992, LVCF operates six core charitable fund products — donor-advised funds, designated funds, scholarship and award funds, agency funds, area-of-interest funds, and community investment/unrestricted funds — supplemented by the EverGreen Fund (a 'Super DAF' alternative to private foundations) and Impact Services for outcome measurement. On the grantmaking side, the Foundation operates three leadership initiatives (capacity building via the CORE Fellowship, early childhood education, and arts and culture via Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Region 5) plus responsive vehicles such as the Trusted Response Fund and the Critical Support Fund.

The Foundation runs on an operational technology stack rather than a proprietary platform: Foundant for grants management, FCSuite for donor and fund administration, Stripe and Engiven for online and cryptocurrency donations, SharePoint for board governance, and PNC Institutional Asset Management as Outsourced Chief Investment Officer for two investment portfolios. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven and high-touch, relying on dedicated staff (Director of Donor Services, Director of Donor Initiatives, Vice President of Community Investments) and a 150+ member Board of Associates to engage donors, a Professional Advisor Recognition Society to source referrals from attorneys, accountants, and wealth managers, and direct outreach to 400+ regional nonprofit grantees.

Revenue is generated through administrative/management fees charged on charitable assets under management (fee schedule effective annually since July 1, 2024) plus investment income, with FY24-25 inflows of more than $22 million in gifts and more than $9 million in grants distributed. The Foundation is governed by a 19-member Board of Governors, led by President and CEO Erika Riddle Petrozelli (since January 2021), Executive Vice President and CFO Trisha R. Higgins (since 2002), and a staff of approximately 13 professionals. Its current 'Growth Through Partnership' strategic plan (2022-2025) emphasizes place-based philanthropy, community leadership, equity, and organizational strengthening.

Name

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation

Legal name

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation

Website

https://lehighvalleyfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation in Allentown, Pennsylvania that manages 300+ charitable funds totaling approximately $130-140 million for individual donors, professional advisors, and nonprofits across the Lehigh Valley region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Donor-advised funds
• Charitable fund management
• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Planned giving services

Headquarters

HQ city

Allentown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charitable Asset Management: LVCF manages charitable funds and charges administrative/management fees on assets under management. The foundation receives contributions from donors, invests and grows those assets over time, and distributes grants to nonprofits. Fee schedule is available upon request.
2. Donor-Advised Fund Administration: The foundation administers donor-advised funds, designated funds, scholarship funds, agency funds, and other charitable vehicles, earning administrative fees for fund management and grantmaking services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation that collects contributions from individual donors and families, manages more than 300 charitable funds (donor-advised, designated, scholarship, agency, area-of-interest, and unrestricted endowments) with approximately $130 million in combined assets, and distributes grants to nonprofit organizations serving the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Revenue is generated primarily through administrative fees charged on assets under management, supplemented by investment returns and donor contributions.

Product overview

Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) offers a coordinated suite of charitable fund products centered around its core fund management platform. The primary offerings are six types of charitable funds: Donor-Advised Funds (the most flexible vehicle, allowing donors to recommend grants over time), Designated Funds (auto-pilot giving to named nonprofits), Scholarship & Award Funds (education-focused), Agency Funds (for nonprofits), Area-of-Interest Funds (issue-specific), and Community Investment/Unrestricted Funds (driving LVCF's leadership grantmaking). Supporting the fund platform are the EverGreen Fund (a 'Super DAF' alternative to private foundations), Impact Services (outcome measurement), and Professional Advisor Services. On the grantmaking side, LVCF operates three foundation-directed leadership initiatives — Capacity Building (including the CORE Fellowship), Early Childhood Education, and Arts & Culture (via Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts) — plus responsive grant programs like the Trusted Response Fund. The portfolio also includes donor recognition societies (Legacy Society, Rolland Adams Society) and an Advisor Recognition Society (PARS) for professional partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Funds Flexible charitable giving accounts that allow individual donors and families to contribute assets, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to nonprofit organizations over time.
• Designated Funds Endowment funds established by donors to support one or more specific nonprofit organizations in perpetuity, with annual distributions managed by the foundation.
• Scholarship & Award Funds Funds that provide scholarships or awards to students, professionals, or community members based on criteria established by the donor.
• Agency Funds Funds held by the foundation on behalf of nonprofit agencies to provide stable investment management and long-term sustainability for the agency's reserves and endowments.
• Area-of-Interest Funds Funds restricted by donors to specific causes, geographic areas, or charitable purposes such as education, the arts, or the environment.
• Community Investment Funds Mission-aligned investment vehicles that enable donors to align charitable assets with social or environmental impact goals while generating returns.
• Community Endowment Funds Unrestricted funds that allow the foundation's board to direct grants to the community's most pressing needs, supporting flexible, responsive grantmaking.
• EverGreen Fund A donor-advised legacy vehicle introduced in 2022 to grow the foundation's unrestricted endowment and ensure long-term community impact.
• Trusted Response Fund Rapid-response grantmaking vehicle that deploys resources to address urgent community needs in the Lehigh Valley, including disaster relief and emerging crises.
• Professional Advisor Services Tailored philanthropic planning support for attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, and wealth managers serving clients with charitable giving needs.
• Impact Services Foundation-led grantmaking and convening initiatives in priority areas including early childhood education, capacity building, arts and culture, and community policy.
• Early Childhood Education Grantmaking Strategic grantmaking program administered by a dedicated Program Officer that funds early childhood education initiatives across the Lehigh Valley.
• Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (Region 5) Regional regranting program for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts that distributes funding to local artists and arts organizations in the Lehigh Valley region.
• CORE Fellowship Capacity-building program that provides leadership development and resources for executive directors and emerging leaders of Lehigh Valley nonprofits.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Council on Foundations / Resetting the TableminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026LVCF's Program Officer for Capacity Building participated in the Council on Foundations' Communicating Across Divides: A Facilitation Intensive, a national program led by Resetting the Table supporting constructive communication across political, social, and cultural divides.
• United Way of the Greater Lehigh ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Joint initiative through the Critical Support Fund to address urgent food access and emergency needs in the Greater Lehigh Valley. The partnership mobilized over $689,000 to support food providers and families facing food insecurity. LVCF and United Way coordinate with Second Harvest Food Bank and Community Action Lehigh Valley to distribute resources.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partner in the Critical Support Fund, coordinating bulk food purchases and distribution to more than 100 food pantries across Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Monroe counties. Purchased 775,995 pounds of food to serve 25,762 households per month.
• Community Action Lehigh ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Partner in the Critical Support Fund and ongoing community initiatives. Works with LVCF on food access programs and serves as a key community partner in addressing regional needs.
• Early Childhood Education Action CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022LVCF serves as backbone convenor for the Lehigh Valley's Early Childhood Action Collaborative. Partnership focuses on addressing the early childhood crisis through advocacy, funding, and systems change efforts.
• Pennsylvania Council on the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLVCF serves as regional partner agency for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, administering the Partners in the Arts program for Region 5 (Carbon, Monroe, Lehigh, and Northampton counties). Manages Creative Sector Flex Fund and Creative Entrepreneurs Accelerator Program.
• Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted early childhood education breakfast meeting and panel discussion with community leaders on pressing early childcare issues.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Berks County Community Foundation: Pennsylvania regional community foundation serving Berks County with comparable AUM scale and a similar mix of donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, and area-of-interest grantmaking. Closely mirrors LVCF's operating model and donor-base dynamics in an adjacent PA geography.
• The Philadelphia Foundation: One of the oldest community foundations in the U.S., serving the Philadelphia region with a similar product suite (DAFs, designated funds, scholarships, agency funds) and focus on place-based philanthropy. A directly comparable peer from the same state with greater scale.
• The Pittsburgh Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation serving Pittsburgh and surrounding counties with comparable fund types, regional grantmaking priorities, and a partnership model with professional advisors. Operates in the same regulatory and competitive environment as LVCF.
• Community Foundation of New Jersey: Mid-Atlantic community foundation with comparable AUM scale, donor-advised fund focus, and state-level foundation partnerships. Comparable in structure, donor-engagement model, and grantmaking priorities to LVCF.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the largest U.S. community foundations and a benchmark for place-based philanthropy programs similar to LVCF's Early Childhood Action Collaborative and CORE Fellowship capacity-building initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: Large national DAF sponsor and direct competitor for donor-advised fund assets. Targets the same HNW donor pool that LVCF reaches via its Professional Advisor Recognition Society.
• Fidelity Charitable: The largest national donor-advised fund sponsor, with tens of billions in DAF AUM. Directly competes with LVCF's DAF offering on scale, brand recognition, and minimums, serving donors who may otherwise consider a community foundation DAF.

Others

• Council on Foundations: National membership association for U.S. foundations, of which LVCF (through staff participation in programs like Communicating Across Divides) is a member. Sets standards and convening infrastructure for community foundations like LVCF.

Emerging players

• National Philanthropic Trust: Independent national DAF sponsor with significant AUM growth, competing for the same donor-advised fund dollars as community foundations but at a national scale. A growing threat to regional foundations' DAF franchises.

Regional players

• United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley: Local federated-giving and community-impact organization serving the same Lehigh Valley geography with related (but distinct) community-fundraising and grantmaking functions. Coordinates with LVCF via the Critical Support Fund.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lvcfoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuaNOarD_-ZhGrgeeKKhUXw
• Facebookfacebook.com/LVCFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lehigh-valley-community-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/lvc_foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lehigh Valley Community Foundation