What The Luzerne Foundation does

The Luzerne Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public community foundation founded in 1994 and headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, serving Columbia and Luzerne Counties through pooled charitable fund administration, grant-making, and donor services. Its core product is the management of more than 500 individual charitable funds on behalf of donors, families, and nonprofit organizations, supplemented by an Investment Program, a Nonprofit Accelerator, a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), an EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program, and recurring scholarship and competitive grant cycles. The foundation runs its operations on third-party technology infrastructure — FCSuite for online fund management and GrantInterface for grant application intake — with no proprietary platform, AI capabilities, or custom-built software disclosed in the source data.

The foundation's business model is that of a permanent community endowment institution: it derives operating support from investment returns on its $121M+ in total assets under management, administrative fees charged against managed funds, and incoming contributions and grants, including a recent $300,000 investment from Amazon supporting the Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Fund. Since inception, the foundation reports having awarded $192 million in cumulative grants to community beneficiaries. The organization is staffed by approximately 10 employees, reflecting the lean cost structure typical of regionally focused community foundations. Strategic partnerships in 2025 — notably with Amazon and the Community Giving Foundation — and the launch of the SportzWire Community Impact Fund indicate an active effort to broaden programmatic reach and diversify funding sources within the foundation's defined two-county service area.

Name

The Luzerne Foundation

Legal name

The Luzerne Foundation

Website

https://luzfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Luzerne Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation founded in 1994 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, managing over 500 charitable funds across Columbia and Luzerne Counties with $121M+ in assets and $192M in cumulative grants awarded.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation and Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable fund management
• Grantmaking programs
• Donor-advised funds
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilkes-Barre

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Luzerne Foundation is a community foundation that helps individuals, families, and businesses establish and manage charitable funds and redistributes pooled assets as grants, scholarships, and community programs in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It administers multiple grant cycles, an EITC tax credit program, scholarship funds, a Nonprofit Accelerator, and a Youth Advisory Committee, while providing donors online access to their fund accounts through an FCSuite-based portal.

Product overview

The Luzerne Foundation operates as a community foundation offering a unified platform of philanthropic services centered around charitable fund management. The core offering consists of fund establishment and management services, supplemented by multiple grant programs (Luzerne Foundation Grants, Pasco L. Schiavo Grants, Greenlight Project Grants), educational support through scholarship programs, and youth development via the Youth Advisory Committee. Additional services include the Nonprofit Accelerator for capacity building, an Investment Program for fund management, donor recognition programs (Millennium Circle, Rusty Flack Society), and tax incentive programs (EITC). Fundholders access their accounts through an online portal (FCSuite), and the foundation partners with GrantInterface for grant applications. The foundation reports $192 million in awarded grants, $121+ million in total assets, and manages 500+ charitable funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charitable Fund Management Helps individuals, families, and businesses establish and manage charitable funds, including donor-advised funds, memorial funds, and designated funds for long-term philanthropic impact, with online account access via the FCSuite portal.
• Luzerne Foundation Grants Core grant cycle supporting local charities and nonprofit organizations serving Luzerne County communities, administered through the GrantInterface application system.
• Pasco L. Schiavo Grants Named grant program honoring Pasco L. Schiavo, supporting community initiatives in the Hazleton area.
• Greenlight Project Grants Grant initiative supporting community improvement and development projects across the foundation's service area.
• Nonprofit Accelerator Program providing resources, training, and support to help nonprofit organizations build operational capacity and effectiveness in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
• Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Program engaging young people in philanthropy through leadership development, grantmaking, and community service, with a 2025/2026 student cohort.
• Scholarship Programs Multiple scholarship opportunities for regional high school and college students, including college and financial aid resources, application tips, and a senior scholarship checklist.
• Millennium Circle Collaboration program recognizing and engaging major donors in collaborative philanthropy across the foundation's funds.
• Rusty Flack Society Donor recognition program for individuals who have included The Luzerne Foundation in their planned or estate gifts.
• Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) Program allowing Pennsylvania businesses to receive state tax credits for contributions to EITC-approved scholarship and educational improvement organizations through the foundation.
• SportzWire Community Impact Fund Newly established named fund at the foundation that supports aspiring student journalists, broadcasters, photographers, and content creators with equipment, training, and real-world opportunities, and coordinates community outreach initiatives such as food and clothing drives.

Quantifiable outcome

• $192 Million in grants awarded to the community
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Amazon (Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Fund)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Amazon, through its Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Fund, invested $300,000 in partnership with Community Giving Foundation and The Luzerne Foundation to empower nonprofits serving Columbia and Luzerne Counties. The grant program opened in 2025 with applications closing July 31, 2026. The partnership aims to drive transformation, resiliency, and lasting change in local communities through targeted funding for qualifying nonprofits.
• Community Giving FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Giving Foundation partners with The Luzerne Foundation on collaborative initiatives including the Amazon Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Fund. The partnership leverages both foundations' community networks and grantmaking expertise to maximize impact for local nonprofits in Columbia and Luzerne Counties.
• SportzWire Community Impact FundminorOthersA newly established fund at The Luzerne Foundation that supports aspiring student journalists, broadcasters, photographers, and content creators with equipment, training, and real-world opportunities. The fund also coordinates community outreach initiatives including food and clothing drives benefiting families throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Philadelphia Foundation: One of the oldest and largest community foundations in Pennsylvania, managing a much larger asset base across the Philadelphia region. Provides a scaled reference point for the same business model.
• Pittsburgh Foundation: Major Pennsylvania community foundation with broad donor, grantmaking, and scholarship programs across the Pittsburgh region. Larger scale version of the same community foundation model.

Direct peers

• Erie Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation administering charitable funds, scholarships, and competitive grant cycles for the Erie region. Closely analogous business model and program mix.
• York County Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation providing donor services, grantmaking, and scholarship programs for York County. Directly comparable scale and operational model.
• Chester County Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation managing donor-advised funds, scholarships, and nonprofit grants for Chester County. Comparable regional foundation with similar program offerings.
• First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania-based community foundation serving the Northcentral region with comparable fund management, scholarship, and grantmaking services. Similar operational scale and program structure.
• Community Giving Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Columbia and Luzerne Counties in Pennsylvania, frequently partnering with The Luzerne Foundation (e.g., Amazon NEPA Community Fund). Same geography, same customer base, same business model.
• Lehigh Valley Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation managing donor-advised funds and grantmaking for the Lehigh Valley region. Directly comparable regional community foundation with similar fund management and grant cycle programs.
• Central Pennsylvania Community Foundation: Pennsylvania community foundation managing charitable funds and grantmaking across multiple counties. Comparable mission, donor services, and community grant programs.

Regional players

• Scranton Area Community Foundation: Community foundation serving the Scranton/Lackawanna County area in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Same region but adjacent county, providing a directly comparable peer with overlapping donor geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/182278295122229
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-luzerne-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Luzerne Foundation