Field of Interest Funds

Arc of Dreams

The Arc of Dreams established this Fund to make Franklin Area Playgrounds safe and accessible to children of all abilities, including those with special needs. This permanent and growing endowment will be used to:

  • Provide the opportunity for residents to contribute to a permanent Fund that will maintain the community built playgrounds at the Eighth Street and any future Arc of Dreams sites;
  • Finance plans and design of other new community built playgrounds and
  • Enhance or improve other playgrounds in the Franklin area.

Ben Franklin Trust of the Venango Area Community Foundation

The Ben Franklin Trust Fund was established as a field of interest Fund in the Venango Area Community Foundation by a grant from the Ben Franklin Trust in 1993. The Venango Area Community Foundation’s Distribution Committee is to decide on the use of income from the Ben Franklin Trust Fund based upon current needs in Venango County and Northwest Pennsylvania that would be appropriate to award grants from a Fund in memory of Ben Franklin. Current priorities are:

  • Leadership Development,
  • Emerging Technologies,
  • Quality and Caring and
  • History and Heritage.

Focus On Our Future Fund

The Focus On Our Future Collaborative Board established the Focus On Our Future Fund in 2000 to support the ongoing process to initiate and improve prevention programs and initiatives in Venango County. This Fund is to support the vision that: “We in our community will all work in concert and the capstone value will be the nurture of Families and children.” The purpose of this permanent and growing endowment for children and families will be to:

  • Assess community needs and develop a local action plan;
  • Facilitate collaboration and information sharing among the various systems that serve families;
  • Promote education and understanding designed to shift thinking from treatment to prevention;
  • Actively work to build and strengthen the communities capacity to serve children and families and
  • Promote community awareness of the needs and issues of children and families in Venango County.

Land of Laughter Endowment

The Land of Laughter Endowment was established to make Oil City Area Playgrounds safe and accessible to children of all abilities, including those with special needs. The endowment provides a permanent and growing Fund for maintenance and construction of playgrounds by community volunteers. The Fund is used to:

  • Provide the opportunity for residents to contribute to a permanent Fund that will maintain the community built playgrounds at Mitchell Avenue and the former Lincoln School sites and
  • Finance plans and design of other new community built playgrounds and
  • Enhance or improve other playgrounds in the Oil City area.

Margaret Feldman Foundation

The Feldman Foundation was established by friends and associates, in memory of Margaret Feldman, a teacher and community leader in the Franklin area. The Foundation’s purpose is to improve education and develop the potential of youth in Venango County by creating an endowment that will enable donors to promote, sustain and strengthen literary education through the pursuit of excellence in the language arts by teachers and youth. The Foundation provides a permanent and growing endowment for literary education. The Feldman Foundation is used to:

  • Conduct an annual writing competition - The winning essays entries to receive a cash award;
  • Provide tutorial services - College preparatory tutoring in the language arts for students desirous of expanded knowledge of classic works of literature or of concentrated writing skills and
  • Award a Scholarship to pursue a college degree - To a deserving Venango County student who has achieved excellence in the language arts.

Nazareth Foundation (Nazareth in the Woods Fund)

The Nazareth in the Woods Fund was established by the Nazareth in the Woods Corporation desires To unite Catholic Christians concerned with current and future directions of Eucharistic practice in the Church; and to work for spiritual renewal, particularly as it incorporates vision and direction of Eucharistic practices in the Church. This mission is premised upon the Second Vatican Council that defines the Church as a visible structure and as a spiritual community. The purposes of the Nazareth Foundation: "Refounding" of the church shall mean entering into a collaborative process of returning to the original founding experience of Catholic Christianity, and reowning the primary purpose/vision of the original founding. The Nazareth Foundation can make grants to:

  • Those renewal and refounding entities who are inspired by the directives of the Vatican Council II which encourage and empower involvement of all baptized adults in the modern life of the Church.
  • Those entities who may be formed in conjunction with or independently of any present ecclesiastical office or structure so long as they: reflect prayerfully on the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in their own lives; study, observe and listen to the Magisterium of the Church (the teaching office of the Church) with a collaborative attitude, always ready to introduce new questions or issues, and discern collectively decisions or actions that will preserve and deepen the mystery of the Eucharist in Christian lives.
  • Those entities who through open, prayerful, and enlightened discussion of pertinent issues, and through dialogue with other Catholics locally and globally, attempt to participate in formulating and expressing what is historically and theologically referred to as the "Sensus Fidelium" (the Spirit-inspired beliefs of the faithful) with respect to Eucharistic practice.
  • Those entities whose work focuses on aiding Christians in developing practical spiritualities in their daily lives. Those apostolates that are facilitating authentic renewal; i.e., that help people grow in the interior life.
  • Those entities whose Ministry helps meet the particular growth needs of the person by taking a Christian Wholelistic approach with the individual, especially for those who are seeking deeper intimacy and a renewed spirituality.

Venango Education Foundation

This Fund was created from the consolidation of remaining education grant moneys and a grant from the Samuel Justus Charitable Trust. The Education Fund is used to support classroom projects in Venango County Schools. The Education Foundation committee considers requests from teachers and decides on grants based on the merit of each request as a learning project.

Venango Human Services Fund

The mission of the Venango Human Services Fund is to aid and support health, education, social welfare and charitable agencies. Grants are awarded yearly.

Alma T. Weingard Employee Award Fund

The Employee Award was established in the will of Alma T. Weingard. The annual employee award goes to the outstanding employee or employees of the Oil City Presbyterian Home. The award recipient is chosen by the residents and staff of the Presbyterian Home and is presented as recognition to the employee or employees of the year.

Bridge Builders Community Foundations
213 Seneca Street ~ Oil City, PA 16301 ~ tel: 814-677-8687