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Robert H. Spitz Foundation
About The Robert H. Spitz Foundation
Scranton Area Community Foundation has served as administrator of the Robert H. Spitz Foundation since 2016. The Robert H. Spitz Foundation is a tax-exempt, private foundation and supports initiatives and programs serving the residents of Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Formed in 2015 through the estate of Mr. Spitz, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation supports an array of projects and programs that improve the Northeastern Pennsylvania region.
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations, providing support for programs that aim to break the cycle of poverty, remove economic barriers, and encourage independence in adults and children through access to safe, affordable housing, transportation, and education. Priority areas for funding also include veterans’ affairs and veteran-oriented programs, animal welfare, and support for Jewish culture, heritage, community, and cemetery support. To date, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation has provided nearly $6 million in funding to the community.
Robert H. Spitz was born in Scranton in 1955 and was a graduate of Scranton Central High School and the University of Miami, Florida. Before retirement, Mr. Spitz had been employed by the U.S. Department of Labor and was also the owner of several local Arby’s restaurants
Robert H. Spitz 2024 Grant Cycles
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, will have two grant cycles in 2024: a Spring and a Fall cycle.
The first grant cycle ended on May 30, 2024 and included the following priority funding areas:
- Veterans’ Affairs and Veteran-oriented Programs
- Animal Welfare
- Jewish Culture and Jewish Cemetery Support
The Fall 2024 grant cycle opens on Thursday, August 1, 2024 and will consider requests for the following priority funding areas:
- Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
- Programs that aim to remove economic barriers, mitigate intergenerational poverty, and encourage independence in adults and children through access to safe, affordable housing, transportation, education, training, and other important issues.
- Environmental
- Programs/projects that seek to preserve and/or protect the environment; raise awareness and/or educate about climate/environmental issues; and seeks to mitigate the impact of harmful practices to the environment and promote recreation/public health.
- Examples of qualifying Environmental requests include:
- A focus on carbon footprint reduction.
- A focus on increasing air and water quality.
- Conservation of wildlife habitats, open space greenways, rivers and watersheds.
- Education on living environmentally friendly lifestyles.
Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support initiatives and programs serving the residents of Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania are invited to apply.
The grant application process begins with submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) through the online portal.
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation primarily awards grants to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support initiatives and programs serving the residents of Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Deadlines
LOIs for the Robert H. Spitz Foundation Fall 2024 grant cycle will be due by Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM.
If invited to apply, grant applications will be due by Monday, September 30, 2024, at 11:59 PM.