Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds

Pennsylvania is home to some of the most beautiful and diverse watersheds and ecosystems in the country. Within the last decade, these resources have improved as a surge of residents and communities have come together to form watershed initiatives and organizations. The Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program has been a valuable source of information, assistance, and capital to get these efforts off the ground. Its program continues to offer its services and expertise to groups that take pride in their surroundings and are working to create a better future for Pennsylvania.

The Community Foundation is proud to serve as the fiscal agent for the Watershed Program and to serve on the Program’s Advisory Board. Funding for the Program for this year came from the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Hunt Foundation, and others. In recent years the program has granted over $4.5 million and leveraged over $48 million in funding sources for over 150 separate organizations.
Services for the Watershed Program include technical assistance, funding development, board development assistance, and communications.

Program administrator John Dawes works closely with its partners to ensure that their mission is clearly defi ned and that they have the tools to implement projects that will accomplish both short- and long-term goals. In partnership with the well-defi ned watershed structure in the state, the Watershed Program’s first commitment is to foster the work of small, locally based watershed associations. It links these groups to the larger, regional watershed organizations that are responsible for the DCNR Rivers Conservation Planning Process. And it is a strong partner and endorses the activities of the statewide organization POWR – the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers.

The Watershed Program also consults with grantees, a number of whom are
working to restore watersheds in our local area of Bedford, Cambria, Somerset,
and Indiana counties, on how to build a funding base, gain matching funds,
build partnerships, and structure funding packages for a project.
More information about the Watershed Program can be found through linking to
its home page, www.wpawp.org