Three McGowan grantees discuss their work addressing food insecurity in their respective communities. The statistics for food insecurity in the U.S. are dire. According to the Food Research & Action Center, about one in seven households experiences lack of access...
The Center for Teen Empowerment recognizes that before its participants can grow, their most basic needs, like hunger, must be met. “I have this little thing with our director, Shanterra Mitchum,” jokes Sahiyra Dillard, associate program coordinator and former youth...
A letter from board director Mark Rosica Dear Friends, I spent considerable time with Bill McGowan when he was building the company and in the early days of MCI. When I was in graduate school, I would go down and visit him for weeks at a time, and he was just this...
Luzerne, Pennsylvania Dress for Success Not long ago, Linda Armstrong-Loop, Founder and CEO of the Luzerne County branch of Dress for Success, received a letter from an inmate at a women’s correctional facility she’d provided library books to through a program...
Denver, Colorado Bright Future Foundation/Bright House Most domestic violence shelters across the U.S. are in undisclosed locations to protect the families escaping abusive situations staying there. Unfortunately, especially in small rural communities, it can be a...
Letter from the 2024 Annual Report As we interviewed this year’s grantees, a theme quickly presented itself. Every organization we spoke with relayed to us how important partnership had been in their work, especially in the post-COVID years. All highlighted the...
Foodlink fills its community with more than food. Foodlink is proud to call itself one of the oldest food banks in the country, but it’s the organization’s forward thinking that sets it apart from similar nonprofits. “Rather than just handing out food, which we do as...
A Rochester-based program helps kids leap over summer learning loss. Greater Rochester Summer Learning Association President & CEO Luis A. Perez spoke with us about the organization’s successful summertime academic intervention program. You’ve been with...
A letter from board member Marianne Rosica-Brand. Dear Friends, For as long as I can remember, the unspoken message from my parents about “Uncle Bill” was that they admired his thirst for knowledge and his entrepreneurial spirit. Because of this, for me, it is both an...
Sahar Jamal, founder and CEO of Maziwa and McGowan Fellow Class of 2019, recently followed up with the Fund after her moving speech at the 2023 McGowan Symposium on Business Leadership & Ethics. She discussed how listening to her community’s needs helped create a...
A letter from board secretary A. Joseph Rosica. Dear Friends, Though our board members share similar goals like striving to ease the effects of poverty and ensuring our local children are kindergarten ready, part of what makes our board unique is that our approaches,...
Warren Village expands by placing community needs and community voices at the forefront of their work. 2024 is a big year for Warren Village. Not only does 2024 mark the 50th anniversary of the organization, 2024 will bring to fruition many years of hard work and...
The Delores Project uses its big heart to make big goals a reality. Emily Wheeland, CEO of The Delores Project, has been with the Denver-based organization for almost 10 years now. She began her work with them in 2015 as an overnight shelter assistant and her...
When Larry Lewis, executive director of Growing Futures Early Education Center, gives examples of the types of children the organization assists, he calls them all “Little Larry.” It’s clear that the work is personal for him. His dedication to his job and his care for...
Letter from the 2023 Annual Report Dear Friends, 2023 marked a milestone for the McGowan Fund—30 years of impactful philanthropy. Since our inception in 1993, we have evolved from filling gaps to strategically addressing community needs with a keen focus on three...
An Interview with Johnny C. Taylor Jr. Johnny C. Taylor Jr., CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and one of the judges for our Ethical Leader of the Year Award (ELYA), recently spoke with the Fund about principles, second chances, and what he looks...
For almost 60 years, and with millions of pounds of food, the Commission on Economic Opportunity has been addressing community poverty in Northeast Pennsylvania. The Commission on Economic Opportunity’s motto is People Helping People. The saying is found again and...
A letter from board member Daniel McGowan Hello All, As we kick off 2024, I thought that it might be nice to take a moment to reflect on why the Fund does what it does, as well as the people that make it possible for us to do this wonderful work. When we are our most...
An interview with David J. Laughlin, president of Rockhurst High School. Could you please tell me a little bit about the history of the Rockhurst High School? Since the beginning, back when we opened in 1914, our mission was to take the vehicle of education and help...
Will you tell me a little about how you joined the McGowan team and RISE? In October of 2021, I helped with the public launch of NEPA RISE. Throughout that time, I was still on the marketing side, really trying to grow the awareness of this wonderful program because...
