The William Penn Foundation - Environment & Communities

Director: Geraldine Wang

Funding goal:
To promote vital communities within a healthy regional ecosystem.

In 2009

Awarded 84 new grants for $18.8 million.
Made payments of $21.4 million on 172 active grants.

2010 grants awarded to date

News Items:
See below for news related to our Environment & Communities grantmaking

Help Philadelphia plan its future

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission, with support from the Foundation, is creating PHILADELPHIA2035: a new comprehensive plan to guide Philadelphia’s growth and development for the next several decades. This will be a public process with many opportunities for citizens to participate, starting in May and June 2010.

Diverse coalition secures $23 million to create a world-class network of trails
Greater Philadelphia received extraordinarily good news this week when the Federal government awarded $23 million in stimulus funding to local agencies that will help to establish a bi-state regional trail network.

Commercial Corridors: A Strategic Investment Framework for Philadelphia
What makes commercial corridors successful? How can Philadelphia use investments in these corridors to greater effect? A new study explores the drivers of success in areas with commecrial concentration.

Seizing Opportunities to Maximize the Value of Philadelphia's Housing Stock
A coalition of housing advocates has released two policy briefs making the case that Philadelphia should repair and weatherize its older housing stock, and target its new affordable housing construction dollars to make neighborhoods stronger and jumpstart private activity.

Thoughts on the Economic Recession
With a struggling national economy, we’re finding that many of our grantees, partners, and regional decision-makers are interested in knowing more about our fiscal health and strategic focus. What follows is a snapshot of our current circumstances and a view into our thinking about how the economy may affect our grantmaking.

Where We Stand: Community Indicators for Metropolitan Philadelphia
Researchers from the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project at Temple University have released their fourth annual report on the region, providing data and mapping applications for the region’s 353 municipalities.

Philadelphia's Changing Immigrant Population � Opportunities and Policy Challenges
Greater Philadelphia is once again becoming a key hub for immigration, and now has the largest and fastest-growing immigrant population of its peers.

Pennsylvania's Tax Burden Examined in New Report
Pennsylvania ranks favorably among states in overall taxation and spending levels, but the Commonwealth’s tax system is highly regressive, placing a greater burden on the poorest 20 percent of our citizens.

A New Day on the Delaware
On June 26, Penn Praxis released its Action Plan for the Central Delaware 2008-2018, a series of recommendations designed to transform one of Philadelphia’s greatest assets.

Blueprints for Stormwater Success

A new interactive web tool, StormwaterPA.org, will help Pennsylvania’s municipal officials, planners, engineers, and builders avoid the flooding, erosion, pollution, and economic loss associated with stormwater.

A Civic Vision for the Peoples' Waterfront
Philadelphia’s citizens have spoken. After a year of intense civic engagement, Penn Praxis has unveiled a new vision for the peoples’ waterfront.

Reinventing Older Communities: How Does Place Matter?
The Foundation is pleased to support the third biennial Reinventing Older Communities conference, to be hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 26 to 28, 2008.

Renovate or Replace?
Conceived and produced by a task force representing state agencies and nonprofit partner agencies, Renovate or Replace provides a convincing array of arguments for restoration and reuse of older neighborhood-based schools.

Philadelphia: The Next Great City
The William Penn Foundation is proud to support the Next Great City initiative, a growing coalition of groups advocating a better future for Philadelphia through cost effective, common sense strategies designed to improve our city’s quality of life and economic competitiveness.

A Community-Driven Vision for Philadelphia's Riverfront
Joining PennPraxis and the city of Philadelphia, the Foundation is pleased to support a civic engagement process that will shape one of our region's most significant assets: the Central Delaware Riverfront.

Making Food Stamps Work

Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger has released a new report documenting the efforts of a public-private partnership designed to help people access food stamps.

Pollster Finds Surprising Depth of Concern for the Environment Among Philadelphians
In a new poll, an overwhelming majority of Philadelphians reported that environmental issues are a major concern likely to impact their voting behavior.

Philadelphia Featured in PBS Documentary
Philadelphia is featured along with Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle, in the new PBS documentary series, Edens Lost & Found.

Building Environmental Leadership in Greater Philadelphia
Regional environmental leaders are encouraged to take advantage of capacity-building opportunities offered in Greater Philadelphia by two nationally-recognized training institutions.

Training Offered for Area Nonprofit Organizations
The Nonprofit Finance Fund offers a variety of training workshops for nonprofit organizations in Greater Philadelphia on topics ranging from real estate and facilities to alignment of programs and finances.

The Franklin Conference: Engaging Citizens in Innovative School Design
The School District of Philadelphia is poised to invest $1.8 billion in the city's schools, providing residents with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the role of schools in our community.

Multi-Municipal Planning in New Jersey's Pine Barrens
Near Wharton State Forest, local officials from two adjoining communities are developing environmentally-sensitive land use plans together in a project designed to serve as a model for other communities facing similar development pressures.

Promoting Growth: Reforms Proposed to Philadelphia's Zoning and Permitting Practices
With support from the Foundation, the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia has released a report advocating changes to Philadelphia's unpredictable and cumbersome Zoning Code and permitting systems.