The Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund is a resident driven grantmaking initiative of the Pottstown Regional Community Foundation. The fund puts decision making power into the hands of Pottstown residents who know their neighborhoods best.
Rather than designing programs for the community, PRCF partners with residents to identify priorities, shape the grant process, and select projects that address the root causes of inequities in health, housing, employment, and safety.
Historically marginalized communities in Pottstown face inequitable access to education, employment, housing, and healthcare. They also carry a greater burden of violence and environmental risks. Too often, solutions are created without meaningful input from the people who are most affected.
The Community Voices Grant Fund changes that pattern. Residents lead the way at every step, which helps:
Participatory grantmaking shifts strategy, criteria, and funding decisions to the communities that funders aim to serve. This approach increases transparency, strengthens civic engagement, and builds local leadership capacity.
The fund launched in three main phases, guided by the Community Health Needs Assessment completed in partnership with Public Health Management Corporation in 2022.
In summer 2023, residents gathered for two community conversations at the Ricketts Center. These sessions:
From these conversations, residents identified four primary focus areas:
A six member Resident Advisory Council led the first grant cycle. Guided by the framework developed in Phase 2, the council:
PRCF staff handled technical assistance, honorariums, application logistics, and grant processing while working to ensure that resident voices remained central in all funding decisions.
An eight member Design Team of residents, including youth, met four times to co create the grantmaking framework. Together they:
The Design Team also defined what a strong applicant looks like. Competitive applicants are:
In the inaugural cycle, the Resident Advisory Council awarded grants to eight organizations:
Together, these projects are improving mental health, expanding access to green spaces and parks, promoting safety, and building pathways to employment.
Residents selected five focus areas for the Community Voices Grant Fund. Projects needed to address at least one of the following:
Access to parks, recreation, and green spaces: Safe access to parks, trails, community gardens, and recreation supports physical and mental health and strengthens social connection.
Positive mental health solutions: Programs that increase access to mental health care, build positive social connections, and support youth and families.
Neighborhood safety: Initiatives that reduce violence, improve lighting and infrastructure, and create safer public spaces.
Housing stability: Projects that support renters and homeowners, address environmental hazards such as lead or asbestos, and create pathways to affordable housing.
Eliminating barriers to employment: Efforts that support workforce readiness, skills development, mentorship, and pathways to living wage jobs
The Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund relies on philanthropic and corporate partners to sustain and grow its impact.
PRCF is building a dedicated fund to sustain PCVGF for years to come. Contributions of any size are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law and with continued investment, the Community Voices Grant Fund can serve as a model for resident led grantmaking across the region.
