The Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund is a resident-led participatory grantmaking initiative of the Pottstown Regional Community Foundation.
Created in response to community health needs identified in Pottstown neighborhoods affected by long-term disinvestment and historic inequities, this fund puts decision-making power into the hands of residents. Community Voices supports projects that improve health, opportunity, and quality of life in Pottstown.
The Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund is designed to ensure that community solutions are shaped with residents, not just for residents.
Through this model, residents help identify priorities, shape the grantmaking framework, and guide funding decisions. By centering lived experience, Community Voices creates a more inclusive and responsive way to invest in local solutions.
Historically marginalized communities in Pottstown continue to face inequities in housing, health, employment, education, and safety. Too often, solutions are developed without the meaningful input of the people most affected.
The Community Voices Grant Fund helps change that by placing residents at the center of the process. Participatory grantmaking helps:
Community Voices was built through a resident-centered process that moved from community input to grantmaking action.
PRCF staff support the process with facilitation, technical assistance, and grant administration while keeping resident voices central to decision-making.
Community conversations helped surface local priorities and community concerns.
A resident design team helped shape the grant framework, including eligibility, application questions, and the scoring rubric.
A resident advisory council reviewed applications and recommended how funding should be distributed.
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.
In the inaugural cycle, 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 community support to sustain and grow its impact.
With continued support, Community Voices can grow its reach and help ensure that the future of Pottstown is shaped by the voices of its residents.
The current round of the Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund supports programs and projects that improve the health and well-being of Pottstown residents in neighborhoods affected by historic disinvestment. Residents on the Advisory Council review applications and guide funding recommendations.
Grant Cycle Open:
April 1 to April 30, 2026
Applicants should review the full Request for Proposals for complete eligibility requirements. In general, eligible applicants must:
Strong applicants should be able to demonstrate that they:
This round supports programs and projects in one or more of the following areas:
Applicants may request up to $15,000, and each organization may submit one request. The grant period begins July 1, 2026 and ends June 30, 2027.
Timeline
This year, every gift can go twice as far thanks to a $50,000 matching opportunity. Your support fuels early action, resident-led solutions, and lasting community resources.
Emerging Needs & Rapid Response Fund:
Help us respond early to new and growing challenges by piloting and expanding solutions before a problem becomes a crisis.
Pottstown Community Voices Grant Fund:
Power resident-led grantmaking that funds local projects shaped by lived experience and community priorities.
Diana Smith Memorial Endowment:
Support student loan debt relief for nurses and behavioral health professionals serving the Boyertown and Tri-County area.
Boyertown Pool Construction Fund:
Help restore and rebuild the Boyertown Pool by supporting essential repairs and improvements for long-term community use.
