Founded in 1995 by several local leaders, The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County's mission is to encourage local residents to become philanthropists, provide grants that support a wide variety of charitable organizations and serve as a community leader.

In November 2005, the Council on Foundations recognized The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County for having organizational and financial practices that are in accordance with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.  The Council on Foundations and leaders of the community foundation field created the National Standards in 2000 to aid community foundations in establishing legal, ethical and effective operational practices that would show the foundations’ transparency and financial responsibility in light of the increased public scrutiny of foundation practices. 

Intended both as a blueprint for internal organizational development and as a tangible set of benchmarks for external assessment of performance, the 42 National Standards address six key areas of community foundation operations.  In order to achieve Confirmation of Compliance with the National Standards, community foundations must undergo an extensive review of their organizational and financial policies and procedures.  The review is performed by trained, experienced community foundation practitioners.

Copyright © 2007 The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. All rights reserved.