Four years ago, The Erie Community Foundation recognized a need in the community at the grassroots level. Many smaller groups, such as neighborhood watch groups, could benefit from small amounts of funding for their specific projects. As a result, the Neighborhood Mini-Grant was started. Groups are eligible for mini-grants up to $500, and groups can submit more than one grant application.

The response from the community has been very well received. In fact, 2010 marks the fourth year that The Erie Community Foundation has presented these grants. Any neighborhood group in Erie County is eligible. This is the second year of partnering with Stef Chatman and the first year of partnering with the Erie Neighborhood Watch Council.
Applications for the Neighborhood Mini-Grants were accepted for requests for projects such as: community building, recreation, and neighborhood restoration.

Below is the list of the 2010 grant recipients:

1. $500 Bayfront NATO Inc / Martin Luther King Center
2. $1,000 Sisters of St. Joseph: Beautification & Sign Replacement
3. $500 Wesleyville Borough Neighborhood Watch
4. $1,000 Sisters of Mercy: Basic Carpentry`& painting skills
5. $500 Wood Hood NW: Block Party & Newsletter
6. $500 Lincoln Elementary School: Jump start your school year
7. $1,000 Bayfront East Side Taskforce Movies Under the Stars & Ongoing neighborhood beautification
8. $1,500 Bethesda Trinity Center: Horticulture, Waldameer, End of Summer Celebration
9. $1,000 Bethany Multicultural: “Do It Yourself Legal Clinics” & Parenting Classes
10. $500 Booker T Washington Center /Healthy Youth Development: Igniting the Spark
11. $500 SafeNet: Discover our City Teen Scavenger Hunt
12. $500 Multicultural Community Resource Center: Neighborhood Gardens
13. $500 Snoops #13 Neighborhood Watch Group: Park Beautification
14. $1,000 Land Lighthouse Neighborhood Watch: Wild Wednesdays & Emergency Preparedness
15. $500 Garden Court Neighborhood Watch: Erie Alerts Twitter
16. $500 Buffalo Road Neighborhood Watch: Safety Lighting
17. $500 Corry Fest ’09: Corry Community Development Corp.
18. $500 Neighborhood Watch Council: Street Signs
19. $1,500 South East Hills Neighborhood Watch: Farmers Market, National Night Out & Sustainability for the Future
20. $500 Youth for Christ: Wheelchair ramps
21. $500 Central City Neighborhood Alliance: Beautification
22. $500 Elk Creek Recreation & Leisure Board/Girard Borough: Adult Swim
23. $500 Burton School: Summer Basketball program
24. $500 Glenwood Watch Group
25. $1,500 Union City Pride: Lawn Chairs, Art Show, Neighborhood Beautification

The Health & Environment category encompasses requests from nonprofits working to promote improved health outcomes.

Services funded may include:

• Health centers serving patients who are uninsured, under-insured or receive Medical Assistance
• Services improving child and maternal health outcomes
• Agencies promoting healthy lifestyles, nutrition and improved fitness among children and youth
• Organizations handling end-of-life and palliative care
• Home health care organizations
• Environment requests from organizations working toward improved land-use planning, preservation and protection of the natural environment, resources and wildlife, and energy efficiency

The grant application deadline is July 16, 2010. Grants are announced by October 4, 2010.

If you have questions, please e-mail David González, program officer or call (814) 454-0843.

The US Census Bureau reports that our per capita income was 20% below the national average in 2000. It was 21.4% below in 2008.

Erie County falls behind in the education attainment rates compared to Pennsylvania and the Nation. The number of Erie County residents 25 or older, with a bachelor degree or higher is only 23.1% compared to the 27.4% in the United States.

Our young people continue to leave. Our median age was 36.2 in 2000 and 38.2 in 2008. Based on feddback from the nonprofit sector, the 2010 census will likely show these trends continued and accelerated.

"The statistics underscore the reality that Erie County needs a community college," said Mike Batchelor, president of The Erie Community Foundation. "It is in the best interest of our county to try and reverse the trends that have led us to become less educated and poorer than Pennsylvania and the United States."

The community college has met some opposition, especially within the County Council, but on June 15th the council passed the resolution, 5-1 to make the county government the state-required sponsor for the community college. This approval was needed because Erie is a Third Class city, not a first class city and state law requires sponsorship from one of three sources; a First Class city, school districts or the county.

State Senator Jane Earll has also been a strong supporter of the community college and has been able to pass state legislation to use money from table games revenue from the Presque Isle Downs & Casino to fund the community college.

Business leader and chief executive of GE Transportation, the largest employer in our area, Lorenzo Simonelli, is also an advocate of the proposed community college. He strongly urged County Council to vote in favor of the resolution.

On June 7th, The Erie Community Foundation established a $1 million fund for capital and operating costs for the college. Other financial support has come from Scott Enterprise, PHB/Reddog Industries and Custom Engineering Co. Collectively they have pledged $30,000 to the fund.

Now that the plan has been approved, the decision is not final. The college’s overall operating plan and the state application still need to be approved. "The community college is a vital step in the right direction to secure the future of Erie today and for generations to come," Batchelor said.

The vote was met with loud appraisal from more than 100 people that crammed into the Millcreek Township Municipal building Tuesday night. "I was there," said Mike Batchelor, president of The Erie Community Foundation. "You could feel the energy in the room and the desire to move forward."

County Councilman Joseph Giles proposed seven amendments, which earned the support of two members who were previously leaning towards voting against the resolution. County Councilwoman, Carol Loll signed off after Council agreed to accept the amendments introduced by Giles. One of the key stipulations; that no county tax dollars would be used to provide state-required revenue match for the college, was the driving force in swaying Loll and Giles to vote ‘yes’.

County Councilman Barry Grossman was slightly troubled by the idea that tax dollars wouldn’t be used. He is worried that this amendment won’t go over well with the state.

The only abstaining vote was from County Councilman Kyle Foust. Employed by Mercyhurst College, he doesn’t want the college to have competition.

Councilman Ebert Beeman was the only vote against the resolution for fears of a financial disaster that might ensue.

However, looking to the benefits the community college would offer to the Erie area and the considerable financial support that has emerged, the operating costs would be distributed evenly without weighing on tax payers as opponents fear.

A lot has changed since I grew up as one of 11 children in Erie’s lower West Side. I’ve seen public funds construct a new highway on our bay front. This spurred a tax-payer supported public library and a $100 million dollar convention center. Government is now working to expand our airport, redo the Tullio Convention Center, and tear down GAF.

On Tuesday, County Council has a chance to do something different. They can, for once, invest in people. For decades, the road to opportunity has been blocked for thousands of Erie County residents. Our City and County high schools do a good job educating our citizens; graduation rates are right at national averages. But our educational attainment rates, the percent of adults with a bachelors degree or higher, dramatically lag behind Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation. The census tells us we are 10% below Pennsylvania and 16% below the United States.

Education correlates to wealth. Once again, there is a gap. Our per capita income dramatically trails Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation. We are 19% below Pennsylvania and 21% below the United States. The really scary news is that these gaps continue to increase. This cannot continue for our County, our City, or for my or any other neighborhood.

I, for one, refuse to believe Erie County residents lack the motivation to succeed. They do not want lives of poverty, crime and dead-end jobs. The problem is poor access to education and opportunity. The answer is a community college.

Across the nation, there are 1,200 thriving community colleges. They provide access to opportunity. They also help businesses grow by providing tailored and flexible training programs. The federal government is investing heavily in community colleges. I, and every other Erie County taxpayer, already pay for 14 other community colleges in Pennsylvania. Why can’t we have one here?

Thanks to Jane Earll and our state delegation, the County has nearly $2 million a year to support a community college. No other part of Pennsylvania has this resource. Thanks to the Erie Community Foundation another $1 million has been provided. No other area of Pennsylvania has that. Local companies are already giving money. Our largest employer, GE, wants a community college. The United Way wants a community college, the Chamber of Commerce wants a community college, labor wants a community college and the Benedictine Sisters want a community college. Why can’t we have one?

A community college can start small. Costs can be controlled. They can operate within available funding streams. On Tuesday, County Council should vote to give thousands of Erie County residents increased access to opportunity. On Tuesday, County Council should vote to help our workers and our businesses. On Tuesday, County Council should vote to sponsor a community college.

We’ve already built roads, runways, hockey rinks, ballparks and convention centers. Please, for once, invest in people by agreeing to sponsor our community college.

Erie County Executive Barry Grossman is among many who believe a community college would help Erie build a skilled work force and provide a more-affordable educational option for many local residents than the region’s four-year colleges and for-profit trade schools.

An April 2009 report by Salt Lake City-based consulting firm the Clements Group, commissioned by local officials, recommends that a regional community college be created to serve students in Erie, Crawford and Warren counties.

State law allows for a sponsorship to come from one of three sources: a First Class city, which does not apply locally because Erie is a Third Class city; local school districts; or the county.

If the county approves sponsorship of the college, the county will be responsible for funding a portion of it. There is a provision in table games legislation approved by the Pennsylvania Legislature, though, that requires 2 percent of the revenue from the games to be set aside for funding Erie’s community college. About $1.5 million could be generated annually from that local share.

Operating costs for Pennsylvania community colleges are supported roughly one-third each by the state; local sponsors, such as counties or school districts; and student tuition.

State Sen. Jane Earll has secured a significant, steady stream of funding from table games revenue for an Erie community college.

The Erie Community Foundation has created a $1 million endowment for capital and operating costs for the proposed college.

Scott Enterprise, PHB/Reddog Industries and Custom Engineering Co. have donated an additional $30,000 to the endowment fund, demonstrating that Erie businesses support the college. More philanthropists will surely step forward. GE transportation, our largest employer, says the college is key to its future.

With help from a pro-bono accountant experienced in auditing community college finances, Rethink Erie has crafted a detailed business plan showing that tuition, gaming money and state reimbursements will cover the costs of the college, which would operate in leased facilities.

The Greater Erie Board of Realtors will award an annual community college scholarship, because there is a direct link between education and earning power. Those who earn more become homeowners, and that’s good for Erie’s economy and stability.

And young people themselves have pleaded for another higher education option.
“I am a high school senior, so I know how it feels to want a community college. It’s hard for some people to go away to school because of lack of money, “ Zakiya Jackson, a student at Perseus House Leadership Center, wrote in a recent letter to the editor. “Here in northwestern Pennsylvania, we have no community college, and Erie is the poorest major city in the state,” Rebecca Lenox, a Gannon University sophomore, wrote in a recent Op-Ed column. “Are those two facts related: I don’t know, but it sure looks like without a community college, the economy here will continue to suffer.” Lenox is on the right track.

“Compared to Pennsylvania and the rest of the United States, the gap between both Erie County education attainment rates and per capita incomes is increasing at an alarming rate. This cannot continue and must be reversed,” Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation, said when he unveiled the foundation’s $1 million endowment.

A community college can help reverse the trends which have led to us becoming less educated and poorer than Pennsylvania and the nation.

Erie County Executive Barry Grossman says gaming revenue, endowment money, tuition, scholarships and state and federal grants will pay for the college; taxes won’t be raised, he pledges.

When it meets this afternoon, Erie County Council’s Finance Committee should agree to sponsor the community college application and the full County Council should follow suit on Tuesday.

County Council must seize this opportunity to invest in Erie’s future. Vote “yes,” council members.

"High poverty in Erie County, persistently low educational attainment rates, and a business community challenged to recruit and retain a qualified workforce caused us to take this unprecedented step,” he said. "We know that there is a high correlation between educational attainment and lifetime earnings," explained Batchelor. “Erie County educational attainment rates are dramatically below the state and nation rates. A community college will increase access to education and help strengthen our local economy."

The fund will support ongoing operating and capital expenses and will be available assuming completion of the application to the state for the community college, Erie County Council's sponsorship of the application by September 30, 2010, and the ultimate receipt of the necessary state approvals. The Foundation is also making a second grant at this time to assist in the timely preparation of the detailed application package required by the state.

Trustees of the Erie Community Foundation will also continually review community college operations to ensure it meets the educational and economic development needs of Erie County residents. "This additional level of community involvement should maximize the effectiveness of this important institution,” said Batchelor.

The Foundation is also encouraging local businesses, philanthropists and the general public to make additional contributions to the fund which will remain at The Erie Community Foundation. “We are making the opening and lead gift,” continued Batchelor. “Study after study has documented the need for a community college. Private sector donations will further enhance quality, provide additional assistance to the County and alleviate taxpayer concerns over financial viability,” he said.

In fact, Nick Scott *of Scott Enterprises, *David Tullio *of Custom Engineering and *Bill Hilbert, Sr. of PHB/Reddogg each made an announcement that they too will each pledge $10,000 to the Coaltion for our Community College.

Anyone interested in supporting the community college can send donations to The Erie County Community College Fund, c/o The Erie Community Foundation, 459 West Sixth St, Erie, PA 16507.

The Foundation also announced the creation of The Coalition For Our Community College. “It’s important that supporters of a community college have their voices heard,” continued Batchelor. “We have created a logo and a facebook site. We expect the Coalition to grow organically from there,” he said.

Please join us to learn more!