Press Release: Friends of South Mountain Partnership Launched to Provide Membership, Financial and Capacity Building Support

The South Mountain Partnership (SMP) is excited to announce a new collaboration with The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC). SMP is launching the Friends of South Mountain Partnership – a project of the fiscal sponsor, TFEC – that allows for membership and tax deductible donations to further the cause of the partnership.

The SMP is a regional, landscape-scale conservation project in south-central Pennsylvania launched in 2006 to envision and secure a sustainable future for the South Mountain landscape. TFEC was established in 1920 as The Greater Harrisburg Foundation as an organization “to support community members seeking to create long-lasting, meaningful impact.” TFEC handles donated assets and creates permanent funds, investment, and grantmaking for the benefit of local nonprofits in the region. TFEC also inspires giving by partnering with donors to achieve their charitable goals and strengthens our local communities by investing in them now and for future generations.

Janet Pollard, Executive Director of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau and a member of the SMP Leadership Committee said that “The Foundation For Enhancing Communities opens a new door for the South Mountain Partnership by bringing more exposure to its work and vastly increasing the Partnership’s relationship-building capacity through the Friends Group, while growing recognition throughout southcentral PA.”

“I am thrilled to launch the Friends of the South Mountain Partnership for many reasons, one of which is financial,” said SMP Director, Katie Hess. “To ensure the partnership is a resilient and powerful force for good in our region, our Friends group will start by offering memberships and securing tax deductible donations from interested individuals and businesses, and will soon launch a corporate sponsorship program. Our first and only consistent source of funding since 2006 has come from competitive grants submitted for the Commonwealth’s Environmental Stewardship Fund through Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. However, that special fund is consistently threatened for redistribution into Pennsylvania’s general fund during annual budget negotiations. Residents in our region deserve more investment, not less, and we will continue to help attract sustainable investment to the region.”

“Another reason is embodied by our tag line of ‘one million people, one future.’ The future quality of life and wealth of our children and communities depends on the work that we do right now to conserve our landscape resources, create vibrant communities, share a common sense of place, and collaborate on well-planned growth and sustainable economic development. We will continue to come together to build community and investments that are based on this region’s natural strengths and carried out in sustainable ways.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Friends of the South Mountain Partnership and how you can provide tax free support to the organization, please visit https://southmountainpartnership.org/friends-of-south-mountain.

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About the South Mountain Partnership
The South Mountain Partnership is a public-private partnership is led by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and has grown into a coalition of citizens, businesses, non-profits, and government agencies and officials. Together, these partners collaborate in conserving the South Mountain landscape to enrich the quality of life and sustain the sense of place of the region’s citizens and communities.

The South Mountain landscape covers portions of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties. The South Mountain ridgeline, the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Mountains, lies at the heart of the landscape, but equally important are the surrounding valleys. Communities in the 400,000-acre region have thrived off fertile limestone agricultural lands, the timber that fed iron furnaces, the plentiful game and wildlife, and abundant, pure spring water that is captured by the mountains’ permeable soils and released into the valley.
For more information, visit: www.southmountainpartnership.org

About the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The primary mission of the DCNR is to maintain, improve, and protect state parks; to manage state forest lands to assure their long-term health, sustainability, and economic use; to provide information on Pennsylvania’s ecological and geological resources; and to administer grant and technical assistance programs that will benefit rivers conservation, trails and greenways, local recreation, regional heritage conservation, and environmental education programs across Pennsylvania.
For more information, please contact:
Terry Brady
Press Secretary for DCNR
Tel: 717.705.2225
Email: tbrady@pa.gov
Web: www.dcnr.pa.gov

About the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The ATC was founded in 1925 by volunteers and federal officials working to build a continuous footpath along the Appalachian Mountains. A Unit of the National park Service, the Appalachian Trail (AT) ranges from Maine to Georgia and is approximately 2,185 miles in length. It is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. The mission of the ATC is to preserve and manage the AT – ensuring that its vast natural beauty and priceless cultural heritage can be shared and enjoyed today, tomorrow, and for centuries to come.
For more information, please contact:
Jordan Bowman
Director of Communications
Email: info@appalachiantrail.org
Web: www.appalachiantrail.org

About The Foundation for Enhancing Communities
The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC), a community foundation, inspires giving by partnering with donors to achieve their charitable goals, and strengthens our local communities by investing in them now, and for future generations. Founded in 1920, TFEC has been serving the South Central Pennsylvania counties of Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, and Perry, and the Dillsburg Area for 100 years. Regional foundations of TFEC include the Greater Harrisburg Community Foundation, the Franklin County Community Foundation, the Mechanicsburg Area Community Foundation, the Perry County Community Foundation, and the Dillsburg Area Community Foundation.
For more information, please visit www.tfec.org.