On July 28, the South Mountain Partnership announced the launch of the Friends Of South Mountain Partnership to allow for membership and tax deductible financial support for South Mountain Landscape Initiatives, in collaboration with The Foundation for Enhancing Communities.

The South Mountain Landscape Initiative connects portions of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties.

The Initiative 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.

“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 Pennsylvania,” said Janet Pollard, Executive Director of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau and a member of the Partnership Leadership Committee.

“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,” explained Hess.

“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,’ “ said Hess.  “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,” added Hess.

If you are interested in learning more, visit the Friends of the South Mountain Partnership webpage.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can be involved, visit the South Mountain Partnership website.

Visit DCNR’s Conservation Landscapes webpage to learn more about similar initiatives in other parts of Pennsylvania.

Visit the Living Landscape Observer website to learn more about the conservation landscape approach to recreation, economic development and natural resource conservation in the United States and around the world.

NewsClip:

Editorial: PA Must Provide More Funding To Preserve Its Parks, Forests For Future Generations

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[Posted: July 28, 2020]

8/3/2020