August 2026
WHERE GIVING MEETS COMMUNITY
Insights on local generosity, nonprofit work, and the needs shaping our region.
By Kelly Feiler, Regional Engagement Center president
The inspiration for the Regional Engagement Center (REC) came in 2015. Fifty kids that attended a Wednesday night youth group at my church would ask me what we were doing the next day—they wanted to be together. PA Youth Surveys data from 2011 and 2013 indicated that Snyder County youth needed somewhere to go and something positive to do, minimizing opportunities for antisocial behavior or drug and alcohol abuse. These kids needed a community center.
This is the story I told when we started fundraising to purchase our building nearly a decade ago. We were successful thanks to the generosity of our community and support from Susquehanna University and local foundations. We opened our doors in October 2017 after a year of programming at the university, and have been busy ever since.
We knew the programming was needed. But our next challenge was finding a way to keep the doors open.
A wonderful mentor once gave me the advice that a nonprofit should be sustained by 1/3 donations, 1/3 grants, and 1/3 fees for services and fundraising. The idea that 2/3 of our income relied on us convincing others that our mission was necessary and vital to the kids in our community was overwhelming. We knew the value of our work because the building was packed every day, but it’s hard to measure nonprofit success in smiles, hugs, and sighs of relief.
We knew we couldn’t grow or even sustain this work on our own, so we found support in our community. We joined other organizations and councils that discussed community needs assessments. We learned from experts on how to shape our programs to best meet those needs and collect the data to show our work’s impact. We partnered with other organizations to strengthen our programs, and our growing network of community support helped us feel like we were moving in the right direction. The stories of success we told showed donors the impact they were a part of because of their gifts.
I had never written a grant before, so there was a lot of trial and error. I researched every possible grant, talked with funders, and went to any learning opportunity offered. I recently found a picture from 2016 of the REC receiving a “big check” from the Selinsgrove Area Youth Foundation—which has evolved into Community Giving Foundation: Selinsgrove—with one of our earliest grants.
Community Giving Foundation has been one of our most important funders. We have learned from the professional development and leadership series they offer, the individual site visits and phone calls with their staff, and the feedback given to make our grant requests stronger. Their grant celebrations focus on telling the stories of the local organizations, showing the community good financial stewardship and the impact of community gifts made possible by local donors.
As a nonprofit, we rely on and are grateful for every gift—from $5 to $10,000 and more. Foundations like Community Giving Foundation provide community members an opportunity to pool their giving power to make a greater impact on organizations like ours and specific areas of interest like our local youth.
As the REC celebrates its 10-year anniversary, I am grateful for both individual donors and all funders serving nonprofits. We look forward to our continued work together to serve our youth and all community members for years to come.
