Jefferson Regional Foundation has released the second in a series of Priority Briefs focused on each of the Foundation’s three strategic priorities: Increasing Health Access and Prevention, Improving Child and Family Outcomes, and Strengthening Vulnerable Populations and Communities. Here are highlights from the June 2015 Priority Brief on Strengthening Vulnerable Populations and Communities which relate to areas of focus within this priority.

• 41% of the population in the Jefferson area has incomes below $35,000  (low-income communities)
• 40% of the refugees and immigrants in Allegheny County reside in the South Hills (refugees and immigrants)
• Southwestern PA is among the top 17 regions nationally based on the number of its military veterans, yet one of only two without a base (recent military veterans)
• 78% of adults living in the community and needing daily assistance depend on friends and family as the only source of help (older adults and caregivers)
• Most nonprofits are small with 67% operating with budgets under $1 million (build capacity of community organizations)
• The Executive Director often works on development and sometimes delivers direct services as well (strengthen community leadership)

Future opportunities include:

• Leveraging the Jefferson area’s healthy communities  (volunteers, community-wide groups, etc.)
• Convene and/or support collaborative efforts with economic development, community development, social and human services, and education organizations to begin the process of long-term, systemic change for Jefferson communities.

The Strengthening Vulnerable Populations and Communities priority brief can be found HERE.

Our intention of creating priority briefs is to share important community information which will also
guide Foundation grantmaking in our priority areas. We welcome your comments or suggestions at foundation.info@jeffersonregional.com.