Seybert Merges with Western Association

In perhaps the most significant news of our organization’s century of existence, The Seybert Foundation has merged with another Philadelphia- focused foundation, The Western Association.  It is our sincere hope that the merging of our two foundations will reduce operational overhead and increase the power of our grants to the city’s neediest communities.  The resulting foundation, which will simply be called “The Seybert Foundation,” will continue to support nonprofit organizations whose missions focus on direct services to disadvantaged children and youth throughout the City of Philadelphia. The Seybert Foundation will honor Western Association’s longstanding commitment to Philadelphia’s most underserved communities through its grants program.  We encourage you to review our website, www.seybertfoundation.org, to learn more about giving strategies and priorities as they currently exist and as they evolve in the months to come. We wish to take this opportunity to thank Dale Mitchell, Kurt Anderson, Marlane Bohon, and the entire Board and Staff of the Western Association for their sincere dedication to supporting vulnerable Philadelphians through their many years of work, and for their fellowship and collegiality throughout this merger process.  We are certain that the consolidation of our two foundations will enable more grant dollars to reach the most disadvantaged populations in Philadelphia.  At a time when our collective impact as funders is sorely needed, we feel that this merger between two small foundations represents a model that other grantmakers might wish to consider.  We would be happy to share lessons-learned about the process with anyone interested.  At this milestone moment in our foundation’s history, we are grateful for our community of colleagues in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector, and we look forward to working with many of you in the years ahead.