The Parkersburg Area Community Foundation & Regional Affiliates (PACF) will join community foundations nationwide in celebrating National Community Foundations Week from November 12 through November 18, 2025. Established in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush, this week honors the vital role community foundations play in strengthening communities across America. The week also includes National Philanthropy Day on Saturday, November 15.

To raise awareness of PACF’s impact in its 11-county service area, the foundation is hosting a week of programming on its social media platforms @pacfwv. Nonprofits, civic-minded individuals, and community partners are encouraged to join in the conversation as special projects, stories of impact, and fund types are highlighted throughout the week. To end the week, PACF Senior Development and Stewardship Officer, Julie Posey will record a special edition podcast with the Local WV Podcast Platform, Positively WV in Morgantown, on November 18. 

Founded in 1963, the PACF serves Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia, as well as Washington County, Ohio. Accredited for 26 consecutive years under the National Standards for Community Foundations, the PACF demonstrates sound policies, accountability, and best practices.

PACF primarily manages designated, field of interest, agency endowed, unrestricted, scholarship funds, and donor advised funds (DAF’s), which are the most popular for many philanthropic individuals and businesses.  DAF’s are charitable accounts established with gifts of assets such as cash, stocks, or property. Donors recommend grants from these funds to nonprofits and community projects, benefiting from expert stewardship and local knowledge of the local community foundation.

“Our Foundation is rooted in community,” said Fred Rader, Executive Director. “Through the generosity of our citizens, we grow more resilient and vibrant every day. By connecting great people to important causes, we build lasting legacies that enrich lives now and for generations.”

During the last fiscal year, PACF granted 1,265 awards to area nonprofits, which included 317 unique scholarship awards for continuing education, demonstrating a broad and meaningful impact across the Mid-Ohio Valley. Grant awards often support the area’s greatest needs—providing emergency shelter, food assistance, essential health and household services, support for youth in transition, and community-based services in distressed areas. More than 16,000 individuals in PACF’s West Virginia service area were impacted by these distributions.

“Our region is home to generous and caring people,” Rader added. “We strive to maximize the impact of their support, and we are deeply grateful to our donors and partners for making all we do possible.”