The Foundation is interested in playing a role in re-establishing belief in the American dream by providing a bridge from poverty to sustainability and financial stability—a Bridge to Opportunity. High Foundation operates on the core principle that all people are created equal.

With partners and collaborators, the Foundation endeavors to help shape a diverse and inclusive world for the next generation.

Pillars of Investment

Addressing Poverty and Community Transformation

High Foundation invests in transformative initiatives which strive to eliminate the issues that contribute to the cycle of poverty. These include education, food, housing, transportation, healthcare, financial literacy, childcare, nutrition, equality and more.

Cultural and Economic Vibrancy

High Foundation invests in economic and cultural endeavors that strengthen and bring together the local community. These include neighborhood revitalization, arts and culture, historic preservation, and more.

Collaboration and Social Innovation

High Foundation invests in ground-breaking initiatives that demonstrate the power of collaboration when those vested in their communities work together for the greater good. These projects include impacting the environment, social enterprise, racial justice, and many others.

Areas of Impact

Education

Attollo

Attollo prepares high school students from diverse backgrounds with rigorous college and post-secondary training so that they may pursue academic achievement, empowerment, and social engagement on a path to becoming future leaders. High Foundation has provided funding to support Attollo’s program expansion, including exposure and access in the STEM field.

Elizabethtown College

For more than three decades, High Foundation has fueled building and infrastructure projects and academic programs at Elizabethtown College, most notably, through construction of the High Library and through founding and sustaining The High Center for Family Business, which serves and strengthens family and privately held businesses through succession planning, leadership training, and legacy building.

Lancaster Science Factory

The Lancaster Science Factory inspires curiosity, creativity, and confidence in an inclusive environment for hands-on STEM exploration. High Foundation has fueled the creation of exhibit and classroom spaces that enable year-round camps, workshops, and tinkering activities both indoors and out.

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology provides Pennsylvania's future workforce with a technical education that enables students to secure a career at a family-sustaining wage, and supports the critical workforce needs of Pennsylvania. High Foundation supports campus expansion projects and STEM education programming offered by Thaddeus Stevens College.

High Foundation Scholarship Program

The High Foundation Scholarship Program is available to students of High co-workers. Three deserving students are selected each year based on academic performance and extracurricular activities. More than $800,000 has been contributed to students since its inception in 1983.

“

Because of the generosity of High Foundation, over 1,000 students from Lancaster have gone through the Attollo program, which ensures that all students, regardless of their background, graduate high school with leadership skills and are prepared to pursue post-secondary education if they so choose.”

– Jordan Steffy, Founder and CEO, Attollo

Health & Human Services

Lancaster County Food Hub

Lancaster County Food Hub provides free services to meet the basic human needs of society’s marginalized members and the working poor, including fresh and healthy foods, clothing, transportation, and winter shelter for homeless women and children. High Foundation supports building repairs and maintenance, allowing LCFH to put 100 percent of its focus on serving its clientele.

Lancaster Health Center

Lancaster Health Center provides primary care, dental care, behavioral health, and social services to the community, regardless of life stage. High Foundation has made it possible for LHC to build upon various infrastructures needed to connect with and care for its patients, ranging from medical, dental, and IT equipment to the addition of a new health center.

Landis Communities

Landis Communities has three distinct parts: continuing care retirement communities, home, and community-based services, and additional living options for older adults. High Foundation has provided funding for new spaces that promote family gatherings and life-long learning classes, as well as affordable housing for seniors in the greater Lancaster community.

Water Street Mission

Water Street Mission has five core ministries which provide shelter, medical care, behavioral health counseling, outreach, and programming to at-risk men, women, and children in Lancaster County. High Foundation has helped build emergency shelter facilities and update Mission residential halls.

Tenfold (formerly Tabor and LHOP)

Tenfold provides comprehensive housing and financial counseling, coaching, and education to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, financial difficulties, foreclosure or eviction, or aspiring to buy their first home. Consecutive years of High Foundation partnership have allowed Tenfold to expand and grow its facilities and offices, thereby increasing its ability to improve the lives of Lancastrians.

“

High Foundation’s support has made it possible for us to build upon various infrastructures ranging from medical, dental, and IT equipment to the addition of a new health center. They stand behind healthy community by helping to keep Lancaster’s most vulnerable residents resilient and strong.”

— Nicole Specht, Chief Communications Officer, Lancaster Health Center

Arts & Culture

Lancaster History

LancasterHistory offers a wide breadth of public history programs, archives, exhibitions, artifacts, and historic facilities to share the multi-layered stories of Lancaster’s past and the impact of its people on the larger country and world. As a strategic community partner, the Foundation is committed to sustaining the scholarly endeavors, programming, and resources available through LancasterHistory.

Fulton Theatre

Fulton Theatre creates and produces exceptional theatre that moves the collective soul of our community through a spectrum of programs and performances. Over decades, High Foundation’s support has taken many different shapes at the Fulton, from mainstage sponsor, program funder, historic preservation project partner, and in-kind donor.

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to engage, build, and strengthen our community through imaginative and unique musical experiences. High Foundation supports its Sound Discovery Community Engagement Programs, which reach nearly 10,000 students in Lancaster County every year and are named as an important element to the urban School District of Lancaster's music programs.

“

High Foundation’s support of the Fulton cannot be understated given the positive and lasting impact it has had on our theatre, its growing audiences, and the community we call home.”

– Marc Robin, Executive Artistic Producer, Fulton Theatre

Historic Preservation

Historic Rock Ford

Historic Rock Ford was a community-driven preservation project beginning in 1957 when the General Hand Mansion, an architectural treasure, was threatened with demolition. The High Family has had close ties to Historic Rock Ford since its early days providing support for museum collections, programs, and more. With the addition of the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts, High Foundation has provided funding for this important resource to better tell the stories of all the diverse people of early Lancaster who contributed to its economic success and extraordinary cultural legacy.

Demuth Museum and Lancaster Museum of Art

The Demuth Foundation’s mission is to promote the appreciation and awareness of the visual arts in Lancaster through its two historic, downtown Lancaster museum locations, The Demuth Museum and The Lancaster Museum of Art. High Foundation has provided operational funding for the museums, which tell historic and current stories of the visual arts in the community through educational programs, membership, and collaborative exhibitions and events.

Environmental Stewardship

Lancaster Conservancy

The Lancaster Conservancy serves to acquire natural lands in order to preserve our wild and forested places and protect our waterways. In partnership with Lancaster Conservancy, High Foundation has helped acquire numerous tracts of land that are open to the public to enjoy. In addition, High support has enabled the Conservancy to complete a number of clean water initiatives across Lancaster County. 

“

High Foundation believes in strong land planning and protecting what’s important, while at the same time supporting economic growth. Their partnership has helped acquire numerous tracts of land and complete a number of our clean water initiatives across Lancaster County.”

— Phil Wenger, CEO, Lancaster Conservancy

Social Enterprise

ASSETS Lancaster

ASSETS creates economic opportunity and cultivates entrepreneurial leadership to alleviate poverty and build vibrant, sustainable communities through a variety of services for local entrepreneurs and business owners. High Foundation support helps provide targeted training and consulting services to entrepreneurs and business owners who might otherwise be unable to access these services. High Foundation supports the community initiative In Good Company, led in part by ASSETS.

City of Lancaster

The City of Lancaster oversees a full range of services and community-engaging initiatives, guided by a strategic plan for building strong neighborhoods, safe streets, sound government, and secure incomes for its citizens. High Foundation partners with multiple departments within City government to ensure a vibrant quality of life and community, funding comprehensive efforts rooted in equity to revitalizing neighborhoods and supporting community creativity and the arts.

SACA

The Spanish American Civic Association fosters the cultural, social, and economic wellbeing of Latinos residing in the city and county through a range of services that meet their needs in every facet of life. High Foundation supports many SACA initiatives, most notably in job skills training and education to serve unemployed and underemployed adults, and seed funding to create commercial prosperity in underserved inner-city neighborhoods.

This has been a year of transformation at High Foundation. Our commitment to building a bridge to opportunity has been emboldened and solidified for generations to come. See all that has transpired, and the impacts we celebrate in our first-ever Annual Impact Report. View Impact Report.