The Paul and Marian Gerhart Charitable Fund concentrates its philanthropy on local cultural institutions and faith-based community services, with a particularly strong commitment to historic interpretation tied to Thaddeus Stevens. Most dollars support arts, history and religiously affiliated social ministry organizations, often through repeat, unrestricted grants that strengthen operating capacity. The foundation gives relatively few but sizable awards, favoring deep engagement with select grantees rather than broad distribution.
Concentrated and repeat: a small number of relatively large, often unrestricted grants with multiple renewals to core local grantees rather than many one-off awards.
A $100,000 grant to Lancasterhistory Org for the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy stands out in the Paul and Marian Gerhart Charitable Fund’s recent giving. That award sits alongside repeated support for Lancaster-based institutions that connect history, the arts, and community service. The fund makes relatively few grants, but the amounts often reach meaningful operating levels, including recurring general support for Lancasterhistory Org, Water Street Ministries, and Fulton Theatre Company. The Paul and Marian Gerhart Charitable Fund’s recent pattern shows a clear preference for established organizations that can use unrestricted dollars as well as project-specific funding. History and public memory are especially visible in its portfolio, including support tied to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith, library-related work at Franklin & Marshall College, and a memoir publication grant for the Friends of the Sisters of St Joseph of Springfield. Alongside those grants, the fund has also backed faith-based social ministry, regional performing arts, and community-facing health and service groups. Its giving is national in scope, but Lancaster, Pennsylvania, appears repeatedly as the center of activity in the recent grants list.
History and civic memory are a defining theme. In 2025, the fund gave $100,000 to Lancasterhistory Org for the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, and it followed with a separate $25,000 grant to the same organization for the center. The arts also receive consistent support. The fund awarded $25,000 and $20,000 to Fulton Theatre Company, both listed as general and unrestricted. Library and archival work appears in a smaller but clear stream of grants. Franklin & Marshall College received $10,000 for support of library activities, while Lancaster Public Library received $5,000 as general and unrestricted support. Faith-linked and social-service grants form another strand of the portfolio. Water Street Ministries received multiple grants, including $30,000 and $25,000, both unrestricted, showing continued support for community ministry work.
Typical grants cluster at a modest scale, with a p25 of $2,875, a median of $6,125, and a p75 of $25,000. The recent record shows both small community grants and larger operating awards, with multiple grants in the $25,000 to $30,000 range and one at $100,000. Recipients appear across multiple years, including Lancasterhistory Org, Water Street Ministries, and Fulton Theatre Company, which points to repeat support rather than one-time giving. The fund is a charitable fund, not an individual giving vehicle, and it does not make program-related investments. The available data also shows no indication of an application process.
$138K
$2.8M
$158K
$180K
Most grants fall between $3K and $25K, with a median of $6K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$6K
75th Percentile
$25K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in PA.
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Notable grantees: LancasterHistory (Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center), Water Street Ministries, Fulton Theatre Company
The grant list is fully domestic, with all recent awards going to U.S. recipients. Lancaster, Pennsylvania is the most prominent city by far, appearing on many grants and including history, arts, library, health, and social-service recipients. Outside Pennsylvania, the fund’s recent gifts reach Nashua, Greenland, Springfield, Hightstown, Hagerstown, Asheville, and King of Prussia. By state, Pennsylvania receives the largest share of grants, while Delaware does not appear as a recipient state in the recent list.
Recent grants show support for history and public history, regional performing arts, library activities, faith-based community services, health and social-service organizations, and one memoir publication grant. The named recipients include history institutions, a theatre company, a library, and ministries and service organizations.
The fund’s typical grant size is $2,875 at the 25th percentile, $6,125 at the median, and $25,000 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards range from $1,000 to $100,000, showing a mix of smaller community grants and larger operating or project grants.
Yes. Lancasterhistory Org, Water Street Ministries, and Fulton Theatre Company each appear in more than one recent grant year. The repeated awards include both unrestricted support and project-specific history work, showing ongoing relationships with selected recipients.
Pennsylvania is the top state by grant count, and Lancaster is the main city in the recent grant list. The fund also made awards to recipients in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina, but the recent record is centered in Pennsylvania.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LANCASTERHISTORY ORG | LANCASTER, PA | $100,000 | 2025 | Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy |
| FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE | LANCASTER, PA | $10,000 | 2025 | Support of library activities |
| CHOICES HEALTHCARE | LANCASTER, PA | $7,250 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| WATER STREET MINISTRIES | LANCASTER, PA | $5,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| FEMINIST HEALTH CENTER OF | GREENLAND, NH | $4,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| RIVIER UNIVERSITY | NASHUA, NH | $4,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| COMMUNITY ACTION SERVICE CENTER | HIGHTSTOWN, NJ | $2,500 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| ARDEN THEATRE COMPANY | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $2,250 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| BROTHER WOLF ANIMAL RESCUE INC | ASHEVILLE, NC | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| THE ASSOCIATION FOR FRONTOTEMPORAL DEGENERATION | KING OF PRUSSIA, PA | $1,000 | 2025 | General & Unrestricted |
| LANCASTERHISTORY ORG | LANCASTER, PA | $30,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| WATER STREET MINISTRIES | LANCASTER, PA | $30,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| LANCASTERHISTORY ORG | LANCASTER, PA | $25,000 | 2024 | for the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy |
| FULTON THEATRE COMPANY | LANCASTER, PA | $20,000 | 2024 | General & Unrestricted |
| FRIENDS OF THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH OF SPRINGFIELD | SPRINGFIELD, MA | $3,000 | 2024 | for the publication of the memoir of Sr. J F Morrissey |
| LANCASTERHISTORY ORG | LANCASTER, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| FULTON THEATRE COMPANY | LANCASTER, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| WATER STREET MINISTRIES | LANCASTER, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| LANCASTER PUBLIC LIBRARY | LANCASTER, PA | $5,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
| MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC - DOCTORS WITHOUT | HAGERSTOWN, MD | $2,000 | 2023 | General & Unrestricted |
Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE
$10,000Support of library activities
FEMINIST HEALTH CENTER OF
$4,500General & Unrestricted
RIVIER UNIVERSITY
General & Unrestricted
for the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy
FRIENDS OF THE SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH OF SPRINGFIELD
$3,000for the publication of the memoir of Sr. J F Morrissey
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC - DOCTORS WITHOUT
$2,000General & Unrestricted