April Luncheon Meeting
Pennsylvania Community Foundations…
Helping you, help your clients
Learn more about:
- Charitable Foundations and PA Community Foundation Association
- Intestate Law change
- PAGiving Pledge
Michael Batchelor, President Community Foundation Association
After 31 years leading The Erie Community Foundation, Mike retired on July 1, 2021. During his tenure, assets grew from $20 to $340 million. Named endowments increased from 53 to 900. He raised $415 million while overseeing grantmaking of $330 million. He now serves as president of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, PACFA.
The mission of PACFA is to help its 40 dues paying community foundation members connect, learn and act collectively. In less than four years, Mike has built a strong membership organization that has achieved significant policy wins related to intestate reform, scholarship displacements, affordable housing and telemedicine. He also led the creation of the PA Giving Pledge; a multi-year effort to encourage Pennsylvanians to use at least 5% of their estates to create charitable endowments. He has created a multi-foundation Impact Investing learning cohort, the PA New Staff Training Academy, CEO Summit and New CEO Training program.
Mike’s collaborative leadership transformed The Erie Community Foundation from a quiet and reactive grant maker to a regional leader focused on increasing access to health care, education and workforce training. This led to transformational projects including the establishment of Pennsylvania’s first new community college in decades, the expansion of Magee Women’s Research Institute from Pittsburgh to Erie and the creation of a $27 million investment fund focused on downtown revitalization. This fund, in turn, attracted an additional $80 million of private sector investments to create 140 market rate apartments, a Food Court in a former food desert and new downtown office buildings, including a 4-story climbing wall. He also helped create a $3 million fund focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
He also led partnerships that created Wayne School Based Health Care Center, Erie Women’s Fund and the Nonprofit Partnership, a significant capacity building project. He established Erie Vital Signs, a regional key indicator project, and Erie Gives, a nationally prominent on-line giving day.
Mike has on-site consulting experience with well over 80 community foundations. He was an instructor for the Center for Community Foundation Excellence and was active in field-wide governance and continuing education. He co-founder a national network of Community Foundation CEO’s and was a frequent speaker at professional conference, and current PACFA member events. Mike was also a two-time PA gubernatorial appointment to The Great Lakes Protection Fund.
Currently, he serves as a senior advisor to the Hill Group consulting firm. He also worked with Arctaris Impact Advisors to encourage more impact investing activity throughout the United States. Mike has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Kent State University.
