Members of the Carbon County Community Foundation’s 20/20 Circle gathered at Blue Mountain Resort last week for the Annual Meeting & Grants Dinner, where they selected Turning Point of Lehigh Valley to receive this year’s $6,000 grant from the 20/20 Circle Fund.

Following presentations from four local nonprofit finalists, 20/20 Circle members voted to support Turning Point’s Carbon County Outreach & Education project. Turning Point now serves the Greater Lehigh Valley, including Carbon County, and is expanding its local presence to connect more residents with domestic violence services and support.

The $6,000 grant will support outreach efforts to help Carbon County residents learn about available services and how to access them. Funding will also help the organization establish a satellite office in Carbon County, making services more accessible to those who need them.

Turning Point has two staff members dedicated to serving Carbon County: Client Advocate Jessica Murphy Timmons and Outreach Advocate Samantha Walsh. Both are Carbon County residents whose local knowledge and community connections will help strengthen the organization’s presence and accessibility for survivors seeking support.

The 20/20 Circle brings individuals and businesses together to amplify their community impact by pooling their philanthropic dollars and collectively deciding which local projects to support through grants from the 20/20 Circle Fund. Each year, members hear presentations from local nonprofits and vote to select the grant recipient. Additional contributions from members often allow other finalists to receive support as well.

“The 20/20 Circle is a wonderful example of what can happen when people come together around a shared commitment to their community,” said Sharon Alexander, president of the Carbon County Community Foundation.

This year, four selected nonprofit organizations were invited to present their projects to 20/20 Circle members after a volunteer committee reviewed applications submitted to the Community Foundation. In addition to Turning Point of Lehigh Valley and Dimmick Memorial Library, the finalists were Lehigh Carbon Community College Foundation, with its Carbon County Early College Scholarship Initiative, and Miller-Keystone Blood Center, with its mobile donor chairs project.

The generosity of 20/20 Circle members also extended beyond the annual grant. Members Bill and Carol Allison of Jim Thorpe have personally committed additional support to one of the other nonprofit finalists, Dimmick Memorial Library, for its Microfilm Digitization Project. This project will convert hundreds of rolls of microfilm from the library’s collection into digital files, preserving Carbon County’s historical newspapers and making them more accessible for future generations.

“Members not only help fund important local projects through their annual grant, but also find additional ways to support the organizations and causes that matter to them. We hope the community will join us in supporting these four outstanding projects and helping them make an even greater impact across Carbon Count,” Alexander said.

Community members are invited to donate to the Community Foundation to support any of the four finalist projects. While 20/20 Circle members selected Turning Point to receive the annual grant, additional contributions can help the other finalists secure the funding they need to bring their projects to life. The Carbon County Community Foundation encourages members and community members alike to learn more about the projects and consider making a gift to support these important efforts.

Details about all four projects can be found at cccfoundpa.org.

Membership in the 20/20 Circle is open to any individual or business. To join the 20/20 Circle, make a onetime contribution of $1,000 to the 20/20 Circle Fund, a permanent endowment at the Carbon County Community Foundation. Membership can be paid in full or over a period of up to four years, or approximately $21 per month. Members receive two complimentary tickets to the Annual Meeting & Grants Dinner each year, where they hear presentations from local nonprofits and vote to determine the recipient of the annual grant.

20/20 Circle membership offers an opportunity to connect with others who care about Carbon County while helping local organizations make a lasting impact. Because the 20/20 Circle Fund is an endowment, it is designed to support grants to local nonprofits year after year, forever.

The 2026 dinner marked another year of grantmaking through the 20/20 Circle and its members. Since 2020, the 20/20 Circle has awarded $26,000 in grants from the endowment at the Community Foundation.

Additional contributions from members have provided another $36,000 in support for finalist organizations, bringing the total impact of the 20/20 Circle and its members to $62,000.

The 20/20 Circle currently has 158 members and continues to grow toward its goal of 250 members, which would allow the endowment fund to award $10,000 annually.

To learn more about the 20/20 Circle or the Carbon County Community Foundation, visit cccfoundpa.org.