What are educational foundations? Athletic boosters? PTA/O? The answer is neither. Educational foundations are IRS 501(c)3 nonprofits that exist to enhance public school districts’ programs. Let’s look at Canner Educational Foundation.

In the depths of the Great Recession the necessary Upper Adams School District (UASD) budget cuts were affecting the educational experience of students. A solution beyond raising property taxes was needed. The UASD administrators pooled their personal resources to start an endowment at the Adams County Community Foundation to be run independently of the district and whose distributions would benefit students. This was the beginning of Canner Funds.

What is an endowment? An endowment is an investment that provides funds to support the beneficiaries, in this case, students, forever. That means your children, your grandchildren and their grandchildren.

The Canner Funds Advisory Board was established, independent of the school board, to raise, oversee and distribute funds. The primary source of funds was the Adams County Community Foundation’s annual Giving Spree. Since 2014 Canner Funds has raised about $15,000 per year in tax-deductible donations. In 2025 the Advisory Board made the decision to become a formal nonprofit organization, converting Canner Funds into the Canner Educational Foundation, an all-volunteer organization.

Why become a nonprofit? Canner Foundation can now apply for grants and other funding previously unavailable to us, receive tax-deductible donations year-round, enjoy stronger governance structures and legal protections for long-term sustainability and our status as a nonprofit demonstrates commitment to transparency, accountability and responsible stewardship of donor funds.

But this is not a story exclusively of generous donations or investments growing. This is a story of community … our community … acting together. The people of Upper Adams care for their school district and care about the education their kids and their neighbors’ kids receive. They care about each other.

What does Canner Foundation do with donations? Canner Foundation’s flagship program has always been Classroom Grants. Teachers can apply for modest grants to enhance educational opportunities for students in their classrooms and beyond. Since 2013 funds for these grants have quadrupled but we are still forced to turn down many applications for lack of funds.

Teachers are the lifeblood of any school district and so we are proactive in recognizing their vital role. We sponsor a Welcome Back breakfast each August to show our appreciation for their professionalism and their care of our community’s most precious gift, our children. We provide new teachers gift certificates to help defray the cost of setting up their classrooms.

We support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library because what better way to enhance the learning experience of children than to instill a lifelong habit of reading and learning before they step foot in a school. Recently, we raised more than $2,700 for this program and matched that with a $1,000 Foundation donation. That provides free books to over 100 children for a year.

There is so much more that we could do but our efforts are limited by funding. You can help in several tax-deductible ways. The upcoming Giving Spree on November 5 provides the opportunity to contribute to Canner Educational Foundation’s operating budget (Today donations) or our endowment (Forever donations). Either of these choices will be increased by the incentive funds pool. Other options: contribute on a recurring basis at https://www.adamscountycf.org/ by clicking the Donate Now button and typing “Canner Education Fund of UASD Designated Endowment;” mail a check to Canner Educational Foundation 161 N. Main Street, Biglerville, PA 17307; find us on Venmo @CannerFoundation.

Tom Wilson