Who We Are & What We Do.
Children Can Shape the Future (CCSF) is a philanthropic organization that promotes community-building programs in the local Camden and Philadelphia areas. CCSF provides financial support for community-building projects and elementary- and secondary-school programs, with an emphasis on those created, developed and executed from within their communities.
CCSF helps the Philadelphia and Camden area by funding:
1) In-school and after-school programs that:
- Enhance academic achievement
- Provide arts education
- Organize recreational and athletic activities
- Develop technology skills
2) Community-building programs that strengthen and enrich local neighborhoods
3) Programs that promote unity between local schools and their communities
CCSF maintains a close relationship with its grantees before, during and even after the program's conclusion. Grantees can count on working closely with CCSF's executive director, and can rely on CCSF's strength to help the project reach success.
Children Can Shape the Future was founded by Kathleen MacDonnell as an outgrowth of the For Kids Only trust, which promoted volunteerism within the youth community of Central/Southern New Jersey by funding community-building projects conceived by active youth volunteers.
For Kids Only was conceived in 1998, and grew to provide limited funding of larger-scale programs such as the Special Olympics, Salvation Army, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the Girl Scouts of Camden County. In 2006 For Kids Only was dissolved, and effectively reorganized as Children Can Shape the Future. While CCSF and For Kids Only both strongly emphasize volunteerism, CCSF provides more focus on local education and community-building.
In general, CCSF does not make grants to endowments, annual fund appeals, political campaigns, religious organizations, or programs outside its geographic funding area.
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