SEDA-COG

10/14/2026

🎉 Our friends at the Foundation for Community Foundation Partnerships celebrate 110 years! 🎉

We’re excited to join FCFP in celebrating its 110th birthday and its 110 Years Bright campaign. For more than a century, FCFP has helped strengthen communities through generosity, partnership, and local impact.

Their story began with two friends and a $30 gift—and today, they’re inviting community members to become Friends of the Foundation with a suggested gift of $30. Gifts of every amount are welcome.

💛 Help us celebrate this milestone and support FCFP’s next 110 years:
👉 FCFPartnership.org/friends

Please share this post and invite your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to become Friends of the Foundation.

A community’s future is shaped by people who care about it. People like you.

A school that gave you your start. A local organization that was there when you needed it. A place you want future generations to enjoy. Our reasons for giving often begin with a personal connection.

As First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania approaches its 110th birthday on November 20, we invite you to become a Friend of the Foundation.

Your gift supports the ongoing work behind FCFP’s community initiatives: connecting generosity with local needs, working alongside nonprofit partners, and strengthening communities across our region.

Our first gift came from two friends. Together, James B. Krause and James B. Graham gave $30 to the Foundation. In their honor, we invite you to consider a $30 gift as we celebrate 110 years. Any amount is welcome and appreciated.

Come be among friends.

Become a Friend: FCFPartnership.org/friends

10/09/2026

📣 Sharing an opportunity for Appalachian students and teachers!

Looking for summer learning opportunities for July 2027? Students and educators across Appalachia are invited to apply for these exciting programs!

💡 Appalachian Entrepreneurship Academy
Hosted by Appalachian State University, this academy helps high school students build skills in entrepreneurship, business, and economic development.

🔬 Appalachian STEM Academy
Middle and high school students and teachers can expand their knowledge of applied science and STEM education with instruction from scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

📅 Application deadline: December 4, 2026

🔗 Learn more and apply: https://www.arc.gov/academies-and-institutes/

Know a student or educator who might be interested? Share this post to help spread the word! 🌟

ARC hosts academies and institutes in STEM and entrepreneurship education, applied research, and community leadership. Through these opportunities, participants build networks, skills, and an enduring commitment to Appalachia’s future.

10/08/2026

Today is National APEX day.

What is an APEX you say?

APEX Accelerators, like us at SEDA-COG, help new and existing businesses work with the government and support our military.

Did you know that the government purchases more than $400 billion every year?

At no charge, we help businesses understand how to tap that market. We want *your* business to be able to sell products and services to the government, be it federal, state or local.

We also support events where businesses can meet people from the government and other companies.

The National APEX day is when the 90+ APEX Accelerators across the nation celebrate the success of the tens of thousands of businesses that have leveraged our collective training and technical assistance to successfully compete for and win federal, state and local government contracts.

We would love it if next year, your business is part of this. Reach out at https://seda-cog.org/departments/apex/ so we can get your business ready to sell to the government.

NAPEX - National APEX Accelerator Alliance

10/08/2026

📣 Calling all marketing firms and consultants!

Our friends at ThinkSunbury are seeking proposals from qualified marketing firms or consultants to carry out their community-wide marketing campaign.

☀️ Scope: A 6-month marketing campaign
💵 Budget: An all-inclusive contract not to exceed $17,500
📅 Completion: All work must be completed and invoiced by July 31, 2027

Interested in helping put Sunbury in the spotlight? Read below and contact Jody Ocker, Executive Director, for proposal information:
📧 [email protected]
📍 450 Chestnut Street, Sunbury, PA 17801 | Northumberland County

Know a marketing firm or consultant who might be a great fit? Tag them or share this opportunity!

Sunbury's Revitalization, Inc. (SRI) seeks proposals from qualified marketing firms or consultants to carry out the ThinkSunbury community-wide marketing campaig

10/06/2026

🎨 NOW OPEN

Applications are open for the 2026–2027 Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator (CEA) grant which offers business development services and financial support to grow your for-profit creative business in ways that positively impact communities.

Pennsylvania creative entrepreneurs can apply for up to $4,000 (Growth Grant) or up to $17,000 (Impact Grant) — plus access to a network of fellow creative entrepreneurs and to trainings and resources through the Keystone Creatives platform.

Impact Grant recipients also receive one-on-one
business coaching.

Applications close December 31, 2026, and funding is limited and
competitive. Learn more and apply at keystonecreatives.org
Pennsylvania Creative Industries

10/02/2026

We’re growing our team! 🌎

SEDA-COG is looking for an enthusiastic, experienced Export Development Program Manager to help Central Pennsylvania businesses connect with opportunities around the world.

Based in our Lewisburg office with a hybrid work option, this full-time position leads our Export Development Program and works directly with businesses, government partners, and international trade organizations to support exporting, business growth, and stronger local economies.

This could be a great fit for someone who enjoys building relationships, helping businesses solve problems, managing projects, and sharing their expertise with a wide range of audiences.

We’re looking for someone with:

At least five years of export-related experience

Knowledge of international trade and export resources

Strong communication, leadership, public speaking, and organizational skills

Experience managing budgets, contracts, programs, and multiple projects

A bachelor’s degree in International Business or a related field is preferred

We offer a competitive benefits package with health, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance, paid vacation, and sick leave.

Interested in helping us build strong economies and strong communities throughout Central Pennsylvania? Please submit your résumé and cover letter, including salary expectations, by October 16, 2026 through the job posting or email [email protected].

Please share with someone who may be a great fit!

Excellent benefits package including health, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance and paid vacation & sick leave. SEDA-COG…Building strong economies & strong communities SEDA-Council of Governments, a public development organization serving 11 Central Pennsylvania counties, is seekin...

09/30/2026

Early fall colors along Honey Creek 🍂

Enjoy this peaceful view from today at the recreational path at Reedsville Park in the Village of Reedsville, Brown Township, Mifflin County. A perfect reminder to slow down, get outside, and appreciate the beauty of the season.

Photo Credit: Carol Kearney-High while on a work tour of CDBG funded projects.

What is you ask?

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a program that can give money to states, cities, and counties to help make them better places to live.

It is run by the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also called HUD.

CDBG money can help pay for many kinds of projects, including:
Fixing water and sewer systems.
Repairing streets, sidewalks, and drainage areas.
Fixing up homes for families with qualifying incomes.
Building or improving places like community centers, senior centers, health clinics, and schools.
Helping small businesses grow and create jobs.
Rebuilding homes and neighborhoods after floods, storms, or other natural disasters.
And of course, fixing and maintaining, or even creating, parks!

09/25/2026

Dolly Parton’s legacy reaches far beyond music. By investing in tourism, education, health, and disaster recovery, she helped transform Sevier County into a thriving economic hub while strengthening the people who call it home.

From Dollywood’s year-round economic impact to the 332 million books shared through Imagination Library, she showed how success can be reinvested into lasting opportunity. Her support for wildfire recovery, health research, and local families created a model for sustainable, community-centered growth.

Her greatest legacy is proof that business, generosity, and hometown pride can build a stronger future for generations.

Today is Give Like Dolly Day! ❤️

Dolly believed that when you’re in a position to help, you should help. She gave generously, dreamed big for children and spent her life finding ways to make a difference in the lives of others.

Today, we’re carrying that spirit forward.

📚 We invite you to by supporting children in your own community. Find your local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program and discover how you can help put books into the homes of children where you live.

🫶 Help bring books to your community: If the Imagination Library isn’t available where you live, learn how you can help bring a local program to your community. Visit imaginationlibrary.com and select your country from the main menu to explore how to get started.

Every community has an opportunity to give a little love, lend a hand and help a child dream a little bigger.

Find your local Imagination Library program and :
imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability

09/23/2026

Federal Grant Alert: Apply now and until October 9th, for the PROTECT Program!

Get money to help make roads, bridges, and other transportation systems safer during big storms and natural disasters.

The funding can help communities:

Plan for dangerous weather
Make roads and bridges stronger
Improve routes people use to leave safely during emergencies
Help communities recover and stay safe
Protect roads and bridges near the coast that may be harmed by flooding or storms

More info:https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/programs-and-doing-business/documents/penndot-grant-alert-protect-fy26-final.pdf

FEDERAL Grant Alert: Apply now for the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program. 📣

The PROTECT program provides grants for projects that strengthen roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure against severe weather and natural disasters. Funding supports planning efforts, resilience improvements, evacuation routes, community resilience, and vulnerable coastal infrastructure.

Learn more: https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/penndot/documents/programs-and-doing-business/documents/penndot-grant-alert-protect-fy26-final.pdf.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission
Blair Planning
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
SEDA-COG
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
North Central PA Regional Planning and Development Commission
PA State Association of Township Supervisors
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry
Pennsylvania Municipal League