Erie Indemnity Company
08/20/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Erie Insurance awards $2.1 million in grants to support educational opportunities
EITC and Erie Insurance Foundation funding benefits youth across the region
ERIE, Pa., Aug. 20, 2026 - Erie Insurance (ERIE) awarded $2.1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations to expand educational opportunities for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students across the region. The funding included $1.5 million through Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program and $600,000 through the Erie Insurance Foundation's Investing in Our Future grant initiative.
The grants support scholarships, early childhood education, literacy, STEM and environmental learning, arts and music programs, financial literacy, career readiness and after-school and summer programming.
"Education creates opportunities for students and strengthens the long-term well-being of our community," said Jenny Geertson, ERIE's community outreach director and director of the Erie Insurance Foundation. "These contributions recognize the important work nonprofit organizations are doing to expand access to learning, support students outside the classroom and help young people prepare for what comes next."
The EITC program is a business tax credit program offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development that encourages Pennsylvania businesses to support eligible nonprofit organizations. This year, ERIE awarded $1 million in EITC grants to local organizations supporting educational programs for children and teens.
ERIE also awarded $500,000 to Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) through the Economically Disadvantaged Schools (EDS) component of the EITC program. BLOCS provides need-based scholarships to eligible students through the statewide program, which supports more than 33,000 students across 65 Pennsylvania counties.
ERIE has donated more than $13.6 million through the EITC program since it began in 2001.
Nine organizations received $600,000 through the Erie Insurance Foundation's Investing in Our Future (IOF) competitive grant initiative. Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000 and support school readiness and early childhood learning, literacy, arts education, out-of-school-time programming, academic and career exploration, civic engagement and youth leadership development.
"The Erie Insurance Foundation builds on Erie Insurance's long tradition of investing in the communities we serve," said Christy Blashock, ERIE's Corporate Sustainability & Community Development officer and executive director of the Erie Insurance Foundation. "Our role is to help provide resources, but the real impact comes from organizations that know their communities and do the work every day. We're proud to partner with them to create opportunities for young people and strengthen our communities for generations to come."
The Erie Playhouse received an IOF grant to support its PLAYtime: Building Readers program.
"For over 10 years, the PLAYtime program has taken the work of the Erie Playhouse outside our four walls and into communities with the greatest need," said Zach Flock, executive director of the Erie Playhouse. "Through PLAYtime, our team delivers a literary experience to over 2,400 children at 22 sites every week of the school year and provides special programming throughout the summer. Without the partnership and support of Erie Insurance, PLAYtime would not have the capacity to impact thousands of children across our region."
More than $2.8 million has been donated through the Investing in Our Future grant program since 2021.
Organizations receiving EITC grants from ERIE in 2026 include Allegheny College, Community Country Day School, Dafmark Dance Theater, Early Connections, Erie Arts & Culture, Erie County Historical Society, Erie Day School, Erie Philharmonic, Erie Playhouse, Erie Zoo, Foundation for Free Enterprise Education, Gannon University, Junior Achievement, Penn State Behrend, Pennsylvania Chamber Symphony, Presque Isle Audubon Society, Sarah A. Reed Children's Center and WQLN.
Organizations receiving Investing in Our Future grants from the Erie Insurance Foundation in 2026 include Child Development Centers, Early Connections, Erie Arts & Culture, Erie Police Athletic League, Erie Playhouse, Erie's Black Wall Street, Friends of the Erie County Library, Gannon University and United Way of Erie County.
Erie Indemnity Company published this content on August 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 24, 2026 at 13:05 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]