The non-profit Square Roots Community Initiative (SRCI) recently announced the award of $208,000 in grants to support a variety of local community organizations in southern Chester County.

The grants will benefit, among others, Family Promise of Southern Chester County, Friends of Anson B. Nixon Park, Voices Underground, and PowerCorpsPHL, an acclaimed AmeriCorps workforce training program that trains young adults for careers in community-focused fields.

The 2025 grants mark the fourth consecutive year in which SRCI has awarded community grants in southern Chester County. The four-year grants total more than $750,000, all of which comes from the profits generated by Square Roots Collective’s (SRC) financial investments and for-profit businesses, and all of which are then reinvested for community improvement in Kennett Square.

SRCI is the philanthropic engine of SRC, which is dedicated to improving quality of life through a range of initiatives in Kennett and Southern Chester County. SRCI is the non-profit owner of SRC businesses like The Creamery, Artelo and other ventures, and it recycles 100 percent of all profits back into the community.

“Our model has been to reinvest the profits from our businesses like The Creamery and Artelo to support the great work of community organizations like these,” said Stephanie Almanza, president of the SRCI Board of Directors. “Our bottom line is that SRCI exists to benefit our community and region.”

The 2025 grantees and awards include:

• Kennett Trails Alliance: A $31,000 grant as part of the ongoing funding commitments from multiple entities for the Kennett Greenway, a 14-mile bike and pedestrian trail that will dramatically expand access to the outdoors for thousands of residents and neighbors. More than 50 percent of The Greenway is either completed or under construction.

• Friends of Anson B. Nixon Park: A $15,000 restricted gift to fund maintenance at Cypress Beach as part of a maintenance collective comprised of local municipalities, conservation organizations, and parks.

• PowerCorpPHL: $71,000 to support a workforce training program in Kennett Square for adults looking to enter the hospitality industry and

• Family Promise: A $20,000 grant to support the organization’s mission to secure housing and stability for families experiencing homelessness in Southern Chester County.

Other grants for 2025 were awarded to the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance ($15,000); Voices Underground ($10,000); Lincoln University Foundation ($10,000); Kennett Collaborative ($8,000); Good Samaritan Services ($10,000); Reach Riverside ($15,000); Casa Guanajuato ($1,500); and the Oxford Soccer Club ($1,000).