Press Release

RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2021

CONTACT:  Mary Phillips, GMA Foundations 617.391.3080 / mphillips@gmafoundations.com

Laconia, NH… The Samuel P. Pardoe Foundation has awarded $600,000 in multi-year grants as it prepares to wind down its grantmaking program in the Lakes Region. Fifteen valedictory grantees were selected to receive an annual grant from the Foundation for each of the next four years in recognition of their vital roles in the community.

“The valedictory grantees share the Pardoe Foundation’s long-standing commitment to meeting the needs of Lakes Region residents and protecting the region’s environment” said Charles H. Pardoe, President of the Foundation.

The Foundation expects to announce additional wind-down activities, including support for certain capital projects and partial funding for programming at Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center, in 2022. A Master Plan for Prescott Farm was recently approved by the City of Laconia.

During the next four to five years, the Foundation board will plan for the eventual sunset of the Pardoe Foundation. The Foundation’s grant application portal is now closed.

Over the past 25 years, the Foundation has donated $11 million in grants for education, human services, and land and resource management to Lakes Region organizations.

The Samuel P. Pardoe Foundation was established in 1989 under the will of Samuel Prescott Pardoe. The Foundation moved its operations in 1997 from Washington, D.C. to Laconia, New Hampshire, where it focused on supporting a variety of local charities, including Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center on White Oaks Road in Laconia.                 

Valedictory grants have been awarded to:

Audubon Society of New Hampshire

Belknap County Conservation District

Granite United Way

Lake Winnipesaukee Association

Lakes Region Community Services

Lakes Region Conservation Trust

Lakes Region Mental Health Center

Lakes Region Planning Commission

New Beginnings

New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits      

New Hampshire Catholic Charities

New Hampshire Preservation Alliance

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

Thompson-Ames Historical Society

Waypoint