This is the landing page for ChicoryLane Foundation, the latest iteration of the ChicoryLane endeavor. The specifics of the foundation are best understood in the narative context of this endeavor, which will be briefly outlined, below.
If you are an experienced user of this website or if you have a specific need, you my wish to look at the topic areas, immediately following.
Topic Areas
- Legal
- Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation
- IRS Determination Letter
- Conditional Use Permit (Addtional details on file)
- Bylaws
- Board Minutes
- July 14, 2024 (Organizational meeting: Additional details on file)
- November 14, 2024 (Additional details on file)
- February 6, 2025 (Zoom meeting: Additional details on file)
- June 7, 2025 (Additional details on file)
- Financial
ChicoryLane Narrative Context
- Farm purchased and occupied by Smith family in 1974
- For 25 years, house lived in while subjected to periodic remodelling to upgrade faciities whie retaaining original feel.
- Personal activities for John and Catherine focused largely on outside professional ones and schooling, for Ian.
- External activitis on the farm focussed on yard with emphasis on selected horticuytural species, including conifefrs hostas, clematis, daylilies, and ferns, with a few nativies shrubs and herbaaceous plants.
- Beginning ~2000 and extending until ~2017 was middle period of extensive physical changees on the farm as well as how we understood its evolving landscape.
- James Lesher came to work with us a year or two earlier and brought much energy, artistic talent, as well as academic training in both botanical and landscaping areas.
- In 2005 we installed, with financial help from Growing Greener funding and adminstrative help from Penns Valley Conservation Association (PVCA), two vernal pools and a small palustrene sucessional forest.
- We began an on-going system of mowed trails that now provides easy access to virtually the whole property.
- Worked through, with Kevin Abbey and, later Deborah Nardonne, of Clearwater Conservaancy,a comprehensive conservation easement for the entire property. This easement we are told is notable for providing the conceptual basis as well as the enumerated conditionas for ecologically-oriented protective covants.
- The late period from 2017 to the current time (2025) has focused on legal and financial steps to enable on-going future operations as well as continued ecological impreovements.
- The concept and medodolgy for ecological enahncement evolved during this time and became a guiding principle for our own work as welll as a subject for public workshops and writings.
- In 2020-21 we evaluated and then tore down our unsalvagable 200-year-old barn and replaced it with a similar timber-frame, Amish built structure of the same size, design, and in the same locatioin as the original. (This structure and building project is on-going.)
- In 2024, following a year of exploring and preliminary planning, we applied for and received recognition as a Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation, entitled ChicoryLane Foundation, a legal entity separate from the farm - a personal real property.
- Several months after recognition by the pennsylvania Secretary of State, the new foundation submitted IRS Form 1023 in application for it to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity. That determination was made by the IRS on 12/31/2024, qualifying the foundation to receive donations that may be elgibiile for tax dedcuctions and to function as a Private Operating Foundatiion.
- To support the on-going administrative activities of the foundation, we have established on-going support from the following:
- Integrity Accounting (bookkeeping and financial reports)
- Blackman and Sloop (990-PF and other tacs-related services)
- Frazier Financial Consultants (wealth management and financial advisory services)
- Smith Anderson Attorneys (legal advice and services)
- Lauren Smith (communications and activity coordination and support)
- In the spring of 2025, we submitted ans application to permit the foundation to function as an Indoor and Outdoor Recreational Facility to the Gregg Township Planning Commission and, following their unanaimous recommendation, to the Gregg Townwnship suservisors for their final approval. Their positive determination as received 5/9/2025. The main provisions of the Concitional User Permit will enable us to apply for building eprmits to adapt portions of the barn for seasonal assembly activiites in support of the foundation mission.
- During the Spring, Summer, and Fall months, the foundatiion will sponsor seven workshops on a variety of topics related to the mission.
- Additional details of the ChicoryLane 2024-2025 year, as well as Prequel and Sequel are included in our May, 2025 Newsletter.