Our Mission
The Regional Foundation mobilizes resources to advance racial, social, and economic justice through resident-led community development that builds equitable, thriving neighborhoods across our region.
Our Vision
We envision a region where communities most impacted by inequities have the power, resources, and leadership to shape their futures within just and equitable systems.
Our Core Values
Community: We approach our work with love, joy, and humility; working in partnership with community-based organizations towards a vibrant, healthy region.
Justice: We actively work to dismantle systemic racism and other forms of oppression by embedding fairness, equity, and inclusion into all that we do. We acknowledge how these barriers shape social and economic issues, and we commit to removing them through our work in pursuit of a more liberated world.
Stewardship: We recognize the oppressive origins of our history and use our resources to repair harm and build community wealth. We steward these resources with accountability, long-term vision, and care for our relationships.
Collaboration: We co-create solutions through shared power, authentic engagement, and continuous learning. We listen, celebrate all contributions, and hold ourselves to be reliable and responsive.
Trust: We build trust through transparency, follow-through, accountability, and clear communication — doing what we say and learning openly from our impact.
About the Regional Foundation
The Regional Foundation mobilizes resources to advance racial, social, and economic justice through resident-led community development that builds equitable, thriving neighborhoods across our region. We make investments (grants and loans) across a 62-county region to community and economic development practitioners spanning New Jersey, Delaware and the eastern half of Pennsylvania. Our work is rooted in our core values of collaboration, trust, stewardship, justice, and community. Grantee and loan partners center their work in resident leadership, and our trust-based practices, centering those on the ground doing the work. The Regional Foundation team comprises an Executive Director, a Senior Program Officer and two Program Officers, an Administrative Coordinator, and the Board includes twelve individuals from across the region. The foundation is committed to a learning mindset and building meaningful relationships with organizations across the region and with one another.
Program Related Investments
The Regional Foundation makes impact-first loans, or Program Related Investments (PRIs), by invitation only to nonprofit organizations for select ventures that are designed to support equitable community development.
Investment Size
Investment sizes range based on the loan type. For 2026, the foundation is offering bridge loans between $25,000 – $200,000.
Investment Programs
Previous or ongoing investments:
- Indirect investments are loans that provide capital contributions to community development financial institutions.
- Direct investments are pre-development loans for physical development projects in neighborhoods where the Regional Foundation is already invested.
2026 Investment Programs:
Bridge loans:
- Support organizations in sustaining essential community programs and services by covering delays in government (federal, state, or local) contracts or grant payments that fund programs, services, staff time, or other operating expenses.
Help organizations complete real estate projects while awaiting a specified government grant or contract payment.
Our People
Board of Managers
- Kim Ayers
- Stephen Briggs
- Craig Drinkard, President
- Bob Durkin, Treasurer
- Jonathan Encarnacion, Vice President
- Orlando C. Esposito
- Vandell Hampton
- Ellen Hwang
- Wanda P. Hardy, Secretary
- Pedro A. Ramos
- Nelida Valentin
- Mailee Walker
Staff
Kevin Dow, Executive Director (he/him)
Kevin Dow, executive director of the Regional Foundation, Kevin always begins his story with the reflection that he was “born and raised in west Philly,” publicly school educated, and a doer of good in the hood. As an engaging executive, he has enjoyed a career in the corporate, non-profit, and public sectors.
In 2008, Kevin was appointed by Mayor Nutter to a dual role as the Senior Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Commerce Department for the City of Philadelphia and led a team dedicated to coordinating strategies and business-friendly tactics to attract and retain businesses in Philadelphia.
Six years later, Kevin joined the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey where he led a team investing over $150 million in resources addressing critical needs in local communities to reduce inter-generational poverty.
In 2020, after several leadership positions in nonprofits dedicated to improving public spaces and providing quality educational options to children Kevin was named the Executive Director of the Regional Foundation. He leads a team focused on building partnerships with organizations that take a resident-centered approach to their programs and processes by engaging grassroots residents and leadership.
Mr. Dow’s formal education includes degrees from his beloved Morehouse College, and Saint Joseph’s University. Kevin is currently on the board of the Cencora Impact Foundation, Harcum College, Philadelphia Advisory Board for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Foundation for Delaware County.
Deb Bentzel, Sr. Program Officer (she/her)
Deb Bentzel, Senior Program Officer of the Regional Foundation, is an experienced nonprofit leader committed to creating systems change through collaboration with the goals of building people power and advancing equity.
Deb most recently supported the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations in their Member Services department, working with community development corporations and allied organizations from across the city. Before her time with PACDC, Deb spent 15 years in non-profit program development and management, including 7 years with The Food Trust as Associate Director of Community Food Systems where her work focused on equitable food and farming policies and practices on the local, state, and federal levels.
Deb also worked in food systems and public health sectors at Fair Food Philadelphia, Harvard University, and the Veterans Administration in Boston. While Deb has a long career in the non-profit and academic sectors, she is also a trained baker, and has worked in several Philadelphia bakeries, crafting pastries and bread.
Deb supports mutual aid and community organizing efforts in West Philadelphia, where she lives. She soaks up time with her nieces and nephews, gardens her little front yard, runs the occasional road race, develops sweet recipes, and is a voracious reader of books.
She earned her BS in Biology from the College of William and Mary and her MPH from Boston University.
Isel Otero-Vera, Program Officer (She/Her)
Isel Otero-Vera, Program Officer for the Regional Foundation, where she brings deep experience in program design, partnership development, and coalition-building to advance equitable community development strategies.
Prior to joining the Regional Foundation, Isel led The Food Trust’s Farm to Early Childhood Education programs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In this role, she supported network-building, community storytelling, and resource-sharing initiatives that elevated local food system leaders. Her work contributed to regional efforts promoting local food procurement for schools, community food access initiatives, urban agriculture, policy advocacy, nature-based nutrition, and agricultural education.
Earlier in her career, Isel coordinated a local food access program in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and supported a sustainable farming entrepreneurship initiative in Kerala, India.
Isel holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College. Originally from Puerto Rico, she has lived in Philadelphia for more than 10 years.
Samantha Mogil, Program Officer (she/her)
Samantha Mogil, Program Officer for the Regional Foundation, is a strategic leader and systems thinker with a passion for equitable community development and health equity.
Prior to joining the foundation, Samantha served as the Senior Manager of the ‘Ending Hunger for Good’ department at Philabundance, where she implemented place-based and cross sector initiatives to increase food access. She also spent time as the Director of Community Impact at the American Heart Association and as the Manager of Government and Community Affairs at the Share Food Program.
Sam has held various board and advisory council positions throughout the Greater Philadelphia region and currently serves as a Board Member for Diversify Dietetics, a national organization committed to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity in the field of nutrition.
She holds an MS in Nutrition from Drexel Univ., a BA in Sociology from Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville, and a Certificate in Community Development from the Univ. of Stellenbosch. She also completed the City of Philadelphia’s Citizens Planning Institute program in 2023. Outside of work, Sam loves traveling, getting strong, reading, collecting cacti, and volunteering with a local animal rescue.
Cassandra Manotham, Administrative Coordinator (she/her)
Cassandra considers herself a dedicated community worker who strives to leave things better than she found them.
Cassandra most recently worked at the University City Science Center as the Commercialization Programming Coordinator to support programs designed for early-stage life science and medtech entrepreneurs, startups, and investors through the Capital Readiness Program and Angel Investor Program.
Prior to joining Science Center, she led the digital equity program at SEAMAAC connecting hundreds of immigrant and refugee families from over 20 different language groups with zero to low-cost access to the internet, devices, and digital education. Outside of providing direct services, she strengthened coalitions with immigrant and refugee serving leaders, nonprofit professionals, schools, and internet service providers through workshops and skill sharing to better support getting underserved communities online.
During her time at Fishadelphia, she served as the customer experience coordinator and UX/UI designer. She later developed and managed Neighbor Share, a mutual aid program designed to leverage community power and relationships to subsidize seafood subscriptions supporting Fishadelphia’s mission to make fresh, local seafood accessible to culturally and economically diverse consumers.
Cassandra went to Haverford College and studied English and Environmental Studies by way of the Community College of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia High School for Girls.
Counties We Serve
Pennsylvania
Adams, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, Wyoming, and York.
New Jersey
Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.
Delaware
Kent, New Castle, and Sussex.
News & Updates
Welcome Cassandra Manotham
The Regional Foundation is pleased to welcome Cassandra Manotham as our Administrative Coordinator. In this role, Cassandra will support the day-to-day operations and strengthen the internal systems that power the Foundation’s work with partners and communities.
Take a moment to get to know Cassandra, including what inspired her to join the Regional Foundation.