Organizations across county receive tax credit through state program to improve distressed areas
A number of organizations operating in Butler County will have their missions bolstered by nearly $400,000 in combined tax credits received through the state’s Neighborhood Assistance Program.
The program is run by the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development and serves to “encourage businesses to invest in projects which improve distressed areas,” the state’s website said.
Chief among these projects is $185,250 in tax credits for the Penn Theater Performance Company to “revitalize a vacant Main Street lot into an accessible space to expand art programming, community gathering, civic engagement and activity in the Butler Cultural District,” according to the state’s list of awardees.
Jaloyn Fockler, executive director of The Penn Theater, said work began Thursday, Oct. 22, on what she said will eventually serve as a “vibrant outdoor venue.”
“We’re sort of in the heart of the Butler Cultural District and this lot has been sitting vacant for nearly 10 years,” she said.
She said work is expected to take until late spring or early summer 2027 and the space will then serve as an outdoor area for concerts and festivals. The venue will also be used to support community partners, especially on Main Street.
Fockler said the theater is leasing the property from Ragusa Development LLC — a company owned by Dennis and Ann Baglier — for $1 a year.
“They are two of the most philanthropic people I have ever met,” she said.
The list also features specific “charitable food program” awardees, such as $74,750 for Inspired Hearts and Hands, Inc. to expand its food distributions to economically disadvantaged households in Butler County.
Mindy Schnitgen, founder of Inspired Hearts and Hands, said the organization currently serves about 500 households in Butler County and roughly 700 more in Allegheny, Armstrong and Beaver counties.
While the tax credit was not as much as the nonprofit requested, she estimated that it will allow it to serve another 1,000 to 1,200 Butler County homes.
“This should make our reach in Butler County go up pretty drastically,” she said.
She said Inspired Hearts and Hands works through school districts — such as Butler, Seneca Valley, Moniteau and Mars — to determine economically disadvantaged households. Then, the organization does its food distribution around the holidays.
“We do it during the holidays when students are already home and are not being provided a lunch in school,” she explained.
In addition, the Neighborhood Assistance Program gave $81,250 in tax credits for Adagio Health to increase access to nutritious foods and community referrals for low-income or rural households.
According to the list, Nonprofit Development Corporation received $32,500 in tax credits to provide “no-cost critical repairs to income constrained older adult homeowners in Butler County’s distressed areas.”
