Home
Supporting Charitable Organizations in Lackawanna County, PA
Our Vision
A private family foundation established in 1986, the Eureka Foundation supports a variety of non-profit and charitable organizations that make a difference in the lives of at-risk children and at-risk families, the preservation of our environment, support of veterans, and the promotion of the Arts in and around Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.
The History of Eureka
“To whom much is given, much is expected.”
In 1905 a man named Forest Frank (known as F.F.) Hendrickson bought some used printing presses from the bankrupt Walter Printing Company. He moved them to an abandoned public-school house located in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Over the years he built the company into the largest employer of skilled pressman in the area. The company was called the Eureka Specialty Printing Company. Their specialty was gummed paper, and their main line of business was stamps, seals, labels and coupons. Their printing line included such household names as Easter Seals and S & H Green Stamps.
Mr. Hendrickson became president in 1907 and remained in that role until his retirement in 1949. From the date of founding until his retirement, the company grew from a small schoolhouse with six employees to a plant of 95,000 sq ft of manufacturing floor space and over 300 employees. Five years after the Eureka Company was founded, Mr. Hendrickson helped to establish the Green Ridge Bank. He was elected its first president, a post which he filled until his death in 1954. The Eureka Specialty Printing Company remained in Green Ridge until 1968 when, having been purchased by Litton Industries, it moved to Keystone Industrial Park in Dunmore and closed in 1974.
In 1986 his grandson, Matthew D Mackie, Jr., started a small private family foundation called the Eureka Foundation with his wife, Dorothy DeWitt Mackie. The funds were initially used to start a college scholarship for students at the Abington Heights School District. The name of the foundation was chosen to honor the Eureka Specialty Printing Company and Matthew Mackie Jr’s grandfather, F. F. Hendrickson.
Over the years the Eureka Foundation has supported many organizations such as the Penn State Scranton Scholarship Fund, the Boys and Girls Clubs of NEPA, Countryside Conservancy, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Safety Net, Keystone College, Meals on Wheels, Outreach (formerly EOTC), Voluntary Action Center, United Way, Waverly Community House, Women’s Resource Center, and WVIA. Upon Matt Mackie Jr.’s death in 2013, Dorothy Mackie served as president of the foundation and their son Matthew D Mackie III became more involved.
Upon the death of Dorothy Mackie in 2020, the bulk of the estate of Matthew D Mackie, Jr. was used to fund the Eureka Foundation. After the death of Mrs. Mackie, Matt Mackie III took over as president and now runs the Eureka Foundation full time. Matt Mackie, Jr. was a man of great character and integrity. He believed that it was important to give back to the community that he lived in. The Eureka Foundation continues his legacy of helping the people of the Greater Scranton-Lackawanna County community.
Grant Cycle
The Eureka Foundation accepts applications from non-profit and charitable organizations primarily in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. While not all inclusive or exclusive, in the past the following general areas have been supported: youth assistance and development, education, health, and human and social welfare.
Generally, the foundation does not contribute to annual fund drives, endowments, capital fund drives or building funds.
The Board of the Eureka Foundation meets in June and November. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For timely consideration applications should be submitted, at a minimum, the month prior to the next board meeting.