Princeton Area Community Foundation awards more than $600,000 to 16 local nonprofits

Two Trenton Children’s Chorus participants. The Trenton Children’s Chorus is one of 16 organizations that received funding from the Princeton Area Community Foundation.

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded more than $600,000 to 16 area nonprofit organizations that serve children and adults living in poverty.

“With our new community impact grants program, we support nonprofits that are working to transform the lives of low-income individuals, families and communities,” said Jeffrey Vega, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “Through the generosity of hundreds of donors to the Princeton Area Community Foundation, our community impact grants will improve the lives of thousands of children and adults in 2018 and will enable our communities to better address the consequences of poverty and economic disparities through the critical services of nonprofit agencies.”

The Community Foundation awarded a total of $596,459 in community impact grants to 15 nonprofits that are working in arts education, career development and literacy, behavioral health, food insecurity, youth development, community development and education, and social services. An additional nonprofit was awarded a $25,000 capacity building grant.

“There is so much need in our community, and with these grants, we tried to fund a wide range of services in seven funding categories. We hope to continue to form partnerships with other funders so we can expand our ability to address those needs,”  said Eleanor Horne, the committee chair.

Five nonprofits received grants for operating support, which provides funds needed to pay expenses such as rent and utility bills, and allows agencies to strengthen their capacity to serve those in need.The remaining grants will support specific programs.

Community Impact Grants

Arts Education

McCarter Theatre Center, Trenton School District: Arts Integrated Education Program, $50,000 – The theatre plans to expand its arts education programming at Trenton schools. The program integrates arts education with language arts and social studies lessons.

Trenton Children’s Chorus, $20,000 for operating support – The choir provides high-quality musical instruction and academic support to about 240 children in grades Pre-K to 12.

Young Audiences of NJ and Eastern PA, The Trenton Adopt-a-School Initiative, $50,000 – The program is designed to address the disparity in arts access and provides arts education in all Trenton elementary and middle schools; the grant would help fund programs at five of those schools.

Behavioral Health

UIH Family Partners, Beyond Sanctuary: Impacting Self-Sufficiency Through Trauma-Informed Care Program, $50,000 – About 180 men between the ages of 19 and 62 who have been affected by traumatic events will take part in educational programs designed to increase their self-sufficiency. People & Stories will partner with UIH for this program.

Career Development and Literacy Programs

Dress for Success Central New Jersey, Customer Service Excellence/Designing Your Future programs, $44,409 – The educational programs help economically disadvantaged women who are seeking gainful employment and financial independence. Many of the women are single mothers, and some also care for parents and grandchildren.

Literacy New Jersey, Inc., Read to Succeed Program, $11,000 – The program will support 100 Mercer County adults in a basic literacy program taught in small groups or one-on-one sessions. It is the only Mercer County literacy program that serves adults who read below a 5th grade level.

Community Development and Education

Greater Trenton Inc., $50,000 – The agency’s community development initiatives and efforts are focused on creating a more vibrant, safe city for families. The organization plans to implement key goals in its new strategic plan, including the implementation of a marketing plan to highlight the city’s hidden assets and promote its appeal, while working toward sustained revitalization with nonprofit, public, private and education sector partners.

Thomas Edison State University Foundation, NJ Cultural Competency and English Language Learners Institute and Mentoring Program, $47,250 – A 10-year evidence-based professional development program for teachers to help improve their interactions and instruction of English language learners; the grant will support a nine-month mentoring component for teachers in 15 classrooms.

Food Insecurity

Meals on Wheels of Mercer County, Subsidized Meal Program, $35,000 – The program serves homebound residents who cannot afford the fees for its traditional program. About 86 percent of its clients – many of them senior citizens – need a subsidy. No one is turned away and there is no waiting list.

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Send Hunger Packing Program, $35,000 – TASK partners with Mercer Street Friends (MSF) to deliver weekly meal packs during the academic year to more than 1,000 Mercer County schoolchildren who have little access to food on weekends.

Social Services/Homelessness

Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, $50,000 for operating support – The agency works to defend the rights of local Latin American communities, facilitate their access to health care and education and promote cross-cultural understanding in the region. It served almost 2,000 people in 2017, about double the number of households served the previous year.

Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness, $25,000 for operating support – Through a collaboration with other agencies, the Alliance works to end homelessness, with a focus on people with high-risk challenges, such as individuals with disabilities and youth aging out of the child welfare system. In 2016, 1,443 individuals and 201 families in Mercer County became homeless.

Womanspace, program support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Mercer County, $50,000 – To provide comprehensive services, including emergency shelter and counseling to survivors (and their families) of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and human trafficking.

Youth Development

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County, $50,000 for operating support – The agency provides long-term mentors for children whose families are facing hardships. The agency is estimated to serve more than 500 youth.

PEI Kids, Comprehensive Juvenile Offenders Outreach Services Program, $28,800 – Each year the program serves about 60 youth, ages 11 to 17, who are on probation and have been referred by the criminal justice system. Participants learn life skills, including conflict resolution, violence prevention, and gang resistance. They also receive academic and job preparation support.

Capacity Building Grant

VolunteerConnect, $25,000 for operating support – The organization partners with other nonprofits, as well as businesses and individuals to help develop more effective boards and to connect agencies with highly skilled volunteers to strengthen the ability of nonprofits to deliver much needed services.

One Comment

  1. Why would Princeton Area Community Foundation provide $50,000 to the Latin American Legal Defense Fund that provides assistance to criminals – illegal aliens – breaking the law and stealing from hardworking American citizens? The Princeton Area Community Foundations alt left political correctness is short changing deserving organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Womanspace who seek to assist legal hardworking American citizens over illegal criminals!

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