Princeton Area Community Foundation awards $40,000 in grants to nonprofits for U.S. census work

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded $40,000 in grants to four local nonprofits working to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 Census.

“An accurate census count means there will be appropriate government funding to help areas in need,” said Jeffrey Vega, President and CEO of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. “Coming together as a community is the only way to achieve this goal, and we are so happy to be a part of this effort.”

Grants of $10,000 each were awarded to Arm in Arm, the Hamilton YMCA, the Princeton YMCA, and the Hightstown-based organization RISE.

The nonprofits will use the grants to help reach populations that are difficult to count. Accurate counts are important because the federal government uses census data to determine how to allocate resources to states, including funding for a wide variety of categories, such as school lunches, Head Start programs, Pell Grants, Medicaid, and Medicare Part B.

The four grants were awarded as part of the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s discretionary grantmaking program.

The Princeton Area Community Foundation was also asked to host a separate, statewide fund. Foundations and corporations throughout New Jersey, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Nicholson Foundation, and the Community Foundation of New Jersey, have contributed to that fund, which will award grants statewide to nonprofits working to ensure a complete count in the census.

“Everyone in New Jersey deserves to be counted, and this fund supports nonprofits that are working to educate and inform New Jerseyans about what the census is and why it is so important for communities and families,” said Kiki Jamieson, President of The Fund for New Jersey. “When every person in New Jersey is counted, everyone benefits.”

The U.S. Census Bureau says households across the country can expect to begin receiving an official Census Bureau mailing between March 12 and 20.