Princeton Area Community Foundation awards $2M to local nonprofits

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The Princeton Area Community Foundation announced Jan. 19 it awarded approximately $2 million in Community Impact and COVID-19 Relief & Recovery grants to more than 60 area nonprofit organizations.

According to the foundation, the funding was made possible by community contributions.

“These nonprofits are doing impactful work in region, helping the most vulnerable among us,” President and CEO Jeffrey Vega said in a statement. “We are able to award these grants thanks to generous donors who have created funds over the last 30 years to support our community grantmaking and leadership.”

The funding was mainly unrestricted, allowing organizations to address economic challenges, such as those due to the pandemic and inflation, the foundation said. Additionally, the nature of the funding allows the groups to help build financial and programmatic resiliency.

The awards went to groups serving a range of needs, including: arts education, community building, education, food insecurity, health, senior citizens and other vulnerable populations, and youth development.

Organizations working in education and youth development programs secured the most funding (40% of awards), followed by those working to help vulnerable populations and alleviate food insecurity, according to the foundation.

Nine awards came from the COVID-19 Fund, while the remainder came from the Community Impact Grants program.

Grantee partners:

Arts Education

• Artworks Trenton Inc. – Trenton
• Bucks County Playhouse Artists – New Hope, Pa.
• Capital Harmony Works – Trenton
• James R. Halsey Foundation of the Arts – Hamilton
• Passage Theatre Co. – Trenton
• Stretto Youth Chamber Orchestra –Princeton and Trenton
• Trenton Circus Squad – Trenton
• Young Audiences NJ and Eastern PA – Princeton

Community Building

• Greater Trenton – Trenton
• Trenton Health Team Inc. – Trenton

Education

• Foundation for Educational Administration – Monroe
• Literacy New Jersey – local program based in Hamilton
• Mercer Street Friends – Trenton (project partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County)
• People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos – Lawrenceville

Food Insecurity

• Arm In Arm – Trenton
• D&R Greenway Land Trust – Princeton
• Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County – Princeton
• John O Wilson Hamilton Twp. Neighborhood Community Center Inc. – Hamilton
• Meals on Wheels of Mercer County – Ewing
• Mount Carmel Guild – Trenton
• Princeton Mobile Food Pantry – Princeton
• Share My Meals – Princeton
• Shine and Inspire – Pennington
• Snipes Farm and Education Center – Morrisville, Pa.
• The Salvation Army – Trenton
• The Suppers Programs – Princeton
• The Watershed Institute – Pennington
• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen – Trenton

Health

• Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. – Trenton

Seniors

• Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County – Hamilton
• Princeton Senior Resource Center – Princeton

Vulnerable Population

• Arm In Arm – Trenton (partnership with Housing Initiatives of Princeton)
• Rise – Hightstown
• HomeFront Inc. – Lawrenceville
• Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. – Trenton
• Lawrenceville Job-Training Partnership – Lawrenceville
• Rescue Mission of Trenton – Trenton
• Womanspace Inc. – Lawrenceville

Youth Development

• Anchor House Inc. – Trenton
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County – Trenton
• CASA for Children of Mercer & Burlington – Ewing
• Catholic Youth Organization of Mercer County – Trenton
• Corner House Foundation – Princeton            .
• Dress for Success Mercer County – Lawrenceville
• Every Child Valued – Lawrenceville
• Hamilton Area YMCA – Hamilton
• Hamilton Township Public Schools – Hamilton
• HISPA, Inc. (Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement) – Princeton
• HiTOPs – Princeton
• HomeFront Inc. – Lawrenceville
• HomeWorks Trenton – Trenton          
• LifeTies Inc. – Ewing
• Millhill Child & Family Development – Trenton
• National Junior Tennis & Learning of Trenton – Trenton
• PEI Kids – Lawrence
• Princeton-Blairstown Center – in Princeton and Blairstown (working with Mercer Street Friends and the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County)
• Princeton Nursery School – Princeton
• Princeton YMCA – Princeton
• Puerto Rican Community Center Inc. – Trenton
• The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey – Trenton
• The Father Center (Formerly UIH Family Partners) – Trenton
• UrbanPromise Trenton – Trenton
• YWCA of Princeton – Princeton

Grants were also awarded to the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits and Nonprofit Connect, both in Hamilton, to support their work advocating for and building the capacity of the nonprofit sector.