The Princeton Area Community Foundation has announced its initial round of COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund grants, totaling nearly $700,000 to more than 30 nonprofits.
“This crisis is having a devastating impact on our most vulnerable communities,” said Jeffrey M. Vega, president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “As a philanthropic leader in this region, we knew we had to act quickly to help our local nonprofits, and we are so grateful for the support we received from other community leaders to help us create this fund.”
The Community Foundation is partnering with local philanthropists, private foundations and area companies to support a COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund to respond to both immediate and long-term needs of nonprofits in our region. To date, more than $1.5 million has been raised, but more funds will be required because the needs in the community are much greater, according to the statement. So far, more than $2 million in funding has been requested.
The $694,644 in unrestricted funding awarded in the initial round of grants will be provided primarily to organizations working on food insecurity, mental health, homelessness and rental assistance support, and social services.
“The Community Foundation was established almost 30 years ago because our founder realized that in places where philanthropy thrives, communities thrive,” Eleanor Horne, Community Foundation trustee and chair of the Committee on Impact, said in the statement. “This fund provides local donors with a trusted resource to distribute their charitable dollars. It is designed to be flexible and nimble, so we can quickly help the nonprofits that are providing vital services to our communities during this crisis.”
Grant applications are accepted daily and grants will be awarded weekly. The initial grants were awarded to:
• Anchor House, Trenton, for its supportive housing programs, which serve young people, ages 18-24, who are homeless, aging out of the child welfare system or at risk of homelessness. Some have children of their own.
• Arm In Arm, Trenton/Princeton, to provide services to children, adults, families and seniors who are food insecure
• The Blue Bears Special Meals, Princeton, to support employment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Boys & Girls Club of Trenton & Mercer County, to provide food and youth support to children
• Capital Area YMCA, Trenton, to provide services to children, adults, families and seniors who are food insecure
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Trenton, to provide services to children, adults, families and seniors who are homeless
• Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) of Mercer County, Trenton, to provide services to families who are food insecure
• The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey, Trenton, to help transition staff at its Family Success Centers and Maternal Child Health program to remote work locations, so they can continue to provide critical social services
• Community Loan Fund of New Jersey (New Jersey Community Capital), Trenton, to provide services to families and seniors who are food insecure
• Corner House Foundation, Princeton, to provide youth support and behavioral health services to children, adults and families
• Every Child Valued, Lawrence, to provide food and youth support for children and families
• Hamilton Township School District, to provide social services to students, staff and families in collaboration with Prevent Child Abuse NJ
• Help Self Community Development Corporation, Trenton, to provide educational resources students in their after-school program, to lend laptops to students who do not have computers, and to provide food and social services to the children
• HomeFront, Lawrence, to provide services to children, adults, families and seniors who are food insecure and/or homeless
• Housing Initiatives of Princeton Charitable Trust, to provide food, homelessness and social services and youth support to families
• Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Princeton, to provide expanded mental health services for teens and adults, including community webinars and Phone “Drop-In” Hours.
• Literacy New Jersey, Hamilton, to provide adult literacy education to their adult students, and homework help for the children of those students
• Meals on Wheels of Mercer County, Ewing, to cover the background checks for new volunteers who are providing meals to vulnerable adults and seniors; new volunteers are needed because many of the agency’s regular volunteers are seniors, a group at high risk for contracting coronavirus.
• Mercer Street Friends, Trenton, to provide emergency weekend food bags to families in Trenton; so far, more than 39,000 meals have been provided. A portion of the grant is also being used for deep cleaning of the agency’s food bank
• Millhill Child & Family Development, Trenton, to launch a new tele-therapy delivery system to provide behavioral health services to children and adults
• Mount Carmel Guild of Trenton, to provide services to families and seniors who are food insecure and/or homeless
• NAMI Mercer NJ, Hamilton, to provide peer-led, peer-engaged mental health education and support for children, families and adults
• New Jersey Agricultural Society, Bordentown, to provide services to children, adults, families and seniors who are food insecure
• Prevention Education Inc. (PEI Kids), Lawrenceville, to provide youth support and mental health counseling for children
• Princeton Children’s Fund, which is collaborating with the Princeton Housing Stability Coalition, Princeton Human Services and other community partners to provide relief funding for individuals and families most at risk of losing shelter and lacking access to food and resources
• Princeton Nursery School, to provide services and youth support to very young children who are food insecure
• Princeton Senior Resource Center, to provide online programming for seniors
• The Rescue Mission of Trenton, to work with its homeless community
• RISE, Hightstown, to provide food, health and social services to children, adults, families and seniors
• Snipes Farm and Education Center, Morrisville, Pa., to provide services to adults, families and seniors who are food insecure and/or homeless
• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, to provide services to adults, seniors and families who are food insecure
• UIH Family Partners, Trenton, to provide food, behavioral health and social services to adults and families
• UrbanPromise Trenton, to provide support services to high school students
• Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, Camden, to provide food and health and homelessness services to seniors and adults in Mercer and Burlington counties
The Community Foundation is reviewing additional grant applications, which continue to be submitted daily.
To make a gift to the fund, visit www.pacf.org
The Princeton Area Community Foundation promotes philanthropy and builds community across Mercer County and central New Jersey. It helps people and companies make effective charitable gifts and awards grants to nonprofits. Since its founding in 1991, the Community Foundation has made grants of more than $135 million and provided an additional $19 million in support to its nonprofit fundholders. In 2019, the Community Foundation awarded $17 million in grants to support the critical work of nonprofits in making the communities they serve more responsive to the needs of their residents. Learn more at www.pacf.org.
