The Fund for Women and Girls (FWG) at the Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded $215,000 in grants, including support for five local nonprofits that are working to help new mothers, mothers in recovery, single parents, families with young children and children who have been removed from their homes.

More than 20 years ago, the FWG was created as a fund of the Community Foundation to focus its funding on organizations that work to improve the lives of vulnerable women and children in the region. With a philosophy of collective philanthropy, members donate to the Fund, and then meet annually to recommend grants to support nonprofits aligned with the fund’s goals.

“These nonprofits are doing incredibly important work in our communities, and this funding will make a meaningful difference in the lives of women and children,” said Carolyn Sanderson, Chair of The Fund. “Thanks to the generosity of our members, we have awarded more than $1 million in grants to more than two dozen nonprofits over the last six years. We can do so much more together than any of us can do individually.”

Grants Committee Chair Terry Kent thanked the members of the FWG Grants Committee for their volunteer work and congratulated all the nonprofit grantee partners.

“These are exemplary organizations making significant contributions to our community,” she said.

Grantee Partners

  • Freedom House was awarded a $15,000 grant for its Supporting the Family Afterward – Diane’s House program in Trenton. The program helps mothers, who are stable in their recovery from substance use, reunite with or maintain custody of their children by providing housing and case management services. The program also helps women pursue economic independence by assisting with career planning, immediate employment, and household budgeting.
  • RISE in Hightstown was awarded a $25,000 grant for its Rising to Help Single-Parent Families program. It provides case management wraparound support services to 195 low-income single-parent families, most of which are led by women. Many of the parents live paycheck to paycheck. This program will augment support to the families beyond RISE’s regular services, to include close monitoring, counseling, and extra emergency funds when needed.
  • The Puerto Rican Community Center in Trenton was awarded a $25,000 grant for its Salud Para Todos (Health for All) program. The program will provide on-site, contracted nursing services to all its preschoolers, including weight, height, hearing, vision, and dental screenings, vaccinations and physical exams. Preventative health services will also be provided to their families.
  • CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties, based in Ewing, was awarded a 2-year grant, totaling $50,000. It will help the organization train and supervise volunteers who advocate for children in Family Court after they have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. The volunteers handle complex cases of children who have experienced significant trauma, and they are often the only adult who stays consistently in the children’s lives.
  • The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey in Trenton was awarded a 3-year grant, totaling $75,000, for its AMAR Community Doula Program. The program provides improved access to prenatal care for pregnant women of color, especially those who live in areas with limited access to medical services. It is the only community program in the state that supports Latina mothers with bilingual doulas who live in the community. The grant will support two full-time and per diem doulas to provide nonmedical support to 64 pregnant and postpartum low-income Trenton women and their babies.

The Fund also awarded a $25,000 grant to the Community Foundation for its work. Additionally, three nonprofits received grant payments for multi-year awards that were announced last year: HomeWorks Trenton, Arm in Arm and KinderSmile.

To learn more about the FWG or to become a member, visit our website at https://pacf.org/fwg/