The Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Fund for Women and Girls has announced a total of $117,700 in 2015 grants, which will help fund women and girls programming throughout the region.

“These grants reflect a vibrant community of philanthropists working together to improve the lives of women and girls in Central New Jersey,” said Jeffrey Vega, the Community Foundation’s President & CEO. The Fund identified five programs as priorities:

  1. HiTOPS, Inc.: HiTOPS’ Sexual Health Risk Reduction, Relationship Violence Protection ($25,000)
  2. Institute of Wonderful Women Working for Empowerment: Mentoring for Career Success ($25,000)
  3. PEI Kids: Protecting our Daughters from Child Sexual Abuse through Education and Support ($25,000)
  4. RISE (Community Action Service Center): Women and Girls on the Rise ($25,000)
  5. Mill Hill Child and Family Development Corporation: Female Trenton PEERS ($17,700)*

The Mill Hill Child and Family Development Corporation grant was awarded in memory of Liz Gray Erickson, former Chair of the Fund for Women and Girls. “This award recognizes the grantee that best exemplifies Liz’s core values; she cared deeply about identifying and eliminating the root causes of our society’s most challenging problems, and she believed in the potential within every girl,” said Carolyn Sanderson, a Trustee of the Community Foundation’s Board and Chair of The Fund for Women and Girls. The grant will provide at-risk Trenton-area girls with the support, knowledge and skills needed to make responsible, healthy life decisions and create for themselves a bright, self-determined future.

These grants were made possible by the collective generosity of more than 350 donors to the Fund for Women and Girls. Fund members commissioned research on the needs of women and girls in the region, the results of which have shaped funding priorities to focus on health, safety, economic security, and leadership opportunity.

The Princeton Area Community Foundation promotes philanthropy and builds community across Mercer County and Central New Jersey. It provides charitable giving expertise to individuals, nonprofits and corporations, and makes grants to nonprofit organizations. Since its founding in 1991, the Community Foundation has built an endowment of $105 million and granted more than $55 million back into the community.