The Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Fund for Women and Girls (FWG) has awarded $101,500 in grants to 11 local nonprofits.

“Our Fund is comprised of dedicated community members who are committed to improving the lives of economically vulnerable woman and girls in Central New Jersey,’’ said Carolyn Sanderson, FWG Chair. “Next year we will celebrate our 20th anniversary, and we’ve grown tremendously in those two decades. We are now a fund with 65 voting members who are dedicated to ensuring that our women and girls are supported through community investment, education and collaboration.”

Members of the FWG voted to fund the grants at the full amounts requested by three applicants:

  • HomeFront’s Assisting Two Generations: Childcare for Families in Need: $25,000. The Ewing-based program provides high-quality childcare to about 120 homeless families each year. The childcare program gives parents the opportunity to work and participate in HomeFront’s education and job training programs.
  • Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s FUTURO Class of 2019: $15,000. It provides mentoring and college preparation for first- and second-generation immigrant students from Trenton. Girls usually make up about 75 percent of each class, and participants receive academic and social support.
  • Princeton Nursery School’s Solid Foundation for Women & Girls: $25,000. The school, housed in a 100-year-old building, serves almost 50 children, most from low-income families. Tuition is assessed on a sliding scale based on family income, allowing parents access to high-quality childcare they could not afford at market rates. The school must replace its flooring to meet licensing standards.

Three other organizations received grants of $2,500:

  • PEI Kids, Helping Girls Achieve: A Therapeutic & Educational Support Group Project The Lawrenceville-based program offers support groups for victims of sexual abuse, who face unique risks in the teen years.
  • Mercer Street Friends’ Parenting Services Program, which provides support and education during home visits to pregnant women and mothers in Trenton.
  • RISE’s Women and Girls on the Rise program, based in Hightstown, delivers domestic violence counseling and preventative education to at-risk, low-income girls in Southeast Mercer County.

A seventh nonprofit, Millhill Child and Family Development Corporation, received the second installment of the three-year $75,000 grant it was awarded in 2016 for its Female Trenton PEERS Empowerment and Education Program. In the last year, the agency has recruited more high school students to participate in the program, which provides intensive mentoring, leadership development, and peer education.

Four additional nonprofits received unrestricted grants of $1,000 each:

  • Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties (CASA), based in Ewing
  • The Children’s Home Society, based in Trenton
  • YWCA Princeton
  • Womanspace Inc., based in Lawrenceville

The Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Fund for Women and Girls supports the economic security of women and girls in central New Jersey. Our funding priorities are based on the research-based needs of women and girls in the region.

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 grown into an organization with more than $155 million in assets and made grants of more than $105 million, including $16 million in 2016.