The Fund for Women and Girls at the Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded more than $200,000 in grants to six nonprofits that work to help single mothers, families with young children, abuse survivors and high school students.
“I would love it if we didn’t need to continue this work – if our work was done. But it isn’t done. Great needs remain in the community,” said Carolyn Sanderson, Fund Chair. “I’m so very grateful for the support of all our Fund members. I especially appreciate all our nonprofit partners who work tirelessly to help our neighbors get the assistance they need and who work together to address important and sometimes difficult challenges. They are incredible partners, doing their best every day to help build a thriving community.”
Founded 26 years ago, the Fund for Women and Girls is comprised of generous members – mostly women – who pool their donations because they believe they can make a larger impact in the community through collaborative giving.
Each year, the grants committee recommends to its voting members grants for local nonprofits. Since its founding, the Fund has awarded a total of more than $2 million in support to local organizations.
“We had a fabulous group of grant applicants this year,” said Terry Kent, Chair of the Fund’s Grants Committee. “I want to thank the Committee members who dedicated their time to review applications and deliberate about every request. We learned so much about the work of our nonprofit partners in the process. It is a great pleasure to collaborate with these dedicated philanthropists.”
This year’s grantee partners are:
3-year award, $75,000
Arm In Arm, based in Hamilton, was awarded the Liz Gray Erickson Memorial Grant for its Still Standing: An Intergenerational Path to Self-Sufficiency program. The program provides a supportive community for single mothers and their children, including 1:1 coaching, group discussions and fun and educational activities for children. The program includes financial literacy lessons and a path to improving housing stability and job advancement. More than 75 women have completed the program since 2020 and are now self-sufficient.
2-year awards
Center at 353 (formerly Trinity Counseling Services) in Princeton received a grant totaling $20,000 for its Childhood Intervention Initiative at Princeton Nursery School. The grant will support an onsite, bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the school, where almost half of the students speak Spanish. The program works to enhance the social and emotional development of children, provide resources for their families, and training for the school’s teachers and staff.
PEI Kids in Lawrenceville was awarded a grant totaling $40,814 for its initiative, Helping Girls Achieve – Therapeutic & Educational Support Groups. The program recognizes that sexual abuse impacts entire families. It provides therapeutic support groups for girls ages 10 to 17 who have been sexually abused. It also provides emotional and practical support to the girls’ parents or caregivers. Childcare for younger siblings is also made available to allow the families to attend the program.
1-year awards, $25,000 each
Millhill Child & Family Development in Trenton for its Trenton PEERS (Performing, Educating and Engaging about Responsible Strategies) program. Students receive academic and college planning assistance, extensive mentoring, and training on critical issues, including anger management, conflict resolution and dating violence prevention. About 75 percent of the students enrolled are girls, and they serve as peer educators and role models in their communities. In the last 5 years, 92% of PEERS graduates went on to attend college or trade school or join the military.
HomeWorks Trenton in Trenton for its after-school residential program for Trenton High School girls: Building our Trenton High School Girls to Become Community Leaders and Achieve. This program is modeled after the boarding school experience. Students live at the HomeWorks house from Sunday evenings to Friday mornings and are transported to their public schools. The students receive academic and social/emotional support, while remaining connected to their families. At HomeWorks they engage in academic, life skills and leadership activities, take field trips and receive internship opportunities.
Dress for Success Central NJ in Lawrenceville for its Dress for Success Business Academy at Trenton Central High School. The program provides mentoring to prepare 11th and 12th grade girls with skills needed to compete in today’s job market. Job readiness workshops include Image Enhancement, Personal Branding, Financial Literacy, Effective Communications, Resume Writing, and Interview Skills. The program was launched two years ago, and it also includes a boutique with business attire for the students.
Additionally, grant payments were made to nonprofits that were awarded multi-year grants in 2022 and 2023: RISE, Housing Initiatives of Princeton (HIP), Womanspace, and the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey.
About the Fund for Women and Girls
The Fund for Women and Girls, a field-of-interest fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation founded in 1998, is a diverse group of community members who together invest in nonprofit organizations that improve the lives of economically vulnerable women and children in greater Mercer County. The Fund has granted over $2 million to nonprofits serving women and children in Central New Jersey and Bucks County. For more information, www.pacf.org/fwg
